{"id":2137,"date":"2014-11-12T17:37:20","date_gmt":"2014-11-13T03:37:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/grumpyseniors.com\/?p=2137"},"modified":"2014-11-12T22:24:40","modified_gmt":"2014-11-13T08:24:40","slug":"gambling-your-friends-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/grumpyseniors.com\/?p=2137","title":{"rendered":"Gambling your friends away"},"content":{"rendered":"

I love Hawaiian Airlines.
\nEverybody here does because the people are just so nice and the planes make it across the ocean non-stop.<\/p>\n

But something is taking a bit of the shine off this love affair.<\/p>\n

I’m a Hawaiian Miles holder just like everyone in Hawaii.<\/p>\n

\"Hawn-Mile-Contest-sized\"<\/a>Shooting into my email box today was an invitation for a little contest.<\/p>\n

The winner gets 85,000 free miles.<\/p>\n

Please note: nothing is ever free.<\/p>\n

Keep that in mind as we continue.<\/p>\n

The wife and I can always use the miles for one of our jaunts to visit our money in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

It’s an easy contest – enter my name and email address after ignoring the other details and guessing the answers I’m supposed to know by watching too many videos and looking at too many pictures.<\/p>\n

Click on submit and await winning my free stuff.<\/p>\n

What could be easier?<\/p>\n

\"Hawn-Miles-Contest-Entry-sized\"<\/a>Guess what?<\/p>\n

It wants access to my Facebook profile and friend’s list before my answer wings its way to the winner’s pile.<\/p>\n

Whoa.
\nStop this runaway train.<\/p>\n

One, what if I have no friends because I’m grumpy?<\/p>\n

Two, if I had any friends they would stop being my friends if I handed out their FB information and Hawaiian Airlines starting spamming them.<\/p>\n

Now in Hawaii – a contest, or drawing, is considered gambling if it meets any of these three criteria:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. It costs something to enter<\/li>\n
  2. It’s a game of chance, not skill<\/li>\n
  3. Winning a prize worth something<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    We can agree 85,000 Hawaiian Miles is probably worth something to most people.<\/p>\n

    We can also agree 80-percent of the people in Hawaii want a lottery\/raffle but the Legislature thinks it knows best.<\/p>\n

    Anyway, Hawaiian skipped around this dumb raffle law by making me answer some really easy questions.
    \nThat’s skill and not chance.<\/p>\n

    It’s now legal.<\/p>\n

    And those who won’t share their friend’s list – like me – can enter by following some convoluted process of mailing your name, address and so forth to a place in Michigan and wait for something to come back.<\/p>\n

    \"Contest-Entry-rules-sized\"<\/a><\/p>\n

    Yeah, too humbug.<\/p>\n

    I suspect most people will give Hawaiian Airlines their friend’s list because they didn’t think it through and, after all – it’s 85,000 FREE miles!<\/p>\n

    Here it is again…
    \nNothing is ever free.<\/p>\n

    It’s a bad idea and now I’m grumpy.<\/p>\n

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