What's the best thing you have ever won?
Posted by Educational_Way3900@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 130 comments
I'm talking any kind of competition, lottery, pools, premium bonds etc. How did it come about?
A few years ago I entered a 'like and share' Instagram competition for a new BBQ festival that was starting up. I won the competition and later found out only about 12 people had entered it as it wasn't well publicised.The prize was a \~£2k Weber BBQ!!
anabundanceofotters@reddit
I had a spate of entering competitions in the late 2000s and won a bunch of small prizes, like days out to London Zoo, a 42” plasma TV, various books, games & DVD’s but the strangest was a paunch event for a WWE game in Manchester, with Ric Flair compering (WOOOOO!)
I enter the occasional competition on insta nowadays, and in the past couple of years have won a year’s supply of burgers (one a week from a place about half an hour away!), plus £1000 of credit at an Escape Room company in London (not ideal as I live in Manchester, but sharing it with friends & family means I’ve got great value out of it - probably my favourite win)
CraigFairlie67@reddit
Won a box of beer from ABK during lockdown.
Key_Produce2617@reddit
Won £1000 on premium bonds last month. Won a nights stay in a hotel in New York about 10 years ago from a photography competition but wasn’t worth my time flying over to take up the offer.
TheInitialGod@reddit
Microsoft XP was about to launch and Microsoft did a huge competition with loads of prizes up for grabs, so I thought "why not?"
Won a copy of Microsoft XP.
lost_send_berries@reddit
My friend applied to run a Windows 7 launch party and won, they sent him a free copy of the Ultimate edition and various tat to decorate the party and give out to guests. He never did run the party. That Windows license would still work today for the latest version.
Hang on, I'm in the wrong thread. I thought we were sharing our smallest prizes.
TheInitialGod@reddit
Genuinely the biggest thing I've ever won mate.
lost_send_berries@reddit
I'm just kidding. I would have been chuffed as well. When my friend showed me Fast User Switching (IE two people can be logged in on one computer with different things running) it blew my mind.
moderatefairgood@reddit
But you have to admit, it was the best version of Windows in computing history. There is that.
Alternative-Emu9189@reddit
I won a Fender custom shop stratocaster in a raffle - they are dropping in price now but worth at least £2k
When I got the email I initially thought it was a scam, then remembered I had actually entered the competition.
The most I've ever won apart from this is a couple of quid on the lottery.
gingertosser96@reddit
When I was 13/14 I won the Smash Hits crossword competition. Prize was a radio cassette player and London's Calling cassette album by The Clash
Y-Bob@reddit
Oh man. That would have made my decade!
TheRealVinosity@reddit
A Big Mac on the McDonald's Monopoly promo.
Technical-Badger-Esq@reddit
Mr high roller over here.
AcmeRacer8@reddit
I won a competition on MTV years ago for a holiday to (I think) Corfu. Luxury hotel, loads of activities, celebrity appearances etc.
Work commitments meant I couldn't go so my sister and her boyfriend went instead. They spent the entire time by themselves at the pool, never did any of the MTV stuff...
Also won tickets to LiveAid2 in Hyde Park, was in the US (again work!) so my wife and our son went. They had a great time though.
TorazChryx@reddit
A guitar, a Paul Reed Smith Custom 24 - For the time being this is the single most expensive thing I own.
Capable_Tip7815@reddit
A Yorkie easter egg when my decorated hard boiled egg won the local building society competition. I varnished my egg for a high shine and used a fairy cake paper thing as the clowns collar.
smithykate@reddit
Won a roast dinner playing bingo in a little shack “pub” literally in the middle of nowhere somewhere in Devon. Raw chicken, onions, carrots, potatoes etc. literally the only thing I’ve ever won, i was 19 and I was absolutely buzzing! The 5 locals als playing weren’t very happy.
ScottyDug@reddit
Wait, raw chicken?
Racing_Fox@reddit
I won the interviews and got my job
Other than that, absolutely nowt
Realistic-River-1941@reddit
The local paper ran a competition where you had to name all 10 railway stations that had ever existed in the city. They eventually gave prizes (train sets) to all three of us who came up with (IIRC) 17.
bounberry@reddit
Back in 2014, I always thought Facebook competitions were bullshit. Friend entered one and won the use of a set of ginormous pod tents for one festival weekend of our choice. They could connect to each other. Cue us setting up this fortress at Beatherder festival. Thing was like an attraction on the horizon. Think we had roughly 30 people sat inside the main tent at one point. Best fest ever. Worst part is they offered us to purchase them at a discount, we were 19 and stingy so we declined. Rookie move.
r_keel_esq@reddit
About ten years ago, I entered a "Like, Comment, and Share" competition from a Music Equipment retailer on Facebook and I won this recording bundle.
Not a huge-cash value but definitely not something I could have justified spending money on at the time.
However, over the last decade it's been bloody great to have. I've recorded a few tunes myself (including one for my cousin's wedding), and both my kids have studied Music Technology at school for Nat5 and Higher, so they've both made excellent use of it too.
Very pleased with this wee win
DigAndScoop@reddit
Tag F1 from a ticket website - don’t even wear it
RGP111197@reddit
After winning a city-centre treasure hunt, I won the main prize of a return ferry trip from Newcastle to Amsterdam, with accommodation in Amsterdam for three nights also included. Me and my partner go next week! I’ve worked out the total value to be worth about £1.5k which isn’t bad
Moist_Eye_1281@reddit
Pepsi mp3 player in the 2000’s
scoobyeatssnacks@reddit
Breakfast 🍳
bourton-north@reddit
I won a poetry competition in 1985 £20 which was a fortune back then.
Affectionate-Owl9594@reddit
Le Creuset mystery box yeahhhhhh boyyyyyyyy
snowmanseeker@reddit
What did you get?
Affectionate-Owl9594@reddit
Cast iron frying pan, medium roasting dish, salt and pepper mill. AND all in a tasteful colour. Truly felt like god’s favourite.
missyesil@reddit
What colour? I need to know and I'm jealous.
Affectionate-Owl9594@reddit
Azure! It wasn’t a colour we already had, but it goes well with what we already have
summerloco@reddit
What’s your fav / most used item from the set if you could only keep one?
Affectionate-Owl9594@reddit
The dish, as it gets almost daily use
snowmanseeker@reddit
Oooh, you jammy git. I'm jealous.
baxty23@reddit
An Irn Bru Christmas jumper.
They asked what size, said XL.
They sent XS, even the dog wouldn’t wear it.
ddmf@reddit
I won a couple of delirium noel glasses from brewery huyghe
VictorAnichebend@reddit
The best thing I’ve ever won in terms of value was about £720 on the EuroMillions. However, it’s also the worst thing I’ve ever won as I was only one number off the jackpot, I expected at least five figures for only being one number off. Was a rollercoaster of emotions.
Perfect-Ad-1774@reddit
If you look at the prize given for each number correct you find that it completly in covext. if they evenend it out more people would benafit....
1 number + star -£3 2 number - £7 3 numbers + star £30 4 number £70 5 numbers +1 star £30,000 5 numbers +2 stars £96 million
luckeratron@reddit
If they evened it out more then it stops being gambling unfortunately. Because the odds break and you can always make a profit if you buy enough tickets.
fookreddit22@reddit
In the same vein but less I got 4 numbers once but they were the first 4 numbers. Legit thought I was about to win the lottery and was super disappointed with my £75
eastkent@reddit
Therein lies the psychological problem with the lottery, you can be so close yet so far. I vowed that I would never play the Euromillions because of that but here I am, every time it gets massive I buy a line or two. There's no sense to that, I know.
Fantastic-Dingo-5806@reddit
Someone usually always wins it. Might as well have a pop if you won't miss the money.
-Po-Tay-Toes-@reddit
It's a small price to pay for a little hope, plus they fund a lot of charities so it's not that bad anyway.
Otherwise-Tie-9055@reddit
£5000 on slots
-Rhymenocerous-@reddit
My wifes eternal love.
Cold_Raspberry520@reddit
A weekend in a cabin in Scotland
TheBristolBulk@reddit
As a kid I won a first class rail ticket anywhere on British Rail for me plus 3 others. Considering we went from Bristol to Aberdeen every year which was approximately a 9 hour journey we did well out of that!
As an adult, probably an Xbox 360 when they first came out, I can’t actually remember how or where I won it but it was a big deal at the time!
gregRichards2002@reddit
A big gingerbread house in a raffle.
MojoMomma76@reddit
Our Lottery syndicate has won about £100 in three months which is a decent bar tab!
Dix-Septive@reddit
Early 2021 and work was slow (Covid lockdowns fucked my industry) while browsing the internet, I came across one of the online/Facebook competition websites that sells limited tickets for prizes ranging from a toaster to a car.
Ticket prices varied quite a bit, depending on prize value and number of tickets available. Some of the odds were quite appealing, if not for the £100+ price of entry.
I noticed a free to enter option which required you to send a load of personal information on a postcard. These guys probably figured that most people wouldn’t be stupid enough to put a ‘fraudsters wet dream’ on an exposed piece of card that would be handled by countless strangers. I’m not most people.
They were running several competitions a day and I couldn’t be arsed to handwrite multiple entries, so I printed 250 of them, bought stamps and flooded the company with entries. They weren’t pleased (that’s another story).
About 2 months in, I was on a call with a client when my mobile starts ringing. A few minutes later a text message came through from this company asking me to call back. I assumed it was to do with a complaint I had made about them not processing all my entries.
But I had a nagging feeling and decided to check their FB page. I still had another hour on the call and my colleague was presenting at this point, so I watched the video of all 5 draws happening that day. Each draw is for a better prize and by the time it got to the 4th draw for £5k, I still hadn’t seen my name and I was pretty certain they wouldn’t let a free entry with the big prize. I was about to switch off, but decided to skip through the video to the end. I spent about 2 minutes looking at my name on the screen, next to the top prize, not quite believing that I’d won.. But it was now my turn to present to the client.
I had to spend another 50 excruciating minutes on this call, acting like I hadn’t just won 2 BMW’s worth £70k. The neighbours heard the scream I let out as soon as the call ended!
nabsickle@reddit
I won an ipad mini at a conference, I was so excited I left my coat behind and all the business cards people had given me during the day.
PeterG92@reddit
Outside of prizes on Premium Bonds I don't tend to win other competitions. Think the last thing I might have won was a signed football from y team for predicting the minute of a yellow card. I'm sure I'm probably forgetting something else though
CaptainWordseye@reddit
Tonight in the pub I had 50p on me so decided to do 2 25p spins on the bandit and won £56.50 on the 1st spin.
Pound for pound easily my best ever win.
Bread-But-Toasted@reddit
Got a few scratch cards on my 16th birthday. Won £450. I’ve won more since then but never topped that feeling. For my sports betters out there, my friend once won £6k on a 14 fold accumulator.
bopeepsheep@reddit
£900+ in Amazon vouchers in the sweepstake they ran a couple of years ago. It looked super spammy, not least because a lot of people won multiple prizes, which looked fishy. Apparently quite a few people didn't claim because it seemed so iffy, but I did a bit of password faffing, logged in to claim one of the small prizes to test it out, and boom, £50 in gift balance. Then I claimed for all the other prizes. Got a new sewing machine and stocked up on a bunch of staples.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Scams/s/z2lZSMj7ZH - a lot of explanations for the suspicions, there. But it was legit.
Arnoave@reddit
A couple of arguments on Reddit
Livid_Distribution19@reddit
Five Alive radio lunchbox in the late 80’s/early 90’s. Took it to school and immediately had it confiscated.
Darkheart001@reddit
2 VIP Access All Areas tickets to Bon Jovi at the O2 in 2006. I thought it was gonna not come through the whole time and it had to be a mistake as it was one of those “prize draw” things I was automatically entered for. Great gig and got to meet Jon and the band who were very cool and worked really hard.
The only thing that was kind of off and a bit funny was the rest of the VIPs, all in suits and ties or ladies in business suits who mostly ignored the gig and the band. My brother and I were in ripped jeans and T-Shirts I think they were genuinely pleased to see some real fans in the VIP section who were really jazzed about it.
Disastrous-Ad9001@reddit
When I was about ten, I won a Raleigh Chopper bike in a butcher's colouring competition (!). I later sold it to buy a clarinet. While playing my clarinet in a small group, I met a girl playing the flute. We've now been married for 35 years. Best prize ever.
Livid_Distribution19@reddit
“This one time at band camp…”
Gold-Creme-9597@reddit
Best one on here - bonus points for literally every part of it being SO niche!
mightytonto@reddit
I won 8 octoplus points on their spin the wheel the other day…off to spend it on hookers and crack brb…
Welshguy78@reddit
I won a replica Rolex from a Reddit group prize draw. Still worth like £600 though. But the company that put up the prize was dodgy and turned out it was a banned seller who relisted under a new name and the group Admin didn't die any due diligence. So I never got my watch and even though the admin promised to sort me out with a replacement, he pussied out and stopped replying. So yeah, that was fun. Only I could win a thousand to one prize and somehow still not get a prize. Apart from that, I guess a REM CD on a radio 2 call in.
Rider151@reddit
I never usually win anything, probably because I don't bother entering, but never seem to have any luck even when I do. The exception to this was when an Aunt put a £5 scratchcard in my birthday card one year and I won £1000.
Relevant_Swimming511@reddit
I won the love of my life, the luckiest competition I never knew I entered
CarminaBananas@reddit
This is a British sub. We will have none of that here.
Relevant_Swimming511@reddit
Alright then, it was a fiver on a lotto ticket, happy now? It got me a shitty kebab
CarminaBananas@reddit
Better thank you
hauntedathiest@reddit
I'm 63,and I've never won anything in my life.Wouldn't mind but I've struggled most of it .God and I shall be having words in the near future.
DeepSleepPeep@reddit
Keep at it! Sending some luck your way
OutrageousRepair5751@reddit
I won 10 free tubs of Ben & Jerry's ice cream because I found the golden ticket (unidentifiable matter that definitely did not belong in the ice cream I bought initially).
RaggamuffinTW8@reddit
My wife's heart
CarminaBananas@reddit
Was she attached to it?
RaggamuffinTW8@reddit
Not particularly
GrumpyOldFart74@reddit
I won an iPad mini in about 2014 for filling in a customer survey on the Sky website.
When the email arrived about 6 weeks later, telling me I’d won an iPad, I immediately deleted it as spam. It was an hour or two later I remembered the survey and the prize draw and checked in my “deleted” folder… obviously turned out to be genuine!
yourefunny@reddit
Had to run to a table, place a rugby ball and run back to the start while attached to a bungee rope without falling over or the ball falling off the table. Fastest one a bunch of bungee jumps in Queenstown NZ. That was a good day!
WhyToHide@reddit
Anyone won a car on these car competitions?
whiskeejo@reddit
2013 and I’m rotting on the sofa while my partner is away on a fishing trip for a week. Ye olde Sky Sci-Fi channel was showing Continuum and this was the time that channels would run competitions during the adverts. So out of boredom I entered for a 5-day trip to Vancouver to meet the cast filming Series Two. I didn’t win (came 2nd - DVD box set) but they couldn’t get in touch with the winner so with five days notice they offered the prize to me.
Local flights with BA from Manchester to London then over to Vancouver. Limo pick up staying at the Four seasons. Pick up to visit the sets, met the cast, lunch with the food truck was amazing. Got on with the PR so well they invited us back for a second day. Incredible prize.
WhyToHide@reddit
Incredible!
mpsamuels@reddit
I don't know about 'best', but most memorable was a pair of tickets to see Chilly Gonzales.
I thought the competition I was entertaining was for a CD and some merch so was surprised to see the tickets in the envelope too! I didn't even live particularly local to the venue but didn't want to waste the tickets so quickly arranged an impromptu weekend away.
They would go down as the "most expensive free thing I've ever received", but I was given a set of Sonos speakers when I joined their beta program years ago. That started a VERY expensive habit.
No_Refrigerator7911@reddit
A grand off the postcode lottery
Empty-Question-9526@reddit
I won a years supply of innocent smoothies. I entered a competition on twitter and apparently i was one of the only people to enter.
time4tacoz@reddit
£250 on the Grand National a few years ago.
ReginaldGinnett@reddit
Greene King did a great East Anglian Pub Quiz in 2010 and I captained the winning team. The final was a proper production with a stage and proper PA and lighting, Ted Robbins/Den Perry was MC.
We won 5 grand and posed with a giant cheque, we had a half page picture in the East Anglian Daily Times. After the photos we got absolutely hammered.
https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/21787276.pub-quiz-team-crowned-champions-east-anglia/
PotentialInfinite55@reddit
I won a book at primary school for making a clay model of Joseph and his technicolour dream coat. I absolutely treasured that book, it was called Albertine Goose Queen. That feeling has never been topped!
Footner@reddit
A computer game in the local newspaper
The game was Cossacks: European wars and this was probably like 2002.
I think it’s the only thing I’ve ever won
PetersMapProject@reddit
A three day tour of Uluru (Ayer's Rock), Kata Tjuta and Kings Canyon, in the centre of Australia.
The only catch was I had to get myself there.
WebDisasters@reddit
Lifetime supply of cadbury’s chocolate - it was a sack of chocolate bars that lasted less than a month.
Big picture though - I won the cosmic lottery by being born in this galaxy, on this planet, in the UK and with a decent standard of life in comparison to others.
Educational_Way3900@reddit (OP)
The truest answer here I think (life, not the chocolate!)
Minimum-Activity3009@reddit
Your priorities are wrong
thebyrned@reddit
Tickets to see Man United play Bayern Munich in the champions league at the Allianz arena (when David Moyes was manager). It was a Gazprom competition on twitter. The question was who plays their home games at old Trafford. Tweeted the answer and never thought about it again and then one day had an email and phone call to say I'd won, I thought it was a scam.
eastkent@reddit
A brand spanking new caravan. I had to collect it from Yorkshire but when I sold it I was debt free and have remained so ever since. It saved me.
katie-kaboom@reddit
I actually got one of the 'golden tickets' in a beauty advent a few years back. I'm not sure if that was better than the entire basket of Easter candy when I was a kid, though.
EasySignature179@reddit
I won a fancy coffee machine a couple of months back, i thought great, i’m buying a house this year, will do nicely that. But then saw in the email there was a cash alternative of £1300, i couldn’t ignore that!
Turns out it retails for about £1500 which is madness to me, Kitchenaid KF8.
Back in 2010ish I won an incentive at work where the prize was an all expenses paid trip to Canada, we got to visit the BioWare studios, (they made the Mass Effect and Dragon Age video games), our chaperone who worked for the studio took us to a fancy restaurant and a college football game as well as generally showing us around, was a great trip! Crazy thing was i didn’t even know i was in the running for it, there were that many sales incentives that year i kinda stopped paying attention to them
Pig-E-Wig@reddit
I’ve won a few nice things, I won an all expenses paid trip to Disney Paris from Sky TV, I also won 5 days in Budapest from Pepe’s, yes the chicken place, thought it was a scam but nope.
hauntedathiest@reddit
I misread and thought it said pope.My first thought was oh the pope's giving out prizes I wouldn't mind winning something absolutely priceless.Knowing me I'd drop and break it on the way home. Which is why I've never won anything in my life. Just shows there are not a lot of winners around so they must make millions from competitions.I might start one for my elderly cats I wonder if anyone would gamble on them.
thenitmustbeaduck@reddit
I won a PlayStation 1 mini in 2000. I won it via a Leeds United magazine. It also came with the Champions League game.
wendz1980@reddit
A gold Coca Cola yo-yo. 80’s kids know.
b-roc@reddit
A Nintendo entertainment system with Batman, Super Mario Brothers and TMNT. I have never again been as happy as that time in my life.
Lanesra8989@reddit
Wimpy burger transistor radio about 1977 , entered by putting my name and address at the wimpy bar in East Finchley
TheAmazingSealo@reddit
6 month supply of Jaffa Cakes
insertitherenow@reddit
A years worth of super noodles in the 90’s.
PhotoPharma5031@reddit
My wife won us a honeymoon to Thailand in a bridal magazine competition! Flights and a 7 night stay in an incredible resort. We had been planning to get married in 2020 but it had to be used in 2019 so we brought the wedding forward and avoided all the covid chaos!
Mediocre_Sprinkles@reddit
A £350 digital camera from coke zone.
It was a nice end to a really crappy 16th birthday where no one wished me happy birthday and my family barely acknowledged me. Nice email to get when you're sad.
delboy_mangetout@reddit
A bike when I was about 12!
nandos1234@reddit
iPad Pro 8 years ago. I still use it daily.
ClockAccomplished381@reddit
Over 20 years ago now I won £250, a bottle of champagne and an engraved pen for getting employee of the quarter, which sounds ok but I was being paid a pittance at the time for the value I was adding. So about £300 worth of stuff but I probably should've been paid at least 50% more than I was.
Worth less but more enjoyable was we won a family hovercraft return ticket to IOW, wouldn't have gone otherwise and had a great time.
ilikecocktails@reddit
10 litres of Dulux paint on an instagram competition. Covered decorating my lounge stairs landing and front bedroom!
Altruistic-Basil@reddit
I won a summer of sailing lessons when I was a kid. We never would have been able to afford them, and they took pity on us and did my mum a deal so my brother could come too for a fraction of the normal cost.
Aaron123111@reddit
My wife does comps as a living and has won over 100 prizes. We’ve been on a fair few trips which was nice
Wits_end_24@reddit
Florida holiday. I got to choose the hotel and stayed in this amazing five star resort in Fort Lauderdale. We had activities included too. I was able to extend (at my cost) and drove to Orlando and spent a few days at universal too.
Another memorable win, though nowhere near the same value, was a years supply of Yorkshire Tea! It was a runners up prize but the prize I was really hoping for!
Jlaw118@reddit
I won a brand new Sony Ericsson SP phone back in 2013 just by entering a Pepsi code online. Worthless now but worth about £300 back then. Just from buying a can of pop
Immorals1@reddit
When I was younger I had a phone contract with Vodafone that my parents paid for.
Had a phone call when I was in Spain 'Well done Alex, you've won an all expenses paid to the Athens Olympics including tickets to super Saturday'
This is when my dad took the phone off me and my sister and I got a weekend at the grandparents
--BMO--@reddit
What?! For real?
Immorals1@reddit
Ye. I was only 14 and probably would have died in Greek summer heat but never forgot it
wdwhereicome2015@reddit
Hardly one anything so a bottle of Jack Daniel’s on the official JD Facebook page was a nice thing to win.
NecroVelcro@reddit
Tickets to see Manic Street Preachers at The Great Hall in Cardiff University in 1992.
CoconutCitizen@reddit
Motorola razr flip phone in magenta pink 😎
FornyHucker22@reddit
won £1500 in a poker tournament in a casino once, 3 of us agreed split as we had even chips but on count up I had slightly more.
third place was like 500 so we were all happy with 1500 each
sharkkallis@reddit
England shirt signed by Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters.
I also won tickets to the Champions League final last year but got COVID unfortunately.
JocastaH-B@reddit
I was visiting a friend in Chicago and we went to a BB King concert. In the interval between the support band and BB we went to a stall for a local radio station, they had a raffle for front row tickets and I won!
TroublesZoo@reddit
Won an iPod in the McDonald's Monopoly back when an mp3 player was a quite expensive and desirable thing in the mid 00s.
Specifically, it was some U2 tie-in model themed with the colour scheme of the album they had out at the time
Bla0705@reddit
A few years ago I won a competition for someone to come and do a classroom makeover for the new school year. As someone who hates doing display boards, it felt like winning the lottery
FrogfFrogger@reddit
£800 at holiday park bingo
Last-Deal-4251@reddit
An iPod I received as an academic prize at uni.
ResplendentBear@reddit
Either 4 Reading tickets or a 1/4 scale Sideshow Killer Croc statue. Both went on eBay, and sold for a lot less than I'd hoped, but still a free couple of hundred quid.
ShadowBannedSkyRu1e@reddit
A PS2
Adziniho@reddit
£7k on the lotto hotpicks 4 numbers £1 a go had the 3 numbers up for £800 4 times as well
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