Monday 4 September 2017

Good Luck, Bad Luck

Have you ever won something twice? I have. Twice.

The first time was back when X-Men Apocalypse was released, and I won merchandise from two different promoters. This was especially sweet as I was able to share the spoils with the little folks in my life that I’m encouraging to be as geeky as me. That said, I was also left with two X-Men tees - one medium, one large - that I will never wear, but still haven’t had time to put on eBay. It’d be great to think that they’ve only matured in value since the film’s release, though somehow I doubt it.

Fast-forward to this summer, and I found a super-low odds competition to win tickets to the football. Sure, it was only a pre-season friendly, but it was premier league opposition - a perfect opportunity to for my first-born to see his first match.

Bums on seats is clearly an issue for friendlies: two days later, I found a second competition. This time the shirt sponsor was giving away 250 pairs of tickets to the game.

It was a sign: one giveaway with barely a dozen entrants, and another with an absurd number of prizes - surely I could score a winner?

What I failed to account for, however, was my summer itinerary.

The summer itinerary is something that happens *to* me every year.

The process unfolds as follows: the school year finishes and my wife places a calendar in front of me; my eyes glaze over, and an hour later, the next six weekends have vanished in a haze of ink and sighs.

Oh well, I thought. Good feeling or no, planning one’s life around wins that are yet to materialise is the cornerstone of gambling addiction. And so, without an another thought, I consigned my little jolly to the trashcan.

Two days later, I received a winning e-mail from the first promoter: Congratulations! You’ve won three tickets to the match!

I sighed, and asked them to redraw - the first time in my life that I’ve ever had to decline a prize.

And wouldn’t you know - the second time was just around the corner. Adding insult to injury, I won another two tickets to the game - giving the declined prize a grand value of £50.

It just goes to show that some you win, and some you lose. And sometimes, clearly, you do both.

Have you ever won the same prize twice? Have you ever had to decline a prize? Share your story, whether happy or sad, in the comments below!

2 comments:

  1. I rarely win on twitter, I rarely win twice in one day. But this one day, I did both. That was the good news. The bad news was that my other win was the same competition on Facebook (you could enter on both platforms) and they only let me have one of them.

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    1. Gutter! You've just reminded me how that happened to me once too - it was a comp run on FB and Instagram, and I was the only entrant on both channels! Two wins in one day, but only one prize! :D

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