Text To Win, But Really Lose

Have you noticed lately the proliferation of text-to-win type contests connected with various television shows? The Apprentice, Deal Or No Deal, Treasure Hunters, and Hell's Kitchen all have these types of contests, and those are just the shows I watch. The contests all work the same way: At every commercial break, you are presented with an array of contestants or briefcases or trivia answers, and you have to guess which one is the lucky case or express who you think is the best chef or who deserves to be fired. When you text in, you are entered into a sweepstakes for what always seems to be $10,000.

Here's the catch: premium text messaging rates apply, which means that each contest entry costs you 99 cents. Of course, the fine print specifies that you can enter online for free, which you must be allowed to do under federal law. However, I can't imagine all that many people in lazy mass-market America get up and run to their computers when their cell phones are handy. A little bit of quick math yields the conclusion that they must receive well over 10,000 entries each night, and even from each time zone, since I think they have multiple giveaways each night. Therefore, the networks have quite the scam going on. They have managed to bypass the advertisers and get their money straight from the viewers, without the middleman. Just like any lottery, your odds are not good. Rest assured that yours truly will never succumb to such a lame gimmick. (Now, blackjack is another story....)