Macna raffle FAIL

[puffy127]

No, trust me, it was more amazing that he walked away from the grand prize that they won 100% legitimately! And left the show empty handed without even so much as a thank you as a consolation. SAD

That's great they did that. Not slamming them at all, but even if they did not draw themselves as the winner, I'm sure there would be a lot of grumbling anyways if the grand prize winner were the same as last year's grand prize winner. Just optically, it doesn't look good. That's why some sweepstakes, etc. say that previous winners are not eligible.

 

[gcarroll]

That's great they did that. Not slamming them at all, but even if they did not draw themselves as the winner, I'm sure there would be a lot of grumbling anyways if the grand prize winner were the same as last year's grand prize winner. Just optically, it doesn't look good. That's why some sweepstakes, etc. say that previous winners are not eligible.

I am so thankful that you edited your original response! Because this tread was bout to go crazy!

 

[mikem]

I was there. That raffle was just as slow as any MACNA raffle. Certainly not 30 seconds per prize as you stated. Don't you remember how long that raffle took?

Raffle was quick. People coming to claim ticket took long.

 

[Burrito]

i wasnt there but this thread has been thoroughly entertaining.

i can see the reason volunteers are "paid" in tickets is the non winning tickets cost the event nothing (my assumption here). so if say 8000 tickets were given out (a number someone in this thread came up with) and 3 volunteer tickets won, then it cost about $60 to pay all the volunteers (3x$20 a ticket).

if the volunteers were paid ACTUAL money as some suggested here, they would A) not be volunteers anymore, and B) spent alot more then $60 bucks...

i wonder if the volunteer rate would go down significantly if there were zero tickets given out.

i'd like to state that, i agree with giving the tickets out and sometimes a volunteer wins, people who paid with money vs time shouldn't get salty (get it, salty) about not winning a raffle which is 100% chance.

i do not know the couple that won (twice) the fiji trip but thats truly awful that they were treated so poorly that they felt the need to give up a prize in which they legitimately increased their odds to win. you have to pay to play and they won fair

 

[dzones]

Good idea. Thanks for suggesting it.

Sure thing!

 

[Rakie]

i wasnt there but this thread has been thoroughly entertaining.

i can see the reason volunteers are "paid" in tickets is the non winning tickets cost the event nothing (my assumption here). so if say 8000 tickets were given out (a number someone in this thread came up with) and 3 volunteer tickets won, then it cost about $60 to pay all the volunteers (3x$20 a ticket).

if the volunteers were paid ACTUAL money as some suggested here, they would A) not be volunteers anymore, and B) spent alot more then $60 bucks...

i wonder if the volunteer rate would go down significantly if there were zero tickets given out.

i'd like to state that, i agree with giving the tickets out and sometimes a volunteer wins, people who paid with money vs time shouldn't get salty (get it, salty) about not winning a raffle which is 100% chance.

i do not know the couple that won (twice) the fiji trip but thats truly awful that they were treated so poorly that they felt the need to give up a prize in which they legitimately increased their odds to win. you have to pay to play and they won fair

Volunteers shouldn't get anything. There's a plethora of 'hidden perks' that nobody is acknowledging -- And yes, I volunteer.

 

[Mallard]

I was at MACNA this year and I enjoyed the overall experience. When it came to the raffle, I don't have an issue with volunteers getting free tickets, but do feel it should be more transparent. Either Friday or Saturday, my buddy and I were doing our rounds to drop in tickets when one guy had at least an inch or thicker stack of tickets and told my buddy to avoid the APEX as he was adding the entire stack. We later realized he was a volunteer and someone near us during the drawing said he dropped over $700 in tickets on the APEX alone. While it may have felt "unfair" that volunteers were winning, we were happy to see Heather win the APEX as she seemed always to be working hard. It never felt rigged or that I was cheated.

As for suggestions for next time. The biggest thing is transparency. If tickets are given to volunteers, it should be posted that tickets are provided as compensation. It would be best to see the total number/value of tickets supplied in aggregate and what percentage it makes up of the overall ticket pool. If I had this information, would I have changed my purchases? Nope. But it at least gives transparency to the process. You could even cap the total number of tickets "given away" or ensure it doesn't exceed a certain percentage. That would give an incentive to volunteers to sell more tickets, as it would increase their pool.

In regards to the comments about being paid and buying tickets with that money vs given tickets as compensation as being the same thing. I don't see it that way. If you're given $500, is your choice singular in that you can only buy raffle tickets with that money? Absolutely not. Would some volunteers do that, maybe? With tickets, the value is just in the raffle itself. A dollar can be used anywhere and it would be up to the individual to make a choice on how to spend that money. That makes it very different. Would someone with $700, buy $700 in tickets to enter a drawing for an APEX or would they buy some tickets for the APEX and if they don't win, use the rest towards an APEX? Most likely, they buy some tickets and buy the APEX outright if they don't win. That skews the drawing and odds towards those who didn't actually "buy" $700 in tickets for one item. It's not actually $700 to that individual as it has no value outside the drawing.

Again, I don't have an issue with tickets being provided as compensation, but transparency would have helped ease some of the tension. I also think that some of the issues may be the crowd in Vegas. Personally, my buddy and I decided we were going the moment it was announced in Vegas. While there, we met a bunch of people who have gone for many years, but I also assume that it was at least slightly skewed towards gamblers who know and play the odds. Without the transparency, it probably added to the comments and concerns of the raffles.

 

[buganddoug]

When we hosted Macna Atlantic City NJ, We used cages. It took less then 30 seconds per. We also compensated our helpers in other ways then giving them free tickets.

You are right Mike. I volunteered and work every day at that MACNA in 2008. All I got was a bottle of Wine.

 

[buganddoug]

Okay the one thing I didn't like about the Raffles was you had the Fiji trip in multiple boxes around the raffle tables . But you never stated you had to be at the banquet to win. That should have been at the banquet and you put your tickets in there. Not at the Raffle Table. I caught wind of it because I heard the people working the raffle tables laughing at all the dumb people put in their tickets in the Fiji boxes and they do not realize that it would be at the banquet drawing not a raffle drawing.
To me that's shameful that was very deceitful.
That did leave a bad taste with me.
So asked my question to the people working the raffle table they told me that was true. So I did not buy anymore tickets.

 

[siggy]

Okay the one thing I didn't like about the Raffles was you had the Fiji trip in multiple boxes around the raffle tables . But you never stated you had to be at the banquet to win. That should have been at the banquet and you put your tickets in there. Not at the Raffle Table. I caught wind of it because I heard the people working the raffle tables laughing at all the dumb people put in their tickets in the Fiji boxes and they do not realize that it would be at the banquet drawing not a raffle drawing.
To me that's shameful that was very deceitful.
That did leave a bad taste with me.
So asked my question to the people working the raffle table they told me that was true. So I did not buy anymore tickets.

Not cool! to those hosting those boxes!

This just keeps escalating, and the more I read, the less I want to be around this non-sense .....I recognize that every organization, group or hobby has its own Hierarchy of Leaders, Masters and Insiders. But on a national stage when trying to promote and encourage growth and participation this "Click" mentality, only allowing those in the Click or know to benefit is troubling but not surprising.
I for one have no issue for a volunteer receiving a goody bag with ...10 tickets, tee shirt and what ever.

 

[dantimdad]

Folks,

I have been reefing for 3o years now. I have been to MACNA once eons ago. Won't go back. Waste of time an money. I have been to dozens of gatherings in the name of the hobby and I won a UV sterilizer once and gave it away as I had one at the time. The funny thing was, at that meeting, a lady was there who was mad she didn't win. Almost like she was SURE she would be drawn... She knew the dude drawing... She spent a ton of money in there... hmmm....

When I was getting the stuff for the drawings, I purposefully left my name out of them to be above reproach. THAT is how you run it. A volunteer should be in no way monetarily compensated! Swag yes. Samples yes. A T-shirt that says you volunteered yes. NOTHING ELSE! I don't want to hear volunteers poor mouth that they got nothing in return. That is the whole meaning of volunteer! Don't volunteer if you want something in return!

If anyone thinks that the cliques won't win 99% of stuff, they are deluded.

Call me negative. But, I have been around long enough to see the trends in who wins what and who gets followed the most, etc.

Not jealous. I honestly stayed off forums for a long time and am completely done with NR and RC because of how ridiculously cliquey they are. It's getting close to that here, honestly and I believe it will happen. It's the nature of the internet.