Someone is raffling a Breitling Chronomat at reddit.com----30 spots at $40 each. Turns out he's piggybacking on a popular sub-reddit called Knife_Raffle, where people raffle off knives. This is baffling to me on so many levels. You send a guy $40 via PayPal friends and family---no way to get it back---for a 1 in 30 chance at a watch. The potential for fraud is obvious, but even assuming it's legit, who would drop 40 bucks at those odds?

I understand church and school raffles: the prizes are often donated, and the proceeds go to a good cause. I also understand casino gambling, where at least you're having fun while losing your money at the blackjack table. But this is just a lottery, virtually unregulated, with really expensive tickets.

I don't get it.

 

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. In this case, the stupid prize is nothing.

 

I may consider those odds if I can hold and view the watch and witness the raffle taking place. If I didn't win at least I can congratulate the new owner on a great buy.