Free Cash Giveaway! You Could Win Ten Thousand USD!!

When you're counting on a killing; Always count me in; Talk to me into losin' just as long as I can win. I want the easy; Easy money... I want the good times; Oh, I never had... I want the good life; I want it bad... You say I fool myself; But better me than someone else ~ Lyrics from the Billy Joel tune "Easy Money" from the 8/8/1983 album An Innocent Man. The album is a tribute to the American popular music of Joel's teenage years with Joel paying homage to a number of different popular American musical styles from the late 1950s and early 1960s, most notably doo-wop and soul music. An Innocent Man received a nomination for the 26th Grammy Award for Album of the Year but lost out to Michael Jackson's Thriller.

Does anyone read, or even glance at this blog anymore? Surely traffic, which was quite low to begin with, is down due to the fact that I have not posted anything new for 23 days? This blog has NOT been abandoned or closed - for the record - although writing for a blog that receives zero replies isn't that much fun.

So, how to generate some interest and, more importantly, replies? Run a contest in which some serious cash prizes are up for grabs! Ten Thousand US dollars will be awarded to the first reply received within one hour of this commentary being posted. You read that right - a cool 10K simply for replying to this commentary by letting me know you want to win - if you reply within one hour of this commentary being posted.

According to Blogger this post went up at 10:41am on 4/27/2014. Therefore, the first reply received before 11:42am will win Ten Thousand dollars! There are a few caveots, however. The comment MUST be posted by someone with a Blogger account, the account profile must be visible (no hidden profiles), and the profile must contain an email address. The comment must also also consist of at least 12 words strung together into a coherent sentence (or sentences)... and contain zero punctuation or spelling errors.

The first comment received within the hour wins the prize... it's that simple! All you have to do is meet the requirements as laid out in the paragraph above and I'll send you your prize money by Paypal to the email address of your choosing (after contacting you via the email address in your profile). After I contact you just let me know where you'd like me to send the money... I'll even cover the Paypal fee!

This is assuming, of course, that there is a reply that meets the deadline. It is possible, of course, that nobody will reply and that the Ten Thousand Dollar cash prize will go unclaimed. It might also be the case the multiple people reply within the hour. If that happens the second person to reply will receive a $5000 prize, the third person to reply will receive a $2500 prize and the forth person to reply will receive a $1250 prize.

But that isn't all... there are yet more prizes and more chances to win! If there are more than four replies within the hour EVERY SINGLE person replying after that wins $500! And, after the hour deadline has passed there are still opportunities to win! The first 10 replies that are submitted within 2 to 6 hours automatically win $500! The second 10 replies (assuming there are that many) win $250. And anyone who replies within that timeframe wins $100! Furthermore, anyone who replies within the first 12 hours wins $50 (up to 20 winners).

If 20 people reply within 6+ to 12 hours of me posting this commentary every single person posting after that wins $25 (up to 1000 winners). Anyone posting after that - for up to 24 hours after this commentary is posted - wins $10 (up to 10,000 winners). After that I have to cut off the cash prizes. I only have a finite amount of money to give away, and the cash I might be giving away here could (potentially) end up being an extremely high amount.

Entrants are limited to ONE prize per person, even if multiple blogger accounts are used. Given the fact that Paypal will tell me WHO I'm sending the money to when I enter your email address - I'll know you entered more than once if your name comes up again when I enter the email address the money is to be sent to. So, no cheating.

This is all assuming that anyone replies. Certainly this commentary could sit here for 24 hours and receive no replies at all. If that happens no cash (zero dollars) will be awarded. If that happens, however, you might still have a chance to win, because I plan on running the contest a second time!

The second contest will be run sometime before the end of 2014 (although I am NOT going to say when) regardless of whether or not anyone wins the first contest. Except that the next time there will only be two winners - the first two people who reply within the hour will receive $10,000 and $5,000 (respectively) cash prizes. Anyone who replies after that will win bupkis. I will also be adding one additional caveat to this second contest.

In addition to having a Blogger account with a visible profile that contains your email address, the winner must have submitted a comment (and had that comment published) to at least 50 percent of my blog posts proceeding the blog post announcing the second contest. The whole purpose of giving away the cash, after all, is to generate traffic and comments for this blog.

OK, so that about wraps it up in regards to the requirements for winning the cash, I believe. Good luck to everyone. Hopefully I'll be announcing some WINNERS this time tomorrow! That said, if there are no winners under the rules as laid out above I have decided to add a consolation prize.

In the event that there are no winners at all (which would mean that this commentary goes 24 hours without a single person submitting a reply), then ANY comment submitted after that qualifies to win the consolation prize! The consolation prize will be awarded to the best comment (in my opinion) explaining why they think there were no winners. The consolation prize is a "congratulations" from me.

IMPORTANT! There will be no money awarded AT ALL if nobody replies within 24 hours. The consolation prize of a "congratulations" will still be up for grabs however... for one week after the contest ends. Please note that I'm looking for the best comment regarding why YOU think there were no winners (if there are no winners). Although I previously said I'm looking for the "best" answer, I'm also looking for a right answer. If all I get are wrong answers (or no answers at all), then nobody will win the consolation prize.

Although that is assuming that the consolation prize is up for grabs - which it only will be if no cash is awarded. Surely the result of this contest could be that YOU win TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS! And, even if you aren't the first person to reply, you've still got a shot at winning one of the lesser prizes... so enter early and enter often (Note: entering often will increase your chances of winning A prize. Each individual person is only eligible to win ONCE).

Also, remember that, regardless of whether or not any cash prizes are awarded this time out, a SECOND contest will be held sometime before the end of 2014 (most likely in November or December). So, even if you don't win this time, you could still win BIG by reading and replying to the blog posts written by the proprietor of this blog. Good luck to all. Winners will be announced in the comment thread here after all winners (if any) have been contacted by email and have received their CASH prizes.

Note: I reserve the right to cancel the second contest if there are less than 5 bloggers who qualify... which means there has to be at least five people who have commented on at least 50 percent of my posts. No sense in holding the contest if there is nobody (or very few people) who qualify. Also please note that there will be no notification if the contest is cancelled.

SWTD #247