Guess the Lurker's 20K Post Contest
 

With many thanks to SPG, we are going to celebrate my 20,000th post milestone here at Flyertalk.com with a contest where one qualifying member will win 20,000 Starpoints.

How to enter: Send me an email to the [email protected] email address with the subject line Contest. In the body of the email make a guess as far as the date and time (hour and minute submitted in the US Central time zone) that you think I'll make my 20,000th post. Only one entry per member, please. When the 20,000th post is made, no more entries will be received.

My apologies in advance for the short notice, the short time frame this will run, and the fact that not everyone will be eligible to enter, but here are the contest's terms and conditions:


1. Eligibility: Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) Flyertalk Starpoints Giveaway (the “Contest”) is open only to residents of the United States and Canada that are members of the SPG Program, who are 18 years of age or older at time of entry. Membership into the SPG Program is free. Visit www.spg.com or call 888-625-4988 to join. Employees of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., as well as the immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings, and children) and household members of each such employee, are not eligible. The Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state, provincial and local laws and regulations and is void in Rhode Island, Puerto Rico, The Province of Québec and where prohibited by law.

2. Sponsor: The Contest is sponsored by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., 1111 Westchester Avenue, White Plains, New York 10604 (the “Sponsor”)

3. Agreement to Official Rules: Participation in the Contest constitutes entrant’s full and unconditional agreement to and acceptance of these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor, which are final and binding. Winning a prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth herein.

4. Promotional Period: The Contest will begin on September 7th, 2010 and end once the 20,000th comment is posted (the “Promotional Period”).

5. How to Enter: No purchase or hotel stay is required to win. During the promotional period visit flyertalk.com and reply via email at [email protected] to screename “Starwood Lurker” (not Starwood Lurker II) thread regarding the Flyertalk “Guess the Lurker’s 20,000 Post Contest”. Entrants may submit one entry and should guess the date and time (hour and minute submitted in the US Central time zone) that Starwood Lurker will post his 20,000 post. Sponsor is not responsible for late, lost, illegible, incomplete or misdirected entries; interrupted or unavailable network servers; or other connection miscommunications, failed phone or computer or telephone transmissions, or technical failure, jumbled, scrambled or misdirected transmissions or other error of any kind whether human, mechanical or electronic failure that may affect the Contest entry process. All entries become the exclusive property of the Sponsor, and none will be acknowledged or returned. Use of any automated system or agency relationship to submit entries is prohibited and will result in disqualification.

6. Drawing: The entrant who most closely guesses the date and time to Starwood Lurker's 20,000th post will win a Grand Prize of 20,000 SPG Starpoints. In the event of more than one correct entry, the first respondent received out of all entrants will be the winner based on a time stamp. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received. The Sponsor will attempt to notify the potential winner via electronic mail within one (1) hour of the drawing. If the potential winner does not respond within 48 hours after the first attempt to contact him/her, the Sponsor will select an alternate winner who was the next closest guess to the correct date and time of 20,000 post.

7. Requirements of the Potential Winner: Except where prohibited, the potential winner may be required to complete and return an affidavit of eligibility and liability/publicity release (the “Affidavit/Release”) and if applicable an IRS Form W-9 within two (2) days of being notified. If the potential winner fails to sign and return the Affidavit/Release within the required time period, an alternate entrant will be selected in his/her place in a random drawing of all eligible entries received. Winner must provide a mailing in order to be eligible to receive the prize. For residents of Canada only, potential winner will be required to correctly answer a time limited mathematical skill testing question administered by telephone without any assistance in order to receive a prize.

8. Prize: One (1) Grand Prize winner will receive 20,000 SPG Starpoints Approximate Retail Value: $500.00 US. .Starpoints will be deposited into the winners SPG account once confirmation of name and SPG number is received via electronic mail. The Prize is not transferable or refundable and must be accepted as awarded. Winning entrant must be a member of the SPG Program in order to redeem the prize. Membership in the SPG program is free. Visit www.spg.com or call 888-625-4988 to join. All promotions associated with the SPG Program are subject to the terms and conditions of the SPG Program, which are subject to change without notice. Redemption of Starpoints is subject to the terms and conditions of the SPG Program, which are subject to change without notice. No cash or other substitution may be made, except by the Sponsor, who reserves the right to substitute the Prize with another prize of equal or greater value if the Prize is not available for any reason as determined by the Sponsor in its sole discretion. All expenses not specified are the sole responsibility of Prize winner. The winner is responsible for any taxes and fees associated with receipt or use of the Prize.

9. PUBLICITY: Except where prohibited, participation in the Contest constitutes winner’s consent to the Sponsor’s use of winner’s name, voice, likeness and country of residence for the purpose of advertising, trade or promotion, in any media throughout the world, without further payment or consideration.

10. PRIVACY: By participating in the Contest, you hereby authorize Sponsor the right to collect, use, process, transfer and store all data provided by you, including without limitation, personal data, to the United States, or any location(s) throughout the world that the Sponsor deems necessary, whether within your country of residence or elsewhere, and with such party(ies) as Sponsor deems appropriate, for purposes of administration of the Contest. All information submitted to the Sponsor as part of this Contest will be treated in accordance with the Sponsor privacy policy, available at www.Starwood.com. Personal information will be used to: (a) contact potential winners; and (b) if an entrant selects to receive additional information from the Sponsor on the entry form, to send additional information to that entrant. Entrants have the right to access, withdraw, and correct their personal data. Directions on procedure for administrative access to personal data are provided in the privacy policy.

11. GENERAL CONDITIONS: In the event that the operation, security, or administration of the Contest is impaired in any way for any reason, including, but not limited to fraud, virus, or other technical problem, or any condition caused by events beyond the reasonable control of the Sponsor that may cause the Contest to be disrupted or corrupted, the Sponsor may, in its sole discretion, either: (a) suspend the Contest to address the impairment and then resume the Contest in a manner that best conforms to the spirit of these Official Rules; or (b) award the prize at random from among the eligible entries received up to the time of the impairment. The Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the entry process, the operation of the Contest, to be acting in violation of these Official Rules, or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner. Any attempt by any person to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, the Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. The Sponsor’s failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision.

12. RELEASE AND LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY: By participating in the Contest, entrants agree to release and hold harmless the Sponsor, its officers, directors, employees, and agents (the “Released Parties”) from and against any claim or cause of action arising out of participation in the Contest, or receipt or use of any prize, including, but not limited to: (a) unauthorized human intervention in the Contest; (b) technical errors related to computers, servers, providers, or telephone or network lines; (c) printing errors; (d) lost, late, postage-due, misdirected, or undeliverable mail; (e) errors in the administration of the Contest or the processing of entries; or (f) injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from entrant’s participation in the Contest or acceptance, receipt use or misuse of any prize. Entrant further agrees that in any cause of action, the Released Parties’ liability will be limited to the cost of entering and participating in the Contest, and in no event shall the Released Parties be liable for attorney’s fees. Entrant waives the right to claim any damages whatsoever, including, but not limited to, punitive, incidental, consequential, direct, or indirect damages. Sponsor is not responsible if any prize cannot be awarded due to travel cancellations, delays or interruptions due to acts of God, acts of war, natural disasters, weather or acts of terrorism.

13. DISPUTES: Except where prohibited, entrant agrees that any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of, or connected with, the Contest or any prize awarded shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by the appropriate court located in the State of New York. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, entrant’s rights and obligations, or the rights and obligations of the Released Parties in connection with the Contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules (whether of the State of New York or any other jurisdiction), which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of New York.

14. OFFICIAL RULES AND CONTEST RESULTS: Please send all written requests regarding the Contest to SPG Global Marketing Department, Attn: Rebecca McCullough, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., 1111 Westchester Avenue, White Plains, NY 10604.