Dennis Norman
UPDATE: January 1, 2010
The drawing was held at noon yesterday and teh winner of the 50/50 is Bernard Gross, from California. Below is the video from the local news station that covered the drawing.
UPDATE: December 28, 2009
I just got off the phone with Jack Labarga, the Director of the Mission of St. Francis, the beneficiary of the charity component of this raffle. Mr Labarga was very accomodating and my conversation with him was very enlightening.
So, here are where things stand according to Mr. Labarga:
1. Ticket prices were increased to $30 from $10 in an effort to raise more money. However, the $30 ticket has the same chance of winning as the $10 ticket…they just paid $30 for the same chance earlier buyers paid $10 for
2. Ticket sales were stopped on Christmas as was originally planned. There have been no new tickets sold since.
3. There were not 300,000 tickets sold so the house will not be awarded. Instead, per the terms of the raffle, a 50/50 drawing will be done with 50% of the cash going to the winner and the other 50% to the Mission of St. Francis.
4. The drawing will be done tomorrow or Thursday at the Mission of St. Francis.
5. The number of tickets sold and money raised is not known by Mr. Labarga at this point. He said Chicago Title is tallying it up now and the total should be known later today.
So, in the next day or two one lucky ticket holder will be getting a late Christmas present. Good Luck.
UPDATE: December 24, 2009
Over the past couple of weeks it has come to my attention as well as the attention of many of our readers that the “terms” of this house raffle have changed…tickets are now $30 instead of $10 and it now appears the drawing has been postponed 3 months…I have emailed the Brannan’s asking for an update and why they made the changes but have not heard back from them yet…Thanks to one of our blog visitors, Bob, below is an email that was apparently sent out by the brannan’s announcing the changes….if I hear back from the Brannan’s I’ll update this post agian:
Subject: Raffle Drawing Rescheduled: March 25, 2010
> From: milesandlaura@juno.com
> Date: Thu, 24 Dec 2009 13:06:57 -0500
>
> To all of our friends and supporters, we want to wish you a very happy holiday season with all your loved ones and friends.
>
> As you know, it has been our wish to complete the raffle by Christmas day. However, due to the economy, we have not sold enough tickets and have decided to postpone the raffle for 90 days (the drawing will now be held on March 25, 2010). The reason for this decision is due to the fact that this has never been just about raffling off a home – it’s equally as important to keep the Mission of St. Francis from having to close it doors after so many years of service to those who are in need of their help.
>
> As the Mission has stated, we pray and hope for your understanding. By extending this raffle, many more will benefit during these hard economic times.
>
> We thank you in advance for your understanding and ask that you please help us get this done by contacting those in your address book. At the end of the extension, all of the same rules and terms will apply. If we’re still unable to meet our goal, we’ll do a 50/50 drawing, in which the winner will get 50% of the proceeds, and the other 50% will benefit the charity.
>
> On behalf of the Brannan family and the Mission, we thank you for your patience, understanding and your willingness to help us not only raffle the home, but allow the Mission to continue helping those in need. We hope that you have a blessed holiday and happy 2010!
>
> – Mission of St. Francis
> http://www.floridaluxuryraffles.com
Two months ago I first wrote about the opportunity to win a $3,000,000, 6,000 square foot gated waterfront estate home in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida for just $10.00. The raffle is being conducted by Florida Luxury Auctions and is scheduled to end on December 25, 2009.
Recently I followed up with the company doing the auction, Florida Luxury Auctions to see how things were progressing. I found out that this is not an auction company auctioning off someones house, but instead is a couple, Miles and Laura Brannan (both of whom are in the real estate business) that as they said “have been hurt greatly by this economy.” In a response to my questions they stated “the raffle is a means to avoid foreclosure…”
I have to applaud the Brannan’s for their creative and innovative effort, as well as the fact that as a result of their effort they are allowing many other people to benefit from their difficult situation. I say this because the Brannan’s plan to share part of the proceeds of the raffle with The Mission of St. Francis, with the balance going to their lender. In addition, some lucky person will “win” their home for $10.00. This sure looks like a win-win situation to me! It’s a shame it is at the expense of the Brannans but I think you have to applaud them for trying their best to turn their bad situation into a good one for others.
According to the Brannan’s they have sold about 80,000 tickets to date so they are not quite on pace to hit the 300,000 mark by December 25th but hopefully they will make it. I would encourage everyone that can afford it to buy a ticket, or two or three, to help support the cause. Who knows, you may just end up with their $3,000,000 home!
Related posts:
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WOW… good stuff but sorry can’t argee with it all.
Hi, I have two tickets for the next drawing…it’s not a scam, it’s as good a chance as a lotto ticket!
I really hope I win!Thats my home town!
Here they go again…
Recieved this email 5/14/2010
The 2nd Annual Florida Dream Home Raffle is underway. This is your opportunity to win $1,500,000 in cash or a $3,000,000 Waterfront Estate in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. This Raffle will benefit : Women in Distress, Coalition to End Homelessness, Shepard’s Way and The Mission of St. Francis. Tickets are just $30 and you can purchase as many as you would like, but remember only 300,000 will be sold and they are selling fast! To purchase your tickets just go to http://www.missionofsaintfrancis.net or CALL 1-888-71-TICKETS and mention Raffle USA.
How does this work? When you purchase your tickets you are automatically entered, no mailing, standing by to monitor the dates, or worrying if you need to do anything. We give you the opportunity to print your tickets from your very own computer. All tickets purchased will be included in the drawing. What if I Purchased multiple tickets? For every ticket you purchase one will be printed and placed in the drawing. This means that you will have multiple tickets spinning around the drum with your name on it increasing your chances of WINNING.
This raffle is being conducted in accordance with the Florida State Raffles Act (849.0935). 2010 Florida Dream Home Raffle, Powered by Showclix, All Rights Reserved Terms and Conditions Apply, please visit the Rules section for details.
This whole thing is not looking very legitimate! Now there is a NEW auction for the SAME HOUSE!!
Michael
You are right, I missed your point….I thought you were just not aware that they moved the drawing date up….I was following this when it happened and, as you can see in the article, even had several updates as to the status around Christmas and New Years…I even called the charity to talk with Jack Labarga, the director….as the comments show, this was definitely a testy issue…people expected the drawing on Christmas eve as promised, then they extended the date, which upset some folks, then ultimately they decided to have the drawing on New Years Eve…I posted all this as I found out about it on the site and the drawing itself was aired on a local news station (I think there is a link to it in my post) but I’m not sure what they communicated to all the ticket holders…I know I had purchased tickets myself and don’t recall receiving any communication from them….I was just trying to do what I could to get as much info as possible about it and publish it as I got it…
Dennis:
You are either missing the point or ignoring what has transpired. I purchased 10 tickets on 08.11.2009 and expected to be able to view the drawing on a certain date. The owners informed me after I discovered on my own that they were changing the terms of this raffle as well as the date to March 25, 2010. When someone buys a raffle ticket they buy it for many reasons, one main reaason is for the excitement of watching the actual drawing and dreaming for a moment of actually winning or at minimum knowing the correct date of the raffle and being able to see who the grand winner was as well as other prizes given out. I was not given the opportunity to see the drawing or see the list of other winners. Further, given all of the inappropriate changes that have taken place leaves a lot of doubt as to this drawing even being done fairly or that my $10 ticketsd were even in the barrel. I am certain that if this entire process was investigated thoroughly that there will be a determination of fraud and gross misconduct. Shame on all of the operators involved in this project.
Michael
There is an update to the article that gives the info; in a nutshell it ended up being a 50/50 drawing that we held on 12/31/09 – winner and info is in the post…take care, Dennis
http://realestateconsumernews.com/real-estate-market/a-3000000-water-front-fort-lauderdale-home-for-10-update/
Also, the email came to us from the current owners of the property who are also owners of the Florida Luxury Auctions?? A tremendous conflict of interest!!
Can you please tell me if anything new has developed? I was informed by the original owners of the home that the drawing was scheduled for 03.25.2010 period. There was no maybe or if we reach a certain amount sold. I have been out of the loop on this but was hoping to see some finality. Thank you.
When they changed the terms of the raffle they negated their contract and if you asked for a refund before the drawing there should be not question and refund given. I believe what is happening here constitutes fraud and hopefully SOMEONE will get to the bottom of this.
The local news covered it on 12/23 and encouraged ticket sales, so you would hope it was a legitimate raffle. No one wants to gain from someone elses loss, but unfortunately it seems to be the order of the day. Very sad.
Count me in with a Class A!! SHOWCLIX (Pgh, PA), the Brannans, Jack Labarge (who was in control of the house per State raffle rules), maybe Dennis Rodman, et al need to be named in the complaint. Showclix had the audicity to remove my tkt from the drawing due to my complaining; I have no proof they reinstated it after I called the owner. Showclix was a willing participant by allowing the 12/25/09 cancellation as they were the ticket brokers and it is their website that did the advertising for the raffle. My gut feeling is that Jack Labarge is not on the up and up. I researched The Mission’s financial records with FL state, certain $$$$$ reports do not add up. I sent a complaint letter to the FL AG and have received a reply. EVERYBODY needs to do the same.
I agree with you, Kate. I hate to see a mission suffer but the ends don’t justify the means.
Let’s Frag,’ there sorry as*es!!!!
Sorry… meant if “all monies collected are NOT returned”. I am not walking away from this matter! I can’t tell you how ticked off I am…
I have also contacted The Mission and I find it very “unChristian” that Jack Labarga asked me not to complain, because The Mission would loose their money! Well.. what about all the Christians who bought tickets for a 12.25.09 drawing that were defrauded? I am complaining and all ticket holders should receive a FULL REFUND for tickets purchased. This auction was about the Brannan’s saving their home from foreclosure, with some money being tossed to The Mission because the state requires it for charity raffles. I WANT MY MONEY BACK and I think a class action lawsuit should follow if not all monies collected are returned. The by laws for raffles clearly state the raffle cannot be cancelled… which is what the Brannan’s did by “postponing the raffle date”. Labarga is lying about the raffle not violating laws. How Christian is that?
Thought I would help and buy a 10 dollar ticket for fun. After seeing all this junk, my original thought that I should never get involved n something liek this has unfortunatly come to fruition. No big deal, just 10 bucks for a shot at a 3 mill house….well maybe not…looks liek 300,000 grand. Tobad.
Paul – I agree that the $ 300,000 is not what it should have been. That amount was not 50/50 according to the amount of tickets sold. Contact the FLorida State Attorney Generals office. It seems like The Mission and the promoters not on the up and up with the amount given to the winner.
I watched a recording of the televised draw and having paid $30.00 a ticket (plus 2.99 admin) could not work out the maths of 50%x$30x’less than 70,000′ tickets being a win to Mr Gross of only $300,000. Dismayed to learn the price was hiked up with no change in the chance to win. I’m sure this is not legal in UK. Perhaps someone in USA can clarify the situation over there?
OK I can understand the hike was in an attempt to reach the target but surely get each entrant to pay the $30.00 by enforcing a minimum of 3 entries at a time. I was happy to pay $30 for an entry to win such a great property but it must be a level playing field for each entrant.
Dennis, as per our conversation the raffle was held at noon December 31, 2009
The winner was Bernard Gross, from California.
Please see video posted by the local ABC affiliate.http://www.justnews.com/video/22099338/
God bless and thanks for keeping your readers posted,
Jack
Who won the money?
Judy,
I have not received a refund.
Fyi to update everybody, my ticket has been reinstated per Showclix.
Wishing a Royal 777 Vegas Good Luck to all! (it’s for certain I will NOT be the lucky one) Oh well, I got 7 outta 8 on Keno last night, yeahhhh!
Dennis Norman
December 29th, 2009 at 5:51 am · Reply
Genesis,
From the information I have gathered I don’t believe they will honor requests for refunds. Quite frankly, based upon the information I obtained yesterday in my interview with Mr Labarga, the director of the Mission of St Francis, it seems at this point they have pretty much stuck to the terms they advertised with the exception of doing the drawing on Christmas day
Genesis- Have you (or anybody else) received an email of a REFUND from Showclix in the past few minutes? I have never expressed a request for a refund. Very fishy that I received the email from Showclix just minutes after Dennis Normal spoke with Jack Labarga at The Mission.
A coincidence, NOT!
================================
I just called Showclix and spent 1/2 hr on hold unable to get through.
WHAT GIVES! I DID NOT REQUEST A REFUND AND HAVE A RECEIPT FOR THE DRAWING. Who told Showclix to issue a refund?????????? This is getting more outrageous by the minute. RETALIATION for complaining, I will get to the bottom of who is responsible. And my ticket better be reinstated and in the drawing.
============================================
judith,
Your order has been refunded in the amount of $10.95 has been issued back to your credit card ending in 9356. Please allow up to three business days for the refund to appear on your bank or credit card statement. Discard your ticket(s) associated with this order or refund.
Thank you,
ShowClix, Inc.
1-888-71-TICKETS
http://www.showclix.com
Judy
Thanks for the comment..After seeing the info you came up with I contacted Jack Labarga, the Director of the Mission of St Francis, to see where things stood on their organizations SOLICITATION OF CONTRIBUTIONS LICENSE. Again Mr. Labarga was VERY responsive and forthcoming..He said every year they obtain an extension until December 25th to do their filing with the state and he said it was filed by the extended deadline. As for the $48,000 number the report showed for income he is not sure about that, he looked up their tax return and it showed income of a little over $200,000 but he emphasized this is why the raffle was (is) so important to the Mission..they, like many charities, are struggling in these tough economic times and very much in need of the money to come from this raffle.
For those that are interested, the Mission is a 40-year old not for profit. Their website is: http://themission.us/
I still have concerns about the legitimacy of this raffle, The Mission, because of the following reply I received from FL State:
Dear Sir or Madam,
At this time our records indicate that the EXPIRATION DATE of the SOLICITATION OF CONTRIBUTIONS LICENSE for the Incorporated Mission of St. Francis, license # CH5609, ** was October 27, 2009. *** Their total reported revenue was $48,086. For further information regarding the complete registration and financial status for this business please contact us directly at 1-850-488-2221 or toll free in Florida at 1-800-435-7352. This process will ensure that we are able to assist you in the most effective way. Thank you.
Consumer Services Webmaster
Division of Consumer Services
1-800-HELP-FLA (435-7352)
or 850-488-2221 (out of state)
http://www.800helpfla.com
To: cswebmaster
What is the latest Registration expiration date (did it expire 10/27/09?) and what is the Total Revenue as of 12/24/09? This record may be outdated. Thank you.
Business Name
INCORPORATED MISSION OF ST. FRANCIS (Charitable Organization)
City/State
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL
Registration Number
CH5609
Registration Expiration Date
10/27/2009
Revenue Source
IRS 990 w/ Sch.A (12/31/2007)
Total Revenue
$48,086.00
Program Services Cost
$69,249.00 (100% of Total Expenses)
Administrative Cost
$0.00 (0% of Total Expenses)
Fund-Raising Cost
$0.00 (0% of Total Expenses)
Payment to Affiliates
$0.00 (0% of Total Expenses)
Total Expenses
$69,249.00
Surplus/Deficit
-$21,163.00
Genesis,
From the information I have gathered I don’t believe they will honor requests for refunds. Quite frankly, based upon the information I obtained yesterday in my interview with Mr Labarga, the director of the Mission of St Francis, it seems at this point they have pretty much stuck to the terms they advertised with the exception of doing the drawing on Christmas day…the drawing is supposed to be done today or tomorrow so it will be a couple of days late. For the posts I have done I have communicated with both the Brannans and now Mr. Labarga and I can honestly say I feel they have good intentions, are trying to make sure they comply with the law on lotteries of this type and want to please everyone. Raising the ticket price certainly did not hurt earlier purchasers as what you paid $10 for they charged others $30 for. Moving the drawing date back was the thing that obviously caused some issues with some people. They decided to move it to March 24, 2010 with the hope of getting enough tickets sold to actually award the house which was the goal from the start. As Mr. Labarga told me, awarding the house was a win-win from their standpoint: the Brannans got out from under their situation, the bank would have been paid in full, his organization (The Mission) would have received a nice contribution and some lucky person would have received the house for the cost of a lottery ticket. The “back-up” plan of a 50/50 drawing is apparently, according to Mr. Labarga, required by Florida State law for this type of drawing. So the 50/50 wasn’t the goal.
I think however when the decision was made to extend the deadline they did not take into account that there were probably many people out there that did not really think they would sell 300,000 tickets in time so this would basically end up being a 50/50 drawing, and with the drawing being on Christmas thought why not buy a ticket? Maybe I’ll get a nice Christmas present…Anyway, since they did receive some (although it sounds like a vocal minority) negative feedback about extending the date Mr. Labarga said their board met and decided not to extend it and to go forward with the drawing asap…they understand people’s suspicions today after some of the scames we’ve seen this year (ie Madoff) and they didn’t want their organization to be impacted by someone thinking there was anything less than legit going on.
As for how the drawing is to be done, Mr. Labarga told me it will be at the Mission, which is what was in the rules which I have posted below…I would think anyone that wants to show up and watch the drawing can…
Here is the info from the rules:
3. SELECTION OF WINNERS. Drawings. One (1) random drawing will be conducted by a representative of The Mission of St. Francis, as described below. Entrants need not be present to win. All tickets will be verified and selected by a selected party. The winning ticket will be drawn at 2824 NE 36th Street, Ft Lauderdale, FL. from all eligible ticket requests received. The winner need not be present to win. Winner name, not ticket numbers, will be called. The winner will be called by name and verified by matching the ticket with the information in the records and the application form
Happy New Year, Dennis
At this point I’d like my money back for the tickets I bought…This does not resemble legit to me…Who is in charge of making sure a “legitimate” winner is chosen and not a friend of a friend scheme?
Genesis- Have you (or anybody else) received an email of a REFUND from Showclix in the past few minutes? I have never expressed a request for a refund. Very fishy that I received the email from Showclix just minutes after Dennis Normal spoke with Jack Labarga at The Mission.
A coincidence, NOt!
Thanks, Dennis.
I just got off the phone with the Director of the Mission of St Francis and updated my blog post with the info on the 50/50 raffle..
The updated post is at:
http://realestateconsumernews.com/real-estate-market/a-3000000-water-front-fort-lauderdale-home-for-10-update/
TERMS ON WEBSITE:
“If any prize winner cannot be located by 5p.m., thirty (30) calendar days after the announcement or thirty (30) days after prize notification, whichever is greater, OR IF THE WINNER DEEMED TO BE INELIGIBLE, SUCH A WINNER WILL BE DEEMED TO HAVE FORFEITED HIS/HER PRIZE AND ANOTHER WINNER WILL BE SELECTED for such prize. A LIST OF WINNERS MAY BE OBTAINED BY VISITING http://www.floridaluxuryauctions.com. LIST WILL BE POSTED APPROXIMATELY 48 HOURS AFTER FINAL DRAWING.
This really burns me up because I was looking forward to this drawing to be on Christmas and had again emailed friends on 12/23 … it was supposed to be a fun thing. Now I don’t trust who will conduct the drawing, it will be interesting to see who the winners are.
I doubt the Brannans are broke because they said they are not behind in mortgage pmts. They are “savvy” REALTORS/INVESTORS . I will pursue a Class A Suit if they do not follow the ORIGINAL rules to a T: meaning nobody who bought tkts after 12/25, 6:59PM (stretching it) will be eligible, within 48 hrs after the drawing this week, they must post the winners names on the website, disclose exact number of tkts sold at $ 10, $ 30, etc etc etc. The amount is going to be well over $ 800,000, so halfers for The Mission isnt exactly chump change.
Regarding “It’s all about the Mission …”
The original goal was to have been $ 2.5 to the Brannans for the house and the remaining $ 500K for the Mission (at $ 10 per tkt x 300,000).
Blaming the sales on the economy is bull, if they couldnt sell 300,000 at $ 10 bucks a tkt over the past 8 months, clearly they would not have reached their goal at $ 30 a pop in 3 more months.
As for Dennis Rodman, I thought he was pitching this for his friends, Miles and Laura Brannan, and The Mission, GRATIS, as his way of contributing to society since he recently got out of rehab. (thats the way he has made it sound on all his statements and Huckaby)
I received this email yesterday: (My thoughts are at the bottom.)
To all of our friends and supporters, Although our overwhelming national and international response to extending the drawing date has been supportive and understanding, we are also listening to those of you that were looking for the raffle to end on Christmas. Our intent by extending the raffle was not to be deceptive. Our wishes were for someone to win this home, however we recognize that the economic environment is such that some of you are satisfied with a 50/50 split. Therefore we will organize a 50/50 drawing to be held on or before December 31, 2009. We will notify everyone of the drawing time as soon as it is scheduled. Thank you for your support and understanding. Mission of St. Francis This email was sent by ShowClix Ticketing on behalf of The Mission of St. Francis. If you have further questions, please contact info@themission.us.
Robert: I find it extremely rude to assume that everyone supporting fair-play is simply desperate due to the economy. There are easier ways to make money than playing the lottery.
Also, should exclude anyone from participating who bought a ticket after Christmas as it dilutes the pool of legitimate entries.
As mad as I am about the way the Brannens have handled this It’s probably best to go ahead on the 31st and have it done. The other option of class action suite is useless as the Brannens are already broke.
The extension also creates at least two additional technical/legal dilemmas:
If they had to pay Rodman or whatever and if any expenses were incurred, that should not be coming out of the 50/50, but from the service fee, as it does not have a provision in the terms to say anything is deducted from the 50/50. I also wonder if the monies were held in an interest bearing account.
What if someone who purchased a ticket after the deadline actually wins?
I’m not sure if this matters or not, but to me, it would.
I mean, it is very unlikely that I will win this grand prize as I only purchased one ticket (and I knew that at the point of sale), but I am one for integrity and fair is fair.
Also, although I don’t remember real figures being announced, I would imagine the winner is set to win more than 400k. I feel like I remember one of the media things covering the story announcing that somewhere around half of the tickets had been sold when I purchased my ticket in September (although I could be dead wrong).
And should we really feel bad that the goal of 300,000 tickets were not reached when they decided to raise the price by treble? I wonder how close to the original 3M goal they were with the increase in price. Especially as they indicated a declining economy impacted ticket sales; however, this economy has been suffering for more than a year. Trying to triple a 3M dollar goal in the eleventh hour? Failed marketing strategy or greed?
These types of schemes generally are never really about the charity first and rarely sell enough tickets. The homeowners have a house that they cannot sell or they owe more than is worth. They think they can get more by having a raffle. In order to make it legal they need to solicit and involve a charity. The charity then buys the home from the sellers and awards it to the raffle winner and if there is cash leftover, usually gets to keep that as well.
Maybe the Brannans will sell me their bar stools!
Has anybody visited/inspected this home, talked to the neighbors, etc? I know it’s a gorgeous area where I lived nearby a few yrs ago. I have sent a complaint letter to the fol: support@showclix.com –
info@themission.us –
dpeters@ctiagency.com (chicago title holding money in escrow)–
JimChinellySr@aol.com (PRES. south broward realtors)–
bill@southbrowardrealtors.com (exec VP – bill valdez) —
comptol@doacs.state.fl.us –
This is outrageous, bait and switch! I have sent all parties involved my feelings about this and expect a 50/50 raffle to be held this Monday, 12/28 with full disclosure (actual # of tickets sold at $ 10.00/$ 30.00, list of winners, etc as stated in orig Terms). There are many others on various websites talking about this, it isn’t about the $ 10.95 paid in June, it’s all about integrity. The Mission and a winner should both be getting at least $ 400K each since apx 80,000 tickets were sold (at 2 different prices).
Thank you for posting this, Taryn. I don’t see anywhere in here where the raffle people reserve the right to change anything at their discretion.
i paid $300 for 10 tickets and was charged $29,99 service fee on top of it. i dont want my money being held for additional 90Days in strange hands, people i cant trust.
i would think 10 times next time anyone ask for charity.
ORIGINAL TERMS!!!!!!!!!!!
I don’t mean to overload but I found an archived link to the TERMS (not just the FAQS). This is what it looked like…it clearly states that the date is December 25, 2009 and that a 50/50 raffle will replace the house in the event that not all 300,000 tickets were sold by that date.
This is Google’s cache of http://srv1.iconpress.com/~flaluxau/terms.html. It is a snapshot of the page as it appeared on Dec 21, 2009 09:55:18 GMT. The current page could have changed in the meantime. Learn more
Text-only version
These search terms are highlighted: luxury raffle rules regulations These terms only appear in links pointing to this page: florida auctions
Home Photos of the House More About the Mission FAQs Media Terms Contact
Raffle Rules and Regulations
The Mission of St. Francis presents the drawing of a 6 bedroom 6 ½ bath estate, located at 2824 N.E. 36th Street, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308. The actual drawing to be held when all tickets have been sold. The drawing is scheduled to be held on or before December 25, 2009 at 7PM. The drawing date may be accelerated as soon as all tickets are sold. See the website for the official drawing notification: http://www.floridaluxuryauctions.com. Winner need not be present to win. The Official Rules of the drawing are set forth herein. By entering the drawing, all entrants agree to be fully and unconditionally bound by these Official Rules, waive any right to claim ambiguity in the drawing or these Official Rules and further agree to be bound by The Mission of St. Francis’ decisions and interpretation of these Official Rules. By entering, all entrants release The Mission of St. Francis, participating sponsors and any of their respective parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, officers, employees and agencies from any liability.
1. ELIGIBILITY: Drawing open only to persons age 18 or older at the time of entry to purchase tickets, be a ticket holder, or win a prize. An affidavit of eligibility, photo identification, taxpayer identification number, and other information will be required from prize winners. Void where prohibited. This is not a lottery, this is drawing by chance. All applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations apply. The Mission of St. Francis is obligated to report the value of the prize to tax authorities as income. No mechanically or electronically reproduced entries accepted. 1.1 The following individuals, and immediate family members (defined as spouse, IRS dependent, or step- or biological mother, father, sister, brother, daughter or son) of, or who reside in the same household as, any person in any of the following categories, are not eligible to participate: * Employees of The Mission of St. Francis. * Any person engaged in the development, production or distribution of materials or prize supply for the drawing * Any person who resides in any area where this drawing, game by chance, would otherwise be prohibited by law.
2. HOW TO PURCHASE: To enter, a ticket can be obtained at the following internet website: http://www.floridaluxuryauctions.com. Must provide a valid e-mail address, full legal name, home phone, alternate phone, physical mailing address, mailing address. Tickets and payment confirmation will be provided electronically at time of purchase. Ticket purchases are not tax deductible in accordance with IRS regulations. No refunds are available and all ticket sales are otherwise final. The Mission of St. Francis will reject any drawing ticket request if the check or credit card payment is not honored or is returned due to insufficient funds or any other reason prior and not remedied before the time of drawing. Correction of any such return or non-payment is the sole responsibility of the ticket purchaser. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. All federal, state and local taxes associated with receipt or use of prize, including without limitation all applicable sales, use, luxury, income and special taxes are the sole responsibility of the winner. Winner must claim prize with The Mission of St. Francis and sign and deliver a completed W-9 form, or other form as required by law, to The Mission of St. Francis no later than 5:00p.m. CST thirty (30) calendar days from announcement or first attempt to contact, or the prize will be forfeited and awarded to alternate winner, see section (4). Prize non transferable. Actual prize may vary from photos used in print. No entrant need be present or tour house to win. Winner determined by random drawing from all eligible entries, to be held by The Mission of St. Francis. Which, will notify winner by telephone or email and U.S. certified mail return receipt on drawing day. To claim prize, winner must follow the instructions contained in their notification. Winner must present proper ID, a valid state-issued driver’s license or identification certificate. See section 4 below. The Mission of St. Francis reserves the right to disqualify false entries or entries suspected of being false, and any illegible, defective, incomplete or physically altered entry forms and entries that do not include valid or complete payment. The Mission of St. Francis is not responsible for printing errors in any drawing-related material, or for lost, late, misdirected or non-delivered mail, or any other failure to receive orders or deliver receipts prior to the drawing deadlines. All entries become the property of The Mission of St. Francis and will not be returned.
3. SELECTION OF WINNERS. Drawings. One (1) random drawing will be conducted by a representative of The Mission of St. Francis, as described below. Entrants need not be present to win. All tickets will be verified and selected by a selected party. The winning ticket will be drawn at 2824 NE 36th Street, Ft Lauderdale, FL. from all eligible ticket requests received. The winner need not be present to win. Winner name, not ticket numbers, will be called. The winner will be called by name and verified by matching the ticket with the information in the records and the application form. All winners will be notified by telephone, email or certified mail, return receipt requested, information as provided at ticket purchase. Notification by telephone will be made day of drawing. Email or U.S. certified mail, return receipt notification will be made within 24 hours of drawing. 3.1 DRAWINGS: Ticket purchase deadline dates must be met to insure entry. GRAND PRIZE: The Grand Prize is a 6 bedroom, 6½ bath estate located at 2824 N.E. 36th Street, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308. In the event that all 300,000 tickets are not sold by the drawing date a 50/50 drawing will be held, with the winner receiving 50% of the drawing proceeds and the other 50% being awarded to the charity. The Grand Prize Winner, assumes all fees, local, state, and federal taxes, and transfer taxes and any fees associated with transfer of the Grand Prize home. A W-9 form must be completed by the winner. Any withholdings if required, applicable to prize will be required at the time of transfer of such prize to the winner. No warranties, express or implied, are made or offered by The Mission of St. Francis. The GRAND PRIZE HOME is provided “as is”, with no guarantees or warranties from The Mission of St. Francis or any other individuals or entities associated with this drawing. Winner is advised to consult a professional tax advisor. Model home interior decorating and furnishings and artists renderings are for display purposes only and are not included as part of the Grand Prize. Custom choices and upgrades are not available. Tax authorities may place a different value on the home for the purpose of determining any income, property, transfer, or other taxes that may be due from the Grand Prize winner. If any prize winner cannot be located by 5p.m., thirty (30) calendar days after the announcement or thirty (30) days after prize notification, whichever is greater, or if the winner deemed to be ineligible, such a winner will be deemed to have forfeited his/her prize and another winner will be selected for such prize. A list of winners may be obtained by visiting http://www.floridaluxuryauctions.com. List will be posted approximately 48 hours after final drawing. Requests in writing must be received or postmarked within seven days of the drawing and include a self-addressed, stamped envelope. The IRS has decided that amounts paid for chances in raffles, lotteries, or similar drawings for prizes are not gifts, and do not qualify as tax deductible charitable contributions.
4. NOTIFICATION. Entrant(s) whose ticket number(s) are drawn at the Grand Prize drawings will be deemed the winner of the prize for that particular drawing (“Selected Entrant”). Selected Entrant will be notified by phone and/or U.S. mail using the information provided on the Entry Form or to the operator (“Notification”). If any Selected Entrant cannot be located or fails to return attempts to contact him/her by 5:00 p.m. thirty (30) days after The Mission of St. Francis’ first attempt to contact him/her, such Selected Entrant will be deemed to have forfeited his or her prize and another Selected Entrant will be drawn. Each Selected Entrant must execute an affidavit of eligibility/liability/terms and conditions/publicity release (“Release”). Selected Entrant(s) must provide all information requested to be eligible to win, including proof of age, proof of identity showing that the person claiming the prize is the same Entrant named on the winning ticket, credit card used to purchase the ticket. Unless restricted by law, each Selected Entrant will be required to complete and return the Release within thirty (30) days of prize notification. The prize may be forfeited if Selected Entrant(s): (1) cannot be reached; (2) fails to obtain all signatures on the Release and to return documents in a timely manner as required pursuant to these Official Rules; or (3) cannot accept or receive prize for any reason. Winner must execute all required documentation to transfer title of property into his or her name, within the thirty (30) days of prize notification. Winners grant permission for the use of their names, photographs/likenesses for advertising and promotion for this and similar promotions without compensation, unless prohibited by law. In the event any selected entrant is found ineligible or forfeits the prize, as described in these Official Rules, an alternate drawing will be held within five (5) business days after verification. If the Selected Entrant is found ineligible, rules of alternate drawing governed by these Official Rules, and notification will be posted on the website immediately.
5. GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS. By entering the drawing, the entrant agrees to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of The Mission of St. Francis which shall be final. Winners will be required to execute an affidavit of eligibility and a publicity release permitting The Mission of St. Francis to use their name, photograph, likeness, and voice for promotional purpose in any media. All winners are required to present proof of identity satisfactory to The Mission of St. Francis sole discretion that matches the name on the winning ticket. There is no purchase necessary and this drawing is void where prohibited. Neither The Mission of St. Francis, its employees, founders, owners, investors or any sponsor or any of its subsidiaries, affiliated companies, franchisees, service agencies, officers, directors, shareholders, members, representatives, or independent contractors or any of its affiliates are responsible for any injuries, losses or damages of any kind arising in connection with or as a result of the winner’s acceptance or use of any prize. Winner agrees to defend, indemnify and hold The Mission of St. Francis, and/or sponsors and each of their respective officers, directors, shareholder, employees, agents and affiliates and identities, harmless from any and all losses, damages, rights, claims, and actions of any kind arising in connection with or as a result of the winner’s acceptance or use of the prize. ALL PERSONAL INFORMATION COLLECTED BY The Mission of St. Francis WILL BE USED FOR ADMINISTRATION OF THE DRAWING. The Mission of St. Francis WILL NOT SHARE, SELL, OR OTHERWISE DISTRIBUTE PERSONAL INFORMATION COLLECTED BY SPONSOR EXCEPT AS STATED ABOVE. THIS DRAWING IS VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.
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Copyright 2009 Florida Luxury Auctions
http://www.luxist.com/2009/06/15/florida-couple-tries-raffle-approach-to-unload-their-mansion/3
I just found the above link…I know it is media covering the auction, but the last paragraph is:
The drawing is set for Christmas Day 2009 or as soon as all the tickets have been sold, whichever comes first. If all the tickets are not sold then a 50/50 drawing will be held with 50 percent of the money collected going to the winner and the other 50 percent going to the charity. Records on Property Shark show that the Brennans paid $2.35 million for the home back in 2005.
Which goes along with what I remember reading and understanding from the main auction site that I used to view and buy my ticket from. The site has obviously been altered and information the would indicate this has been removed since.
However, your tickets that you purchased would indicate the original drawing date on them.
I agree. I do not see how this is legal.
Initially we were told that the drawing would be for December 25, 2009 and that if all 300,00 tickets were not sold by then, a 50/50 raffle would be held instead with the only recipients being the charity and the person who was selected by raffle.
How is it legal for them to push back the date of the raffle in an effort to sell more tickets if an alternate plan was already set in the event that 300,000 tickets were not reached?
I would be more compelled to be flexible but it appears people are getting greedy here as they already raised the price of the tickets from $10 to $30…which is a huge jump as it is three times as much.
I remember reading about this back when I purchased my ticket and I also read that in order for this type of arrangement to be legal, the charity cannot pay more than something around fair market value for the house…
Anyway, a lot of the media was done through the internet and I also think with tech savvy people, all things done on the internet should be able to be brought up again, even if people erase them…I, myself, can barely turn a computer on.
If you want to give me an address I’ll send you a copy of the email that I was sent this morning.
Robert
Thanks for the comment…I noticed the ticket price change as I commented on before but did not notice the drawing date changed, in fact I thought it was orginally today or tomorrow and if they didn’t sell enough tickets then it became a 50/50 raffle…not sure what happened to that plan…As I said in an earlier reply the Brannans have been responsive to my questions for articles in the past but have not yet responded to questions I submitted to them a week or two ago..I’m going to email again to see if I can get any answers…
Merry Christmas
I bought a ticket back in September for $10.00. Since they jacked up the price I assume I’m grandfathered in. I agree with the earlier post that it should be illegal (and might be) to tamper with a raffle once it has begun. I am curious if anyone has a copy of the original “terms” that were offered with this raffle. Regardless of where the money goes (good cause or bad) I’m worried that the Brannans have violated the terms that I originally bought the ticket under. If seems overly convenient to push the date back 3 months to March just because they haven’t sold enough tickets.
Wayne, I was curious how things were coming so went to their website last week and saw the price had increased to $30 and also saw that Dennis Rodman is promoting it on their site (not sure if that is good or bad
…I emailed the couple to inquire about the increased ticket price, Rodman and the progress…I have not heard back…previously I have emailed them for both prior articles and they were always responsive so I’m a little surprised I have not heard back..it’s a stressful time for them I’m sure though…
Merry Christmas, Dennis
they have now jacked up the ticket price to $30. I beleive it is illegal to tamper with this sort of raffle once it has begun.
Hi, I have purchased 7 tickets with the intent on buying more- I have the funds to pay for the taxes as well as up keep of the home.I agree with the article. It is a terrible shame they are having to give up this beautiful home! On the other hand they bring attention to creativity in a bad situation and to the Mission. I hope the most deserving person wins, and wish the Brannan Family much happiness after this is over!
Ann
St. Augustine Fl