Earlier this week my co-worker, Angela, asked if I would be interested in photographing a special event for her family. Her father, Gary, had been chosen by www.iwon.com as their annual $100,000 winner and her and her siblings thought it would be fun to surprise their family and capture the fun event in photos. I felt honored to have been asked and had a great time! For more on the story please see the following press release or www.wcco.com.
MINNEAPOLIS HEALTH CARE WORKER GETS EARLY HALLOWEEN SURPRISE, WINS $100,000 IN IWON.COM® ANNUAL SWEEPSTAKES
IWON.com and Family Conspire to Give Gary Grell the Biggest Trick AND Treat of His Life
BLOOMINGTON, MN, Oct. 29, 2008 –Gary Grell received the shock of his lifetime earlier today while attending what he thought was an award ceremony for his daughter. The family of the 56-year-old Minneapolis healthcare worker collaborated with IWON.com®, to pull-off the ultimate Halloween “Trick AND Treat” event that awarded Grell $100,000.
IWON.com surprised Mr. Grell with the winning news at a press conference hosted by Oak City restaurant and staged to appear to be an event honoring Grell’s daughter, Angela. Mid-way through the ceremony, Grell was told he was the victim of a Halloween prank, and IWON representatives presented him with a check for $100,000 as his family celebrated around him.
Reacting to his winning the $100,000 prize, Grell said “This is unbelievable! I have never won anything before. I think we will put some money in the bank and plan to take a long vacation.”
Mr. Grell also showed great persistence and patience, having been an IWON member for over nine years before hitting the big prize. Remarkable considering IWON.com is celebrating its 10th Anniversary this month. Gary joined the site when it was only four months old.
“We’re honored to present our Annual Sweepstakes prize to such a dedicated member of our community of IWON casual gamers,” stated IWON Senior Vice President Timothy Allen. “Gary Grell’s winning ways prove that if you play games on IWON.com, you too can win.”
Gary Grell is a Minneapolis healthcare worker that resides in Swanville, Minnesota with his wife. His three children, all of whom helped devise the plan to trick their father into attending the press conference, each live in the Minneapolis metropolitan area.
IWON.com, a leading free casual gaming website, is celebrating its 10th Anniversary by awarding more than $300,000 in cash prizes to its members throughout the month of October. Since its launch in October 1999, IWON.com has given away more than $70,000,000 in prizes. Mr. Grell joins a long list of IWON.com winners from Minnesota. In just the past two years alone, the site has awarded cash and prizes to more than 1,000 Minnesota residents.
10 Years of IWON.com
IWON.com launched on Oct. 5th, 1999 as a general web portal that gave away money via sweepstakes to its members. The site changed its focus in 2007, when it re-launched as a causal gaming destination and social network. Today IWON.com enjoys a thriving community of more than 19 million registered users and approximately five million monthly unique visitors.
In September of 2008, IWON.com added a charitable component to the program called IWON Team Challenge, in which members play games for the charities of their choosing. Each month, the charities with the most coins earned are awarded cash.
“To date, IWON Team Challenge has raised over $250,000 for charities including The Wounded Warriors, St. Jude’s and Susan G. Komen,” said Allen. “We’ve really seen our members develop deep and meaningful relationships with each other and with the charities they support as a result of the Team Challenge program.”
IWON.com is the property of Mindspark Interactive Network, Inc., an operating business of IAC (NASDAQ: IACI).
