reno
reno
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July 17th, 2013 at 8:31:58 AM permalink
In sum, you have better odds of becoming a millionaire in the Powerball lottery than becoming a millionaire at McDonald's. These estimates sound about right:

Odds of winning Powerball: 1 in 175 million.
Odds of winning Mega Millions: 1 in 176 million.
Odds of finding a Boardwalk game piece at McDonald's: 1 in 600 million.

Keep in mind that 4 out of every 11 prizes awarded will be medium fries, so that's one advantage that McDonald's Monopoly has over those state government lotteries. And by law, McDonald's has to offer free game pieces (to prevent people from gambling!) but since almost all of the 1.2 billion game pieces in circulation are worthless, it's a waste of 2 postage stamps to send them a self-addressed stamped envelope. You're also gambling you won't need coronary bypass surgery from eating their "food", so perhaps that's the best reason to avoid this sucker bet.

Mission146
Mission146
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July 17th, 2013 at 8:45:14 AM permalink
The best EV in fast food is at this Burger King where you get a free Whopper for landing a quarter on the bottom spinner thing. I run about 1 in 3 on those. You get medium fries for landing a dime, but those are tough. I got a buck in dimes once just to try and only landed one with one near miss.

It was funny because I was there with my father-in-law one day, taking a break from a project we were doing for someone, and he saw me land a Whopper and passed me two quarters (landed the second) to try to get one for him. He was joking that I could probably make a career out of selling Whopper tickets for $1.50/each, if the limit weren't two wins per person, per day.
https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/off-topic/gripes/11182-pet-peeves/120/#post815219
DJTeddyBear
DJTeddyBear
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July 17th, 2013 at 8:55:08 AM permalink
It's only a sucker bet if you order something extra or upsize just to get the game piece.

About 30 years ago, I won an Atari 2600 from a McD give-away of this type.
I invented a few casino games. Info: http://www.DaveMillerGaming.com/ ————————————————————————————————————— Superstitions are silly, childish, irrational rituals, born out of fear of the unknown. But how much does it cost to knock on wood? 😁
miplet
miplet
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July 17th, 2013 at 9:24:23 AM permalink
Quote: reno

In sum, you have better odds of becoming a millionaire in the Powerball lottery than becoming a millionaire at McDonald's. These estimates sound about right:

Odds of winning Powerball: 1 in 175 million.
Odds of winning Mega Millions: 1 in 176 million.
Odds of finding a Boardwalk game piece at McDonald's: 1 in 600 million.


Odds of finding Park Place and Boardwalk found on Big Mac are 1 in 37,955,000 :+)

And an easy way to remember the hard piece to collect: its whatever property comes last alphabetically except for Boardwalk.
“Man Babes” #AxelFabulous
slyther
slyther
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July 17th, 2013 at 9:33:08 AM permalink
I got 3 pairs of stickers yesterday, won 2 medium fries :)
djatc
djatc
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July 17th, 2013 at 9:34:21 AM permalink
The degenerate gambler in me used to eat at McDonalds often to try and win something. I think the best thing I won was a free shake. Might be more +EV to sue McDonalds for making me into a fatass.
"Man Babes" #AxelFabulous
Nareed
Nareed
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July 17th, 2013 at 10:00:16 AM permalink
I once bought a dress at a department store where you drew a ball with a discount stamped on it from a small box. usually you drew 5%. This time I drew 100% :) But it turned out it was a rebate in the form of store credit (kind of like free play, but you can't lose it). I used it to buy a leather skirt. alas, both dress and skirt are long, long gone.

And that's the best I've done on retail gambling.
Donald Trump is a fucking criminal
ahiromu
ahiromu
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July 17th, 2013 at 10:05:48 AM permalink
I won a lime green Xbox from a mountain dew sweepstakes. Proceeded to sell my other Xbox. Only thing I have truly won in my life.

Edit: Sweepstakes for the first Hulk movie.
Its - Possessive; It's - "It is" / "It has"; There - Location; Their - Possessive; They're - "They are"
deedubbs
deedubbs
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July 17th, 2013 at 10:23:28 AM permalink
i once won $25 in McD gift cards and I also won a Sunkist kayak from Wendy's when I was much younger. When I was in college, the McDonald's at Pitt had the winner for a different promotion for 2 VW Beetles. It was the classic case where a friend is loaned money to buy breakfast and the borrower wins, argument ensues, and friendship ends.
Ibeatyouraces
Ibeatyouraces
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July 17th, 2013 at 10:29:31 AM permalink
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DUHHIIIIIIIII HEARD THAT!
100xOdds
100xOdds
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July 17th, 2013 at 10:32:14 AM permalink
do u get game peices for ordering from the $1 menu?

ie: mcdouble or mcChicken
Craps is paradise (Pair of dice). Lets hear it for the SpeedCount Mathletes :)
tringlomane
tringlomane
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July 17th, 2013 at 10:44:04 AM permalink
Quote: miplet


Odds of finding Park Place and Boardwalk found on Big Mac are 1 in 37,955,000 :+)

And an easy way to remember the hard piece to collect: its whatever property comes last alphabetically except for Boardwalk.



I noticed that last night too reading an article on the "odds". I don't eat Big Macs, so I'm screwed for that one. :(

Quote: 100xOdds

do u get game peices for ordering from the $1 menu?

ie: mcdouble or mcChicken



Do McDoubles or McChickens come in a box? There is your answer.
miplet
miplet
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July 17th, 2013 at 10:44:15 AM permalink
Quote: 100xOdds

do u get game peices for ordering from the $1 menu?

ie: mcdouble or mcChicken


Only the medium soda cups and hash browns cost $1 ( at least where I work) that come with game pieces.
“Man Babes” #AxelFabulous
thecesspit
thecesspit
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July 17th, 2013 at 11:16:21 AM permalink
Quote: Ibeatyouraces

Eating at McDonald's is a gamble in itself. I'm guilty of it once in a while myself.



I like a snap wrap and giant coke every so often when road tripping through the US. It adds to the vacation experience somehow...
"Then you can admire the real gambler, who has neither eaten, slept, thought nor lived, he has so smarted under the scourge of his martingale, so suffered on the rack of his desire for a coup at trente-et-quarante" - Honore de Balzac, 1829
Nareed
Nareed
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July 17th, 2013 at 11:29:20 AM permalink
Quote: Ibeatyouraces

Eating at McDonald's is a gamble in itself.



Actually no. Things are pretty uniform from one location to another, even in different countries (though some menu items found in the US are not to be found in Mexico and viceversa).

I like the chicken wrap from time to time. If I want a burger, just about everything else is better (except that burger place at the IP/Quad, if it's still there).
Donald Trump is a fucking criminal
tringlomane
tringlomane
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July 17th, 2013 at 11:34:44 AM permalink
Quote: Nareed

Actually no. Things are pretty uniform from one location to another, even in different countries (though some menu items found in the US are not to be found in Mexico and viceversa).



I think he meant a "gamble on your health". :)

Nevertheless, I've been wanting McDonalds for over a week now. :-\
Ibeatyouraces
Ibeatyouraces
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July 17th, 2013 at 11:40:57 AM permalink
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Ibeatyouraces
Ibeatyouraces
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July 17th, 2013 at 11:41:47 AM permalink
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Nareed
Nareed
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July 17th, 2013 at 11:56:27 AM permalink
Quote: Ibeatyouraces

Apparently you don't see the ten pounds of grease that end up on their hambuger buns.



Didn't I say just about any other place is better for burgers?
Donald Trump is a fucking criminal
Ibeatyouraces
Ibeatyouraces
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July 17th, 2013 at 11:57:19 AM permalink
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onenickelmiracle
onenickelmiracle
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July 17th, 2013 at 1:48:43 PM permalink
Remember back in the day tickets weren't tied to purchases and could just be asked for, but back then all the high value prizes were not available because the game was rigged. After the FBI caught the scam, they reduced the biggest prizes. I almost want to believe McDonald's knew they were getting more than they were paying for because suddenly when they had to do it legit, they got more stingy.
Hell with that so-called food. Who wants to eat manure manufactured to resemble food anyways.
I am a robot.
cclub79
cclub79
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July 17th, 2013 at 4:06:30 PM permalink
Quote: miplet

Only the medium soda cups and hash browns cost $1 ( at least where I work) that come with game pieces.



Apparently medium water used to be 27 cents and this guy would buy a lot of them:

http://mcdonaldopoly.blogspot.com/2010/11/end-of-2010-season.html
Nareed
Nareed
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July 18th, 2013 at 7:44:05 AM permalink
Quote: Ibeatyouraces

Oh I agree infinty% :)



In 1985 I spent a summer in England and Israel (long story; and yes I missed the 85 earthquakes by being elsewhere at the time). The last two weeks before coming home I pretty much subsited on fast food, because that was the cheapest alternative. That was the same year when McDonald's at last set up shop in Mexico.

You can imagine how I felt about burgers by then. Just the same upon returning home just about everyone wanted to take me to the new McD so I could try it out <sigh>
Donald Trump is a fucking criminal
beachbumbabs
beachbumbabs
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July 18th, 2013 at 9:14:26 AM permalink
The odds on becoming a McD millionaire (I don't have the full rules ahead of me) might be better than you think, because they don't rely only on the game pieces. They also go around to the stores and award some lucky SOB in line a million on the spot. Saw it 3 years ago near Daytona Beach (wasn't the one picked, sadly); they said there were 10 of those across the country. Don't know if they include that in their odds you posted earlier in the thread, but I think it's separate.

McD's in Hawaii sell a spam and rice cake wrapped in seaweed on their dollar menu. Of course, everybody in Hawaii sells that, from convenience stores to restaurants to roadside wagons. And the price of nearly everything else they sell is about 30% higher than here in Florida, I guess to pay for shipping everything.
If the House lost every hand, they wouldn't deal the game.
slyther
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July 18th, 2013 at 9:21:29 AM permalink
I think that lucky SOB award was a 1-time thing in response to the rigged game scandal.
98Clubs
98Clubs
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July 18th, 2013 at 6:49:48 PM permalink
I think the chances of needing Bypass/Stents after eating McD once a week for 40 yrs is about the same as winning a food prize.
Some people need to reimagine their thinking.
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