Contest Conspiracy

Over the course of my lifetime, I have entered thousands of contests. 
Enter this raffle to win free tickets to a concert/all expense-paid trip to Disney/free dinner for 4 at a steakhouse.

Every time the opportunity presents itself (for free), I always enter. I know the chances are never in my favor, but I always think to myself "What if...?

The thing is, I've thought "What if?" SO many times that my lack of winning is statistically unlikely. This thought came into my head yesterday, when I visited the dentist. As usual, there was a little box in which you could put your raffle ticket (1 per visit!) with your name and phone number.

My family and I have been going to that dentist. for at least 15 years. We each go 2 or 3 times a year. There are 4 people in our family. This means at minimum we have entered these contests 120 times (and upwards of 200 times). How is it possible that we have never won the boombox (when that was a desirable prize)/snow tube/$25 gift card to our local grocery store?!

Answer: It's a conspiracy. There really is no winner. Think about it...do these contests ever announce the winners? Do you ever hear people saying, "YAY I won the [arbitrary contest] grand prize for me and a friend!"? Have you ever heard someone say, "Nah, I won't enter these sweepstakes because I've already won one." (And not just because they're good-hearted people). NOPE. 

I hope this post is a first step towards exposing these illegitimate contest makers! (Or paying homage to the sweepstakes gods in the hopes that I win something one of these days.)