Have any of you ever won something meaningful with McDonald's Monopoly?
Posted by Rowdy_Roddy_2022@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 253 comments
I'm not talking the free Big Macs or even the brown properties (free meal) - has anyone here ever completed any of the property sets which give decent prizes? If so what did you win?
Tarzantheinfinate@reddit
Do you know about the McDonalds Monopoly scam that happened a couple of decades back in 2001?
Uncle Jerry.
buttpugggs@reddit
I sometimes wonder, if there are only 4 Mayfair pieces for example, how many are missed and binned by accident and how many are actually claimed.
Historical_Chef_4774@reddit
i came here because i had the misfortune of finding a park lane that expired 3 days ago 😂
badhairday247@reddit
I binned a Mayfair. I was 19 and clearly an idiot.
perfectlyclear69@reddit
Depends what year, they alternate the Mayfair and Park Lane.
badhairday247@reddit
My husband got park lane about a month later. So either way i threw 50k in the bin
4ever_lost@reddit
Every year I'm certain I've had 3-4 park lanes. Every, single, year. Never seen a Mayfair
LazyEmu5073@reddit
They rely on that. Someone, somewhere, has had to calculate how much the prizes are actually going to cost the company.
takesthebiscuit@reddit
Yeah imagine assuming the redemption rate was like 0.1% on vouchers
Then you give away a £600 flight for the purchase of a £100 hoover…. And suddenly the redemption goes to 100%.
denjin@reddit
https://www.flyertalk.com/pudding.htm
Or the guy who spent ~$2000 dollars on chocolate mousse pots and earned 1,250,000 air miles, giving him and his family free air travel for life.
SirLanceAlittless@reddit
Is that where Paul Thomas Anderson got the idea for Punchdrunk Love? Or did Adam Sandler Suggest it? Its just something I know from a film they did together.
denjin@reddit
It was indeed used as inspiration for the film.
LazyEmu5073@reddit
I didn't say they necessarily calculated it well(especially the good folk at Hoover!), just that they calculated it!!
Someone at A&W's in the USA calculated that the "one third" pounder burger would outsell the McDonald's quarter pounder! It didn't.
cragglerock93@reddit
There's a degree of chance for them as well, as one year they might have to give away three Minis and the next year none. But I assume they've more than enough money that even everyone claiming all available prizes wouldn't hurt them too badly.
I do wonder how it works with franchises though re the food prizes. I guess when one is claimed at a given restaurant they then get to claim cost price from McDonald's corporate?
theabominablewonder@reddit
Big prizes are probably underwritten by an insurer so they have cost certainty. Meal prizes probably pay for themselves with increased business.
TehDragonGuy@reddit
Why would they insure it though? By my logic, an insurer would only insure it if they would, on average, make money doing so. That means, on average, McDonalds would lose money, and frankly, even if in the worst case scenario every single one of those prizes were claimed, that money is still a drop in the ocean to them. I can't see what they'd gain from insuring it.
YodaFam@reddit
All insurance is on average a loss for the person taking it out and a win for the insurance company yet many people have and most people should have insurance, because it does provide certainty which is what you're actually paying for.
theabominablewonder@reddit
Financial surety, no need to set aside money for liabilities. It won’t be a huge premium, underwriters are used to assessing the risk.
MyAccidentalAccount@reddit
Has the insurance of prizes was explained to me by the owner of a financial company I was working for a few years ago, I don't remember the ins and outs of it, but remember thinking it sounded illegal as fuck they way he described it :)
T33FMEISTER@reddit
Nah, you wouldn't insure it, from a financial perspective, you'd accrue the maximum over or a 'safe bet' over the year. You may have some accrual from last year carried forward too.
Over accrue, then when you're under budget you can either bank it as carry forward for next year if the budgets doing alright, or release it to the P&L as margin this year, if the budgets not doing alright or a mix.
theabominablewonder@reddit
If you do that you need to always accrue the full value of potential payouts as a liability, until the end of any promotional claim period, whereas insuring you put aside less and accounts then look better to shareholders.
T33FMEISTER@reddit
It's not a concept I'm familiar with, perhaps something that's regular in the US rather than the UK?
If promotion costs 100m, you'd need to accrue 100m (ignoring any carry over)
If insured you'd accrue for the insurance only? Or insurance + smaller prizes?
Then you accrue say 50m and only accrue/pay insurers say 25m? And the insurance takes the gamble right?
Tommann45@reddit
Insuring prizes like this and instant giveaways is a thing in the uk. Would work something like this. If the total prizes total £2mil, McDonald's may pay an insurer £1mil. The insurer would have worked out on average that only £500k of prizes are won. McDonald's get certainty of the cost of the promotion and the insurers take the risk, based on people throwing away the key properties.
If they don't insure, they would need to accrue the total cost of the prizes, until the deadline for claiming prizes has expired.
T33FMEISTER@reddit
Yeah, makes sense - cheers for answering! I've never worked somewhere with prizes like that but it makes sense.
Thanks for the info!
TheNutsMutts@reddit
They don't actually buy the cars ahead of the game. Instead they have dealerships they work with so they can quickly order a car should someone win. Otherwise they'll just have a depreciating asset they need to maintain and then sell if it's not won.
V65Pilot@reddit
Here's a kicker though....in the US, if you win a big cash prize, you have to pay income tax on it, and if you win a high value prize, the sales tax needs to be paid before you can ever collect it. It's so bad, that a business has sprung up around it, where companies will buy the prize from you for far less than the item is worth, and cover the taxes, then sell it at a massive profit.
teut509@reddit
That is not the case in the UK, and this is a UK subreddit.
dobr_person@reddit
For the food prizes the probability is low enough that it would average at a certain cost for each store. So probably 'made back' with the additional custom that the promotion brings.
Also remember the marginal food cost isn't that high. And someone winning an item doesn't cost much more in staff/building/energy costs.
jungleboy1234@reddit
I swear i can picture the Mc Donalds UK CEO personally observes the manufacturing and secretly delivers the high earning pieces in random MC D's.
janky_koala@reddit
They’re probably insured against having to payout.
Deancrypt@reddit
Making a claim on insurance because a customer unfortunately won the jackpot on a pre planned massive competition .
That doesn't make any sense to me and I can't imagine an insurance company paying out on this I just can't see the logic.
McDonald's must set aside profit to fund the monopoly event making a claim on insurance to payout winners is nonsensical
janky_koala@reddit
That’s how massive corporations manage risk - they outsource it.
oh-my-dog@reddit
Read this from above - quite interesting! https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/comments/1fh8z19/have_any_of_you_ever_won_something_meaningful/ln9hidh/
LazyEmu5073@reddit
OK, so, someone at that company has had to sit there and work it out.
deench1@reddit
I swear that the Mayfair sticker is actually quite common. I feel like the rare one is park lane of that set? I want to say the same is true with some of the other high value colors like yellow and green whereby the most expensive of that color on the board isn’t the rarest
Dependent_Patience65@reddit
I have got the park lane 😅
Twacey84@reddit
I got 2 Park Lane pieces from one meal last week so doubt that’s the rare one lol 😂
buttpugggs@reddit
Considering I've got Park Lane, I really hope so hahaha
perfectlyclear69@reddit
Years ago someone got Mayfair not knowing the value and stuck it to their steering wheel, drove around with it on for a while then the car got cleaned and it was thrown away. Only to then find it was the top prize piece.
Lost £500,000.
Found the article: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1272632/Student-throws-away-winning-500-000-McDonalds-sticker.html
munehaus@reddit
That's the Daily Fail, one of the few "newspapers" even Wikipedia won't allow to be used as a reference. There's about as much chance of the story being true as the Sunday Sport's story of a bus being found on the moon.
sock_cooker@reddit
I'm not clicking it to find out, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if their source were an anonymous comment on Reddit
ooh_bit_of_bush@reddit
I've found the original source of the article.
Practical_Scar4374@reddit
There was A BUS? FOUND ON THE MOON? Hello Google rabbit hole.
tazbaron1981@reddit
There's only one
Ren1612@reddit
I had Mayfair last year.... On my 1st maccies after they started monopoly...
I thought to myself no way am I getting the rare one they must have swapped the rarity between park lane and Mayfair this year for some reason.... I think I threw it away at the restaurant but I could not remember for sure
About 2 weeks later when I went for lunch with my colleagues to maccie's I got a park lane... Frantically I searched for my Mayfair hoping I took it home... But alas.... It was nowhere to be found
I had nightmares for about 2 weeks about this...
PaintSniffer1@reddit
not believing this one
Ren1612@reddit
Unlike organised religion I don't need you to believe me for it to be true. There's a lot of stuff to make up on the Internet... But my stupidity ain't one of them.
You can see in my Reddit comment history that I barely ever really comment on anything it's just a this particular post and associated comment reminded me of last year and the nightmares I had of losing out on life changing money.
shep15jon@reddit
BS
lesterbottomley@reddit
There were a decent amount but they were all nicked at source before distribution.
Not making it up, people were prosecuted.
MediocreEquipment457@reddit
There’s a podcast called Swindled who do a great episode about this
DanS1993@reddit
Interesting fact, the monopoly scam in the us ran for about ten years but the only reason it’s not well know about is that the trial started on September 10th 2001.
lesterbottomley@reddit
I'd not heard anything about it, at all, until I saw a YouTube doc about it a couple of years ago.
paupaupaupaup@reddit
I've got a Park Lane if you want to go halvsies! /s
Cheapntacky@reddit
You can do something different in the app this time round. When you scan the code you may get a property or a chance to swap that for another common property. Which confirms what we knew all along. Some property is much rarer than others.
DismalAd2452@reddit
I dont think this was ever meant to be a secret...
Enough-Ad3818@reddit
I've a friend who worked at McDs up until recently. He said nearly half the stickers go to staff, who take reels of them and give them to mates, on the promise they split any prizes etc.
rezonansmagnetyczny@reddit
Yeh, my mate worked there and if they run out of promotional cups or boxes they used to stick the stickers on by hand.
Used to bring rolls of them home with him.
Odd_Establishment350@reddit
Not me but my father won a trip for 4 to Turks and Caicos about 10years ago from the monopoly. I also used to be friends with someone who won a Toyota Rav 4 from roll up the rim when it was still on the rim. It happens if you're lucky enough!
Violin_Assasain2206@reddit
I got a Mayfair
Indigofink69@reddit
I'll go halves with you... I have Park Lame
Accomplished_Rate539@reddit
Anyone got bond Street Coventry Street or the strand Asking for a friend 😊
Weekly_Artist_5454@reddit
i just got the park lane one bit im not sure if its meant to be common and may fairs rare or what
Jon0_tyves@reddit
A pair of socks lol
ComparisonOk7119@reddit
Who has Mayfair 50/50
ComparisonOk7119@reddit
I have park lane who wants to go halves
Numerous-Relation838@reddit
I’ve got a Mayfair piece for the Aussie game underway. Anyone looking to split the car pls DM. I’m in Melbourne
F1racist17@reddit
A friend in university worked as a night manager in a McDonald’s. Someone came up to claim the free iPad they just won. He tried to explain that even though they won the iPad they needed to go o line and register the win to receive it. The man like ape proclaimed loudly that he couldn’t read and if he wasn’t given the iPad now he’d smash up the place up. Safe to say the bloke got a rude awakening when the police turned up.
MJLDat@reddit
Did he think the prizes were stored ‘in the back’?
Like there are 5 minis parked up next to the fryer.
Smidday90@reddit
Yes! In every McDonalds in the country just in case
TearTheRoof0ff@reddit
Absolutely. Along with briefcases with £100k in them.
Smidday90@reddit
I’ve just got the image of Ronald McDonald pacing through the back in the kitchen screaming, “What do you fucking mean they took the money!? FIND THEM!”
Substantial_Fox_6721@reddit
Police turned up? Must have been a while ago.
F1racist17@reddit
Back in 2007 if that makes it a while ago then I’m bloody old as shit.
2xtc@reddit
Nearly 20 years is most certainly a while ago
-omar@reddit
The iPad came out in 2010
ALCATryan@reddit
More than a while ago, in fact. My condolences.
Middleclasstonbury@reddit
Yeah that sounds like the average night shift. Only did a few but someone once tried to pay for a meal with about 20p, his car keys, and a lighter. When I explained he couldn’t pay that way he couldn’t wrap his head around it and kept asking me if I was serious. Wonder what he was on.
PatrickStardawg@reddit
I wonder if he got his iPad lol
JameSdEke@reddit
If he couldn’t read how did he know what he won haha
Weird-Category-3503@reddit
Watch the documentary McMillions looks at this in the US and a scam that was run by organised crime to win the prizes
Timely_Resist_2744@reddit
I won an ipod speaker years ago, when they used to do more prizes. Think I've only ever won food or things like a free moonpig card since.
That_Ad_8271@reddit
I just got a sticker for 30% of JBL audio, not actually that bad tbh.
Disastrous_Ad_3565@reddit
Just last week my Wife got an instant win for 4 x Merlin Annual Passes.
Going through the process of claiming now.
Was a bit sceptical that they would be the bog standard, few entry date passes but according to the McDonalds website they'll be premium passes that cost £300 each.
Shame our kids are a little young to get the max outta places like Alton Towers but looking forward to booking in a trip to Legoland.
Elastichedgehog@reddit
A year of free Now TV, if you consider that meaningful.
spatz_uk@reddit
I won 2x one year of Now TV in the same visit, so I got two different packages, eg movies and entertainment. Then I cancelled them both and they said “we’re sorry you’re leaving” and gave me 6 months of each for a one off of something nominal like £15. After that they they did nothing to keep me so I’ve not had Now TV since.
CandidLiterature@reddit
I won this prize just before the game of thrones final season came out. Not sure if being able to easily watch that counts as a good or bad thing…
Elastichedgehog@reddit
That's exactly what I used it for too!
At least we didn't pay to watch season 8.
NGrime@reddit
I got the same, claimed it on Sky Sports so a pretty decent value
Hibananananana@reddit
That’s about £240 value if it’s movies + Tv
windbound-fox@reddit
I got the iPod shuffle prize, obviously this was years ago. Whenever the mini was the big prize.
iamfluke@reddit
Not sure if it's still part of the monopoly game, but many moons ago, I had a load of the 'enter the code online to see if you win' stickers, and 2 of them gave me 100 quid a time
Agreeable_Fig_3713@reddit
Not me but my pal won a hot tub. Bitch
cmdrxander@reddit
If it’s any consolation they’re probably paying through the nose for the energy bills
Englishmuffin1@reddit
My hot tub was costing £30 per month at 2016 prices, I'd hate to think how much it would be to run it now.
ounerify@reddit
I’m a subcontractor for some very big holiday parks. I service their water, including taking samples from hot tubs.
So naturally I’ve gotten talking to the hot tub maintenance teams.
One site has told me it costs them £7 a day to keep a hot tub running. Another site told me £12 a day.
Obviously these sites need to keep the tubs running 24/5 so expenses would be miles higher than an average house hold. But the price is still crazy high
Maleficent-Drive4056@reddit
£7 a day isn't actually outrageous if you use it often. Could compare it with other treats such as half a bottle of wine, or 2 very nice ice creams. I thought it might be higher. Adds up quickly though if you only use it once or twice a week. (Not to mention the environmental cost).
jamesckelsall@reddit
The price cap doesn't apply to businesses either, meaning they pay more per unit.
Agreeable_Fig_3713@reddit
She’s got five kids. I doubt she even notices the difference lol
Grouchy-Bell6388@reddit
No but apparently gave away the rare wee tab for the 50 or 100k cash a couple of years ago.
abeeror2@reddit
There was a kid in my town growing up who won £500k a good few years ago - he was a prick before winning and a prick after! See for yourself!
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/josh-sargeant-sleaford-teenager-who-1445984
YodasGoldfish@reddit
Did he only have one arm ? Reason I ask is because I went to school in another area of Lincolnshire with a kid of the same name. I don't recognise him from the photograph though.
abeeror2@reddit
Nah mate, he had both arms!
YodasGoldfish@reddit
Fair enough. The Josh Sargent I know lost his arm in a mincing machine in his parents butchers shop when he was young.
abeeror2@reddit
Oof that's nasty!
doughy1882@reddit
Wasn't there a documentary about this. Most of them got stolen before they even get to store level.
inactive_directory@reddit
Fern's doc on it was very interesting. Happened in the US however.
Nels8192@reddit
The UK one doesn’t appear to have had much controversy so far. From what I understand from former workers in the family, they’re quite strict on it all and employees have some other prizes to win instead.
TheNutsMutts@reddit
It's also literally impossible to replicate such a scam now due to how the game works. Even if you were literally in charge of running the game and had complete control and zero oversight, you couldn't get your hands on a code that produced any guaranteed cash prize.
Rowdy_Roddy_2022@reddit (OP)
Yes, this was in America though. Mafia were involved with it and everything, great documentary.
But I believe the issues which led to that have been addressed. IIRC a lot of it stemmed from one particular rogue employee.
EmEeeTeeAitchOhDeMan@reddit
Fucking Ronald, absolute scumbag.
FireFingers1992@reddit
Complete clown.
ackbarwasahero@reddit
Won the £1000 ao.com voucher! "don't deliver to northern Ireland" :-D. Mcd did right though. Got me a 3 tvs for a sim setup 😁
Mesong0@reddit
My mates ex-gf’s friend’s bf won the mini on monopoly.
Ended up selling it to fund his massive coke habit, put about £20k’s worth of gear up his schnoz within the year.
Smidday90@reddit
Diet or Regular?
4ever_lost@reddit
Zero.
a_boy_called_sue@reddit
You.
👇
Mate
👇
His ex girlfriend
👇
Her friend
👇
Her friend's boyfriend
Phew
Mesong0@reddit
It was a mouthful I’ll admit 😂 For accuracies sake I suppose.
a_boy_called_sue@reddit
No-one would make up anything as ludicrous!
Shay2K@reddit
What year was it because I’ve heard a similar story from a friend who sold a mini they won for drugs too lol
Mesong0@reddit
It was a good few years ago now, can’t remember exactly, maybe 2019?
Purple-Process3038@reddit
Its hard seeing someone live my dream
banisheduser@reddit
In other news, well worth watching an older film about McDonalds called THE FOUNDER.
Was a really good but also incredibly sad watch on how McDonalds started.
SimilarWall1447@reddit
Free drink, it's not on your list
banisheduser@reddit
Well, I have two Park Lanes so if someone's looking...
Kyledidntdoit@reddit
There is that documentary about that family who scammed the Monopoly game in America, to which they were later found out. Can'f remember, but it was the family of someone who had access to the select few Wafair tickets. So, rich enough and just wanted more. I guess it still happens, but being more careful not to get caught or, which makes more sense - They just don't print Mayfair at all. When you think about it. Everything in the UK is a scam to a certain degree. When we have people running the country taking bribes left right and centre, it wouldn't surprise me if all these companies bribe it too. That's just how it is. Scratch cards, shrinkflation in foods, ridiculous energy prices blamed on everyone but the people responsible. Heck, even my cats food has been halved in the sachet. We just don't complain enough here in the uk, and unfortunately, profit is always the winner. Not quality, not fairness, and certainly not any opportunity for the little guy to get a win once in a while. It's like a carrot dangled in front of a donkey on a rod, but now, the rod is so tall and far into the sky that we actually can't see it and that we just take their word that there is actually a catrot at the end of it.
MRRichAllen1976@reddit
Not really, I won a 3 month membership to a Gym last week (which I'll never use)
Zennyzenny81@reddit
I won a ipod circa 2004 or 2005 when a good MP3 player was still a desirable and expensive piece of kit (I think worth maybe £350 or so at the time for the top models).
Tapps74@reddit
Have you watched the McMillions documentary? It showed corruption in the stealing and selling of the rare tickets. Hopefully that part is no longer the case.
It also showed the process to release these into the Market. It seemed as though the offer ran a while before the handful of the larger prize vouchers were taken from the “Vault” sent out into the world with staff whooping and applauding as they began their journey. In the McMillions instance these brief cases of “winners” made their way to organised crime and family members.
So you could be collecting and trying to win big, long before it’s possible to win (release of big tickets) and long after the main prizes have already been won.
60022151@reddit
£1000 worth of House of Fraser vouchers back in like 2007.
AcanthisittaFlaky385@reddit
So far I've got 2 3 months worth of newspapers subscription.
Purple-Process3038@reddit
My sister won £50 a couple days ago if that counts
PleasantDicipline@reddit
On McDonald’s monopoly? It’s happening now?
Bantabury97@reddit
Yep. Their Philly Cheesesteak Burger isn't too bad, to be fair.
PleasantDicipline@reddit
I did see an ad for that and wanted to try it! 2 reasons to go now.
worse_than_martha@reddit
Don’t bother. BF got it earlier and it’s heavy on the gloopy cheese that stinks as soon as you lift the burger to your nose (and I love cheese)
Nels8192@reddit
Yeah it threw me off when I saw it wasn’t Feb/March like it normally is.
No-Structure-8125@reddit
McDonald's monopoly is a con now. When I was in college I would regularly win free big mac's or other burgers, and the brown spaces used to be an actual prize like an iPod or something. Now you're lucky if you win a fruit bag or porridge. I haven't won a burger for years.
worse_than_martha@reddit
Actually won a quarter pounder today. Made up for not even getting a sticker on my box for my Big Mac
ChelseaAndrew87@reddit
I've had 10 double stickers and only won one fruit bag
EmperorsGalaxy@reddit
Probably depends how much you go to whether you think its worth it, I don't eat McDonalds a lot but I thought the instant win meals were quite common seems to be all I've ever pulled or a free McFlurry
No-Structure-8125@reddit
The instant wins are still relatively common, but they're not worth as much as they used to be. As I say, I used to win free burgers all the time, now it's just free fruit bags or a free porridge, or a small fry if I'm extra lucky.
Nels8192@reddit
I “won” a cheeseburger the other day, apart from I have to now buy a value meal first to claim it.
Nook-Incs-Pet@reddit
Blame The Hamburglar
dm_me-your-butthole@reddit
it's fucking shite. they've changed the free cheeseburgers and mcflurrys to be "with purchase of an extra value medium meal". Fuck off ronald
Wakingupisdeath@reddit
A warm apple pie that I didn’t have to wait 15 minutes for.
Reallyevilmuffin@reddit
An olive tree! £50 of blossoming bouquets or something voucher. The wife asked me to try and win another this year XD
HighPitchedHegemony@reddit
Google Jerome Jackson.
Pindadio@reddit
I won a mini in 2018. Didn't believe it till it turned up on the drive. All greens
Kriiispy@reddit
Wouldn't happen to be around Southampton? I used to see the Mayfair Mini at the Leisure World car park occasionally circa 2011
Pindadio@reddit
No, near Coventry but it was just a plain black mini
yellowteapots@reddit
Do you still have it?
Pindadio@reddit
No we sold it almost instantly, got about 16k for it from a dealer basically covered the deposit for our house.
They let us choose what colour and if it was convertible or hard top, so we went for convertible since it was worth more.
Smidday90@reddit
Wait you only got 16k for a BRAND NEW Mini Cooper?
Pindadio@reddit
It wasn't a JCW or anything it was pretty base spec base engine. For whatever reason they drove it to our house to drop it off so it had a few miles on it (maybe 60?) when it arrived and we did shop around for offers from dealers.
flight147z@reddit
Doesn't say it's a Cooper in the original comment - probably just a Mini One or similar base spec?
iamnosuperman123@reddit
Smart move as Mini's are notoriously expensive to fix
yellowteapots@reddit
Fair play!
yer-da-sells-avon-@reddit
Had a mate at school who won an Xbox One
Annual-Rip4687@reddit
Won a trip to a 5 star hotel near to bath, top floor massive room fantastic marble shower, had a great couple of days there.
jackinthebox1968@reddit
There's a woman from my town, years ago that won £100k. Absolutely genuine!
ResponsibleSquare616@reddit
6 chicken nuggets AND a big mac from one meal last week. Claimed the free prizes and won a mcflurry. Winning.
bananagit@reddit
Just won £70 off a Jet2Holiday today
Jellybeanzssz@reddit
My brother won tickets to the 2006 fifa World Cup final.
DeeYouBitch@reddit
I got the entire board with the common bits and sold it on in ebay for £50
idontbleaveit@reddit
This article article has always made me wonder about this type of stuff. The McDonald’s Monopoly scam, also known as the McMillions scandal, was a $24 million fraud that took place over a decade, from 1989 to 2001. The scam involved stealing and selling game pieces from the McDonald’s Monopoly promotion, which gave customers a chance to win prizes like free sandwiches or carsThe scam was orchestrated by Jerome “Jerry” Jacobson, a former Florida police officer and security director at Simon Marketing. Jacobson’s methods included: Opening sealed packages of winning game pieces in airport bathrooms and replacing them with regular stickers Recruiting friends and family to pay upfront for winning game piecesThe FBI learned of the conspiracy after receiving an anonymous tip in 2000. More than 50 people were convicted of mail fraud and conspiracy, and Jacobson was sentenced to prison and ordered to pay restitution.
Interesting_Space110@reddit
£50 JD voucher.
gave it to my now, ex.
Regret it to this day, despite hating the majority of things JD sell, I could’ve bought some socks or something I guess.
Captains_Parrot@reddit
I just won £70 off a holiday booked through Jet2.
I'm not going to use it so if anyone wants the code PM me and it's yours.
kelleehh@reddit
I’ve only played twice and won 3 of those vouchers through the McDonald’s app.
osrsprobile@reddit
Ive never won anything personally but my sister in law worked at McDonalds and a few years ago a man came in with his stickers demanding the Mini Cooper he'd won. Much to his dissapointment it wasn't parked around the back waiting for him...
Additional_Tone_2004@reddit
My pal won £1200 free electricity one time. Phoned them up and said he wasn't with that supplier so they cut him a cheque instead.
Was really fucked off cause we were splittin bills at the time!
iimMrBrightside@reddit
I won a free phone case last year, only to find out they didn't make them to fit my phone (Galaxy S23)
Harriet_Vane_@reddit
Not one of the really big prizes, but won a weekend break, dinner, bed and breakfast in the UK a few years back. Got to choose a region and then they told you where you were staying.
The winning piece (the one that was in limited quantities) was different from the other two iirc, instead of saying the other pieces needed to win it had info on claiming the prize, so it was fairly obvious straight away that we had won. Not sure if they’re still like that though.
PatrickStardawg@reddit
Where did you go?
Harriet_Vane_@reddit
We asked for south west and got a hotel near Bristol
MartyMcFry7@reddit
My son works for McDonalds and him and the staff have opened literally hundreds of monopoly stickers and never won anything meaningful. Not only that but they have spoken to friends from other stores and none of them have, or seen anyone, win anything meaningful.
Fitnessgrac@reddit
Winner
I knew a guy who won £500,000 years ago.
onefloordown@reddit
My kid won a fiver.
DefinitelyBiscuit@reddit
This is a decent insight as to how the US campaign was being gamed.
https://youtu.be/yAQvKgLTEbk?si=LweKV5BU3NLskpRZ
a-plan-so-cunning@reddit
We have won £50 jd voucher, twice. Not sure if it’s still around but yeah, a couple of pairs of shoes.
caeseron@reddit
Watch the documentary McMillions. Can't believe they still run this promotion.
Plus who can even afford McDonalds? It's so overpriced now.
TheNutsMutts@reddit
That was in the US and like 25+ years ago. Absolutely doesn't apply to the UK and to now.
ImpartialImpala@reddit
I won a McDonald's themed tote bag, my partner and I call it the potatote
Macca3232@reddit
Won £10 cash last week, won nothing on the normal sticker but thought I’d try my chance entering it on the app and got cash.
AssCheeksSpread@reddit
Yes! Friend used to work in mcdonalds and nearly every weekend he would find a decent prize from the left over rubbish that people were too drunk to check for prizes. Got 3 Xboxs amongst other things
DanS1993@reddit
I would have thought McDonald’s employees would have been prohibited from playing.
TheNutsMutts@reddit
Indeed they are, however they get their own game just for them, so they can still play.
AssCheeksSpread@reddit
Correct ! He got his brother/mate/vicar to put in the claim
CulpableSnail@reddit
McDonald's Gold Card, meant a free medium meal a week and some confused/impressed McDonald's staff 😎
Sinisterpigeon19@reddit
Is that for life?
Confusedhole@reddit
Won a tenner last year
Holdemsworth@reddit
Won £200 (might have been £250?) once in the UK. Had to sign a bunch of ‘promise not to share this anywhere’ stuff digitally and they transferred me the cash 24 hours later.
Never heard anything back, super simple. Thought they’d maybe contact me to get a quote or something for marketing but nothing 🤷🏻
NobDeRiro@reddit
The most meaningful for me was probably the 6 months of Now TV. Although it’s nice stacking all the food ones and going in and getting an absolute feast for free. Be nicer if it was the 100k though
princessmolskiii@reddit
My partner won a Nintendo switch last year :)
bbqdblock@reddit
I won one of those mini iPods back when it was on old Kent road pieces! Since then though just the odd free McNuggets 🤣
LordPurloin@reddit
I know someone who won an iPad
PresentDemand6046@reddit
Sky Sports pass for a year
matcha18@reddit
Two years ago I won the Buyagift experience voucher after only going twice. It was funny because it turned out that the voucher wasn't with Buyagft but RedLetterDays instead, but all the experience websites offer the same things I think. Used it to have dinner at the gherkin. Had a nice time.
Mysterious_Bat_6622@reddit
One of the lads I went to school with won 500k from the mcdonald's at Holdingham roundabout in sleaford.
Englishmuffin1@reddit
Pretty sure my sister in law was one of your teachers then!
Mysterious_Bat_6622@reddit
Well I actually went to another one of the secondary schools in sleaford, the lad in question went to st georges, but he was in my social circle.
Englishmuffin1@reddit
She was at Will Rob in Welbourn, so unless he switched schools, I'm probably misremembering anyway. Might have been one of her mates who taught him.
In which case, this has been a very convoluted connection!
Electrical-Lychee535@reddit
I heard about this on Lincs FM at the time
DangerousAttack@reddit
Three months of NOW TV subscription
I used it to watch Game of Thrones when the last season was airing
SeveralG7@reddit
I once got some fridge magnets, changed my life
scottvalentine808@reddit
Wasn’t this an outed scandal years ago?
Kamikaze-X@reddit
I won a pair of red socks that have fries up the sides
I love them
himself1388@reddit
I won an actual Monopoly board game, still in the attic unopened
Dimac99@reddit
Have you seen the price of those things? You've won at least £20 even if you sell it at a discount!
TwoValuable@reddit
I wasn't part of it but back in college around 2010/2011. There was a group who formed a sort of syndicate for competitions and won loads. None of the really big prizes but they sold a lot of electronics etc that year and split the costs. It all fell apart when some of the bigger spenders realised they were sort of funding the entire thing with a couple of cling ons benefit.
el-destroya@reddit
When I worked there I'd collect them off my staff meals or the trash and it kept me fed when I was otherwise incredibly poor and knackered - considered it payment for doing a waste count.
I gave anything particularly valuable to other people, Bluetooth speakers, headphones etc because we technically weren't allowed to redeem them as staff.
mcrrob@reddit
Won £10, claimed it and they never paid it.
frappe1439@reddit
I once won a monopoly game set, was actually pretty cool but I decided to sell it so I could buy a new cage for my rats
Entertainer_Inside@reddit
Family holiday to Florida for 4, my brother won an apple pie from the same meal.
Interstellore@reddit
Yes sir. 6 McNuggets.
mellonians@reddit
Loads, iPods and holidays mainly. The prizes are legit but they rely on people not playing the game properly.
In fact it's unfair to say that. They don't rely on it, they can easily afford to shell out every prize but most go unclaimed and it leads to sentiments like this.
seriousbooboo@reddit
I won a pair of socks, my little sister won a free medium meal a day for a year. The socks are really shit but they’re a good conversation piece.
Mr_Biscuits_532@reddit
CEX voucher. Immediately revoked because I was an employee of McDonalds at the time. I was so mad
MaudLynne@reddit
Not through their Monopoly promotion, but they did randomly gift me some McDonald’s birthday merch last month due to my son’s prolific milkshake consumption.
No-Personality-8186@reddit
I won a photo calendar
distraughtnobility87@reddit
I won a photo keyring last year but the link they supplied didn’t work, this has just reminded me 😅
BillyBuckleBean@reddit
I won the same but i havent claimed it, is it any good?
Jazzlike-Score-2095@reddit
Won £200 last year. Mates I was having lunch with weren't too happy 😅
belugiaboi37@reddit
I won an apple pie once. Immediately went back to the counter and redeemed it. I was having a pretty shit day so it was pretty meaningful to me at the time
docju@reddit
I won three months of Now TV sports a few years ago. It was in May, so I waited until the winter, when Sky had most football matches on, to claim it!
jessexpress@reddit
Just Dance for the Wii 🙏
Martysghost@reddit
Free monthly pass to now TV wasn't a bad prize, I kept it running for about 2yrs so really they won in the end.
Acrobatic_Day8162@reddit
Not in the UK. But a friend of mine won two tickets to the World Cup finals when it was in Brazil. Airfare and hotel - for 8 days/7 nights included!
Accurate-Depth8887@reddit
I won a pair of McDonald's socks.
I'm always losing socks, so i found the prize pretty meaningful😂
some_kinda_wack_job@reddit
A holiday to Jamaica
Dry_Preference9129@reddit
Perhaps the lowest value one was a voucher for some clothes. I got three pairs of socks, which were good quality things and still going many years later.
DeusExPir8Pete@reddit
I would argue then that was a high value prize. Good socks are hard to get.
makemycockcry@reddit
Ipad
robertsonalexander@reddit
Does anyone have blue 621, I’ll go halves on the £100,000 with you
oPlayer2o@reddit
No it’s a scam I heard about a guy that won a pair of high end headphones and the fucking struggle he had to go though for him to actually get them wasn’t worth it, actually come to think of it he didn’t get them he got a cash prize worth like half the cost of the headphones.
Snoopy2010uk@reddit
My wife once won a little iPod docking station. Didn't have an iPod so just sold it
AdThat328@reddit
Honestly I'd argue a free Apple Pie is a big win. :')
Got some Skullcandy headphones a while back. They were decent.
MIKBOO5@reddit
If I win the cash I'm going to build a gym on my house. So you could say I'm eating McDonalds in a bid to get in shape.
ZeCerealKiller@reddit
Excellent idea. I might start eating McDonald's more often and drive there on a daily basis to... Win the e cooper so I can save the environment or something
LazyEmu5073@reddit
Yeeeeaaahhhh, but, which shape you gonna be?! :p
Healthy-Grocery6055@reddit
Nikocado shap... oh right.
thefogdog@reddit
Hexagon.
ConsciouslyIncomplet@reddit
I won some ‘discount’ at Skill Candy headphones. However it was essentially a scam prize as you still had to pay over the top prices for mediocre headphones.
ConsciouslyIncomplet@reddit
There is one piece from each colour set which is ‘rare’ and the winning piece for each prize. These are obviously extremely rare and heavily controlled by McD’s with specific employees assigned to ‘attaching’ winning pieces to meals. They are not controlled by individual stores/managers etc.
bazzanoid@reddit
Headphones - skull candy I think? McDonald's Fries Holder for the car cupholder
Going to be the £100k this year, I can feel it.
MactionSnack@reddit
I won an instant win £100 HMV voucher maybe 15 years ago.... I bought a huge amount of CDs and DVDs that were on sale and a bunch of t-shirts and I'm pretty sure they're all in a landfill somewhere now.
Complifusedx@reddit
Won £100 a couple of years ago. Only thanks to my girlfriend bothering to put in the stickers to the app
Automatic-Equal-3553@reddit
Tbh if u look at the prize on offer there pennies compared to the increase in sales. Should be more cash prize like 10k 20k 50k etc people want cash or hoildays
adguy86@reddit
Won a £100 Experience day a few years ago.
Numerous_Ticket_7628@reddit
A fiver.
stacyskg@reddit
Back when brown spaces won low value prizes instead of meals I won a Bluetooth speaker, ya know what it wasn’t bad and I used it for years!
Optimal_Collection77@reddit
My mum won a TV many years ago
skilledbiscuit1@reddit
I won an iPod shuffle many many years ago it was either the browns or light blues
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