What prizes have you won?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’ve never won anything too major. I think I hit 300 bucks on the Lotto once, which was pretty big money to me back then. But I’m talking more along the lines of contests, radio competitions, etc.

I’ve won a few radio contests. When I was about 15, I was the right caller to win a prize pack that consisted of a Skip-It, a handheld game (one of those cheapie $20 things) and a couple of other toys. I gave most of them to my brother, because of course, at 15, I was way too cool for that kind of stuff.

A few years ago, I won another radio contest. The game was called “Dead or Not Dead” and they’d list off three clues. You’d have to identify who the clue was referring to and figure out if they were… dead or not dead. I can only remember one clue: they played a snippet of Smoking in the room. The biggest problem people had was identifying who the clue was referring to - lots of people called up with variations on Alice Cooper and his living status. It was the one clue people could not figure out (and they wouldn’t tell you which of your answers was right - only if you had won or not). So after my 45 minute commute spent listening to people fail to get it right, I finally got to the office, hopped onto Google, worked out that the answer was Cub Koda, and that he was dead. Won tickets to an early screening of some new movie, and dinner at a restaurant. Problem was both of the prizes required me to go to Rhode Island, which I just didn’t have time to do, so I gave the prize away.

And the last thing I won was again on a radio contest about 2 years ago. The DJs were at a gas station, playing a game called “Smell My Finger”. The first 3 people to get there got to play. I was person number 2. Luckily, there were no fingers involved, just blindfolds and a mystery substance on a spoon being passed under our noses. First time through, we all got it wrong (all I could smell was gasoline fumes), but the DJ told the third guy “I’ll bet you’ll recognize this!” Based on the fact that the guy was completely skeevy and strung out looking, I made my guess the second time through - white out. Won Grateful Dead tickets. While they were taking down my information, the Ultimate Stereotype of Deadheads drove up. VW van, Dancing Bears in the back window, tie-dyed t-shirt and the nappiest hair I’d ever seen. He was so disappointed that he hadn’t gotten there in time to play, and said he’d been driving around all morning waiting for them to announce where they’d be. They offered him Little Feat tickets as a consolation prize, and he seemed okay with that. But I couldn’t help but look at this guy and just feel so bad for him. So I mulled it over and told him I’d trade him the Little Feat tickets for the Dead tix. The look on his face was totally worth it, and he declared me the “coolest person EVER”.

I never went to the Little Feat ticket because it didn’t start until 10:30 on a Wednesday night.

So, three radio contests, and nothing really to show for it.

So what have you won?

2

I won two radio contests. The first was around 1985 or so, and it was a “Be the 7th caller” type of contest. I won two tickets to see Loverboy and Dokken. I didn’t go, because it was Loverboy and Dokken.

The second was about 5 years ago when I was the first caller to identify the drummer who replaced Keith Moon in The Who. I won a free lube oil change for my car, which I never redeemed for no particular reason.

Also about 5 years ago I won a sweet leather Harley Davidson jacket as a door prize at a X-Mas party. I never wore it, and sold it on E-bay last year for $275.

That’s about it for contests.

It’ll be interesting to see how many game show winners answer this thread - I know at one time we used to have quite a few Jeopardy! champs on here. At least one was a 5 time champ, but for the life of me I can’t recall their name…

3

In High School, I was one of 20 or so people to win a radio call in for 2 tickets and a backstage passes to an Eve 6 concert. The girl I liked loved Eve 6, so it worked out nicely for me. Before the show they had a drawing for the ticket winners for a signed Fender guitar, and I won that too. Sold it on eBay for $300-400 about 6 months later.

4

Won a radio contest about 8 years ago, I was caller number whatever and I won a couple tickets to a Phillies game. Pretty cool prize I thought, since I always liked baseball and I grew up watching the Phils. :slight_smile:

5

I’ve won a couple of radio contests. The kind where all you have to do is be the right caller. The best one was winning a DVD player. Of course, I didn’t own a TV at the time but it was still a good prize.

6

I’ve never won anything huge, but I seem to have a knack for winning raffles: I’ve had all the free haircuts and bottles of cheap whisky you could ever hope for.

The first I ever recall winning was £1’s worth of goodies from the sweet shop which was a fortune in those days (about 1970) - especially for a 6 year old!

The strangest thing I ever won was an ankle-length multi-coloured mohair cardigan - it was undescribably hideous. I promptly gave it to someone who claimed she liked it.

But by far the best raffle prize ever was a hot air balloon ride at the Bristol balloon fiesta. It was outstanding and remains one of my life’s memorable experiences, almost 20 years later.

When it comes to actually using skill, I won several art competitions as a child, mainly prizes like books or book tokens.

Also, I once won four Sunday newspapers and a bottle of very nasty wine from the local radio station for ‘beating the intro’ of five Beatles songs.

7

When I was ten, I won a mother’s day bouquet for my mom after sending in a funny story to a radio station.

Other than that, I’ve won a couple of stuffed animals at the amusement park, some raffle prizes (nothing great) at school and church functions, and a few bucks off scratchy lotto tickets.

Oh, and I went to play bingo with my aunt once and won $100 by making a full X on the card. I got some nasty looks from those people who play intensely with a dozen cards and two markers, because I just had one card and I managed to win.

I almost won Aerosmith tickets once in a radio contest where you had to call in when they played an Aerosmith song. When I actually got through to ringing instead of a busy signal, I got excited. When someone answered, I was hopping up and down. “You’re the 94th caller” said the voice. And they were looking for the 96th caller. :frowning:

8

Most recently, I won a Canon PowerShot A520 digital camera - radio contest. I had to be listening & e-mail in 2 band names. Picked up the prize on my b-day, which was nice, as it was the only present I got that day. I think it’s the highest cash-value of any prize I’ve ever won.

I’ve won several free dinner vouchers, tickets to a concert (Michael Hedges’ last Portland gig before his death in a car crash), a $100.00 gift certificate to a jewelry store, a yard composter, a case of Snapple, a bottle of eau de cologne (Realm), a CB radio (back in the '70’s), a $2 bill (when I was a kid)… from radio stations. That’s all I can remember of those.

Door prizes at various function include: stationery, Christmas decorations, a gift certificate for a free haircut at a trendy downtown salon, a handbag, various product samples, a golf umbrella.

My luck in gambling sucks, btw. I think I won $110 the first time I played craps in Vegas, but I’ve lost more than that in anything I’ve played since then.

9

I won a 19 inch TV in a raffle at work back in 1987.

I always say that’s why I settled down. I couldn’t fit it in my backpack.

10

When I was five (so back in 1978), I won a Big Wheel at a church Easter Egg hunt for having the egg with the winning ticket inside.

It’s been downhill from there.

11

I’ve won a few cakewalks, and hit a couple of jackpots at the casino ($1000 and $2500). I’ve won a lava lamp in an online contest. When I was a teenager I won quite a bit of vinyl from the local radio station. Won an oil change once, but I didn’t have a car. They let me trade it for a Soup Dragons tape.

12

I won an Ipod Mini (woooooooooooot!) about a year ago, in one of those silly ‘sms the code from the back of the wrapper’ things.

My friend had bought a whole pile of whatever product it was, but had also just bought herself a 20g Ipod - so she just gave me all the codes. I’d never entered anything else like that before (or since) and planned to not waste my phone credit by sending more than two or three in - but the first one I sent in came back with ‘You have won an Ipod Mini details details details…!’

Needless to say I was a very happy puppy and when I recieved Mr. Pod* I took my friend out for a fancy dinner to thank her.
*He is green and his name is Napoleon Pod and I love him very much. :smiley: He’s called Napoleon because he’s ‘small, but ambitious’.

13

I won Outkast’ ATLiens and Toni Braxton’s Un-break my Heart album from KMEL when I was probably 12 or 13.

I won two Aerosmith tickets from KSJO in… 2001?

14

I was talked by my mother into taking her and my grandmother to bingo one night back in 1984. My mother bought me a couple of cards and I wasn’t doing diddly squat with them. I changed cards just before the big game that night, a blackout game with only 48 numbers to be drawn, the prize was a brand new Chevy Cavalier. I won the car on the 39th number drawn. I didn’t have the $1200 for taxes and license fee so I worked a deal with the Chevy dealer, he bought the car back from me for $1800. 3 days later after spending only a little on some new shoes and a jacket, the state cleaned out my bank account for back child support. The sad part was my ex didn’t get any of the money either, she owed the state money for welfare overpayments and they applied the child support money to that account.

15

When I was in grad school the local radio stations had call in contests where you won if you had the first correct answer. I won a bunch of pizzas, some gyros and some sandwiches. Another was giving away a record by Chick Churchill, 10 Years After’s bass player. It was an identify the song contest. The song was Love like a Man, and I got it a second into the initial chord. (My bad.) The phone rang a couple of times before being answered - a combination of my knowing it fast and hardly anyone listening to the station.

I won a week at a resort (70 miles from my house) and $100 a day for food on Jeopardy.

My wife does better. She won free tickets to Cirque d’soleil and to a musical

My mother did best. She won tickets to see Edith Piaf at the Waldorf Astoria, including a chauffered limo. And she adored Edith Piaf.

16

Just won $50USD in an at work phone test.

Lots of food vouchers at a local coffeehouse

Bottles of vodka at a local bar. Both of them in trivia contests.

$100USD in a scratch off NYS lottery ticket.

Winnings fun.

17

When I was about 12, I won a toaster at the local block party in a punchboard. I gave it to my grandmother and she used it for years.

After college, I won some prize (forget what) from a radio station by answering a question about the book Babbitt. Worked out nicely, since I had just finished reading the book at the time.

I won something in a bookstore by being able to identify the song “American Patrol.”

And though there was no trophy, I won the Boomerang Award for the best short story in Aboriginal SF one year.

18

I’ve never won much, and never on the radio. I can’t seem to get through or I don’t quite catch the number when I know the answer…

I have won a few raffles though. A video of Oliver Twist sometime in the 90’s and a new nail polish colour from a couple of draws in a magazine. I won video rentals once, and $25 on a Bingo scratch card.

I think Mom used up our luck on the $10,000 she won in the lotto sometime in the late 70’s (which got spent outfitting a new house for her and Dad as newlyweds). My Aunt is the one who wins everything though. It seems like everytime I talk to Grandma she tells me Aunt S won something. A few years back she won two trips during the same summer. One to Universal Studios and one to Disneyland. She won a washer and dryer just as her old ones gave up the ghost, a digital camera, an iPod mini and many other things.

19

I have won a few trophies in dog shows and obedience trials , and at a raffle at a dog show I won a nice wooden raised dog feeder.

I have won about $45 on lottery tickets.

When I was showing model horses , I won several trophies, and my biggest win was going over-all performance champion at BreyerFest, the bigest model show in the natin , and I won a porcelain horse , only 10 were made of him , and he is valued right now at about $2000.

I won a pair of tickets to the Lippazaner horse show in a radio trivia contest.

I think that’s it.

20

Am I the big winner so far with a week-long trip to Mexico? I won this in high school in a statewide Spanish-language proficiency contest.

It was very cool, and a complete surprise. I competed the next year, too, and won a lesser prize. The girl who won then was an exchange student from Germany and Spanish was her 4th or 5th language.

I’ve also done well in cakewalks and memorably a fireman’s hat with light and siren as a door prize at fireman’s bingo.