Mos Crossword - Odds Of Winning?

[Arrods]

'orrible weather today so I thought I'd query something that's been bugging me for a while.

MoS says winner of the prize crossword will be selected at random. There are three ways of entering - text, 'phone or post. How do they ensure each entry has the same chance winning? Surely they can't just randomly select from which method a draw will be made and then make a random selection from that draw? If that were the case, the lowest category of entry would have a greater chance of winning, wouldn't it?

To take it to extreme, supposing only one person 'phoned in with an entry and 1'000s entered by the other two methods. In that case the 'phoned in one would have a disproportionately higher chance of winning (wouldn't it?).

Can someone enlighten me (hope I'm wrong)? Many thanks.

[puzzler1]

been wondering this myself for some time....

[dzug2]

Well if they are doing it properly (and there's no reason why they shouldn't be) they will have devised a method whereby every entry has an equal chance - which rules out your scenario.

What that method is - no idea. It should be something on the lines of logging every entry on a computer and then telling it to select one at random. But that does sound a lot of work

[fiction-factory]

If they know they get for example 10% by post, 40% by phone and 50% by text they can either pick winners from categories in those proportions, or more likely, they can use a random number generator using the weightings 10,40, 50.
But whether there are any independent checks and whether they simply bin the postal entries unopened we may never know

[laptoplil]

The only way I can see that would be fair to all would be every entry be it phone text post etc. should be given a number as it arrives and then draw a number out and match it to the person. The number could then be drawn as you would a lottery ticket

[fiction-factory]

They won't bother doing that though unfortunately. Why go to the trouble of opening thousands of envelopes and listing the names if only one is going to picked as the winner. I certainly wouldn't go to all that trouble- I'd just open one at random and shred the rest

[fiction-factory]

^assuming the one I opened was correct

[Davemano]

I believe that they do open every entry and this way they can pass on, or sell your details to other parties which results in you getting loads of personally addressed unsolicited mail.

[fiction-factory]

That may have been the case at one time but as nearly all papers try to get the vast majority to enter by text/phone/online (which can generate money from call charges and captures the number more efficiently) I doubt they want to bother capturing addresses. But I may be wrong- it'd be good if someone from a paper/mag was a member here

[brainiac]

I've read that in the big ITV competitions such as This Morning and Loose Women, where the prize might be a car or £80,000, and you can either text, phone or send in your name and phone number to that ubiquitous PO Box 7558 in Derby (where nearly ALL competition entries seem to have to go), all entries are changed into a similar random number and then the winner chosen from all those. Whether the MoS would be bothered to change all postal entries in that way is a moot point. Having said that, last year the Daily Express Big Monday crossword (with a prize of £1,000) added a phone-in method of entry, but I still won by sending in the grid in the usual way, so I haven't given up hope of winning the MoS! Shame it's become so uninteresting, though. Much better when Chris Feetenby set it.

[Davemano]

ff - Just out of interest, my BH gets more than enough personal unsolicited mail and only does mail puzzles.

[BEAC]

Some time ago I wrote to Chris Feetenby's son who told me that they are all lumped together. Not satisfied I asked what kind of answer that was. Got an Email from the assistant CEO's secretary explaining how it was done and assurance that all was fair. I quoted this on AB at the time but cant remember how many months ago it was. Incidentally, I have received £20 from the DM prize crossword twice this year - but you can only post that one.

[Baldric]

Last entry on here BEAC

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Quizzes-and-Puzzles/Crosswords/Question1399605.html