I admin that I grabbed this book from the free pile mostly because I knew I would hate it. Sometimes the smart thing to do is to keep something like this in reserve just so I have an opportunity to vent with no consequence. So here goes…
I think most states run lotteries right now. My view? The chances that I would win are less than the chances that the state will accidentally send me he winnings. Lotteries are a tax on the stupid.
Sweepstakes are little better. The thing about sweepstakes is that entrants don’t generally pay directly to get in. The cost of postage, time, and the marketing value of your name in a list are all costs that you bear. All for an infinitesimal chance that you can win $1,000 or an H.D.T.V. These days the real cost is your time, with the internet making many sweepstakes go online.
Nevertheless, author Jeffrey Feinman’s cardinal rules are: enter often, and follow the rules. Is it any wonder he works for a sweepstakes consulting company. Or did work. The book is 28 years old now. The calculus doesn’t change much though.
Feinman waves untold riches in front of people who spend countless hours stuffing envelopes with 3×5 cards with their name in block printing. And while if you enter a lot, you are more likely to win, all that time could have been better spent reading, or hiking, or latch-hook, or snorting drugs, all of which will result in far more pleasure than stuffing envelopes will.
In any case, even if a person were to believe that sweepstakes are great fun, this book is worthless! The cover price is $3.95. For that amount you would have gotten the following advice: enter often, follow the rules, and write clearly. More prosaic advice he gives is to separate the tasks. Write out all our entry cards at once. Stuff envelopes at once. If you can rope your husband, wife, or kids into setting up an assembly line, all the better!
Even better, the man is still around. If you are a sweepstakes junkie, there are four more days to register for the Lone Star Stampede, a.k.a. the 19th Annual National Sweepstakes Convention, where a giant of the field (namely Jeffrey Mr. Sweepstakes
Feinman) will be the major speaker! I’ll wait for you to book tickets…
Nah. I lied. I’m just gonna end the review. What a ripoff!
Title: The prize winners handbook: how to win sweepstakes, contests, lotteries and bingo
Author: Jeffrey Feinman
Imprint / publisher: Ventura Books
Format: Mass market paperback
Length: 128 p.
Publication date: 1980
