You go to a Blackhawks game, cheer during the anthem, have a few beers and yell like crazy when the team scores a goal. Sounds like a good night out, right? How much better is that night out if you walk away with a million dollars? The Illinois Lottery shared that sentiment, and teamed up with the Blackhawks to give away $1 million to a fan if the Blackhawks scored a goal at the exact ten minute mark of each period -- not a second before or after. The promotion was going for only a week when Martin Havlat scored a goal at the ten-minute mark in the Blackhawks' loss to the Wild, and won one million dollars for a fan.
It seems like the fan who is a new millionaire beat the odds, but he didn't. US Hole-in-One, a company who sells hole-in-one insurance for golf outings, put the odds of a player scoring a goal at any particular minute in the game at about one in 50. The Blackhawks have just 18 games left at home this season, so the one winner may be the only one for some time.
The quick payoff of the promotion has made the people who run the Lottery a bit wary of it. According to the Lottery's Paul Arnell:
Hopefully, the Blackhawks and the Lottery folks won't tinker with the promotion too much. First off, it's shined some light on the Blackhawks in a week where another story has taken up every ounce of the news. Secondly, it's a bad economy. Who doesn't need a million bucks?
Many thanks to Puck Daddy
