The True Story Behind the Rigged McDonald's Monopoly Game

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tennbengal
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The True Story Behind the Rigged McDonald's Monopoly Game

Post by tennbengal »

This story is bananas. And long, but worth the read if you haven't seen it yet:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-an-ex ... e-millions
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Re: The True Story Behind the Rigged McDonald's Monopoly Game

Post by Sabo »

What an amazing story. But this part made me roll my eyes:
Then there’s the “imposter” M&M candy, like the one in Robin Colombo’s freezer. In 1997, a newspaper reported that a college student in Florida won the $1 million prize, somehow finding the gray-colored M&M before Mars even announced the contest. The boy’s father, a Baptist, said that if his son had spent his money on a lottery ticket, he would have been sinning. “The Lord doesn’t approve of gambling,” he said. “But a candy contest is something different.”
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Re: The True Story Behind the Rigged McDonald's Monopoly Game

Post by Nonlinear FC »

Interesting read. I was particularly struck by the timing of it all, because I always felt like those games were really easy for Corporate to kind of bullshit their way through not giving prizes, or kind of staging a few winners, but the odds seemed so insane.

But to realize the trial started the day before 9/11... That explains why no one knew this actually happened.
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Re: The True Story Behind the Rigged McDonald's Monopoly Game

Post by tennbengal »

Nonlinear FC wrote: Mon Jul 30, 2018 9:43 am Interesting read. I was particularly struck by the timing of it all, because I always felt like those games were really easy for Corporate to kind of bullshit their way through not giving prizes, or kind of staging a few winners, but the odds seemed so insane.

But to realize the trial started the day before 9/11... That explains why no one knew this actually happened.
Yeah. I was wondering how in the fuck this flew below the radar, and well, there you go.
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Re: The True Story Behind the Rigged McDonald's Monopoly Game

Post by rass »

tennbengal wrote: Mon Jul 30, 2018 10:11 am
Nonlinear FC wrote: Mon Jul 30, 2018 9:43 am Interesting read. I was particularly struck by the timing of it all, because I always felt like those games were really easy for Corporate to kind of bullshit their way through not giving prizes, or kind of staging a few winners, but the odds seemed so insane.

But to realize the trial started the day before 9/11... That explains why no one knew this actually happened.
Yeah. I was wondering how in the fuck this flew below the radar, and well, there you go.
oof
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Re: The True Story Behind the Rigged McDonald's Monopoly Game

Post by Giff »

I read stories like this and always think the same thing - why keep going?
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Re: The True Story Behind the Rigged McDonald's Monopoly Game

Post by Johnnie »

It's ok, Giff. It's ok.

Edit:

Just read through it. Really interesting stuff. I vaguely remember this like I vaguely remember Gary Condit/Chandra Levy. Thanks, 9/11.

And you have to love the puns sprinkled throughout...
...like when he applied for the Marines, but was discharged from basic training with high arches....
And this part made me roll my eyes.
Baker recalled that one of the FBI’s top agents, known as the “human lie-detector,” interrogated him, and added that if the FBI had focused on surveilling terrorists not McDonald’s winners, 9/11 might never have happened.
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Re: The True Story Behind the Rigged McDonald's Monopoly Game

Post by Pruitt »

Wild story... but how the hell did it go on for so long?
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Re: The True Story Behind the Rigged McDonald's Monopoly Game

Post by Nonlinear FC »

Pruitt wrote: Mon Jul 30, 2018 12:08 pm Wild story... but how the hell did it go on for so long?
Well, there were lots of "real" winners, dumb enough to go on camera and shoot those commercials. And until they'd realized something shady was going on, the winners did a half decent job of looking like they were coming from all over the place.

Coupled with what's not really mentioned in the story until the very end. It wasn't really in MCD's interest to be too curious about any of this until the FBI came knocking.
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Re: The True Story Behind the Rigged McDonald's Monopoly Game

Post by Johnnie »

Oh, my reading comprehension is off. Who was the person who made the anonymous phone call that triggered everything?
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Re: The True Story Behind the Rigged McDonald's Monopoly Game

Post by tennbengal »

Johnnie wrote: Mon Jul 30, 2018 12:57 pm Oh, my reading comprehension is off. Who was the person who made the anonymous phone call that triggered everything?
Someone in the maybe mafia connected family to get the ex-wife in trouble, I believe.
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Re: The True Story Behind the Rigged McDonald's Monopoly Game

Post by A_B »

tennbengal wrote: Mon Jul 30, 2018 1:17 pm
Johnnie wrote: Mon Jul 30, 2018 12:57 pm Oh, my reading comprehension is off. Who was the person who made the anonymous phone call that triggered everything?
Someone in the maybe mafia connected family to get the ex-wife in trouble, I believe.
So much for omerta.
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Re: The True Story Behind the Rigged McDonald's Monopoly Game

Post by brian »

Ben Affleck to direct the movie version.

Not ideal, but he's shown himself to be at least a somewhat capable director, so who knows. If they change the setting to Boston though, so I swear to god I'll burn this country down.
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Re: The True Story Behind the Rigged McDonald's Monopoly Game

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brian wrote: Thu Aug 02, 2018 1:29 pmNot ideal, but he's shown himself to be at least a somewhat capable director, so who knows. If they change the setting to Boston though, so I swear to god I'll burn this country down.
MANCHESTAH.

(If you don't get it. )

Can't wait for gripping dialogue like "Kehd, I want a fahkin' Big Mac because I want to be a million dollah winnah" and "Fuck, why can't Kelly's and Dunkin' do this fahkin' contest? Fahkin' que-uhs."
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Re: The True Story Behind the Rigged McDonald's Monopoly Game

Post by L-Jam3 »

That's too bad. When I was reading it, it had so many twists and turns and things that could be mined for humor I thought to myself "man, the Coen Brothers could absolutely knock this out of the park."
Last edited by L-Jam3 on Thu Aug 02, 2018 2:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The True Story Behind the Rigged McDonald's Monopoly Game

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L-Jam3 wrote: Thu Aug 02, 2018 1:37 pm That's too bad. When I was reading it, it had so many twists and turns and things that could be mined for humor I thought to myself "man, the Cohen Brothers could absolutely knock this out of the park."
Or someone like Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman, yeah. But could be worse at least not Michael Bay or JJ Abrams or something.
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Re: The True Story Behind the Rigged McDonald's Monopoly Game

Post by A_B »

I think he's been above average as a director. Not Coen level, but who is?
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Re: The True Story Behind the Rigged McDonald's Monopoly Game

Post by Pruitt »

It's a story that could be approached from so many angles - I am fascinated by the fact that McDonalds allowed the contest to run that last time even though they knew it was a fake. Do you focus the story on the sleaze-ball who ran the scam? The investigators? Some poor sap stuffing his face with crap food in an attempt to win? The corrupt Mormon guy?

It really does scream for the Coens though, doesn't it?
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Re: The True Story Behind the Rigged McDonald's Monopoly Game

Post by Johnnie »

Heat.

But with many, many more restaurant scenes around North Shore Boston M̶c̶D̶o̶n̶a̶l̶d̶'̶s̶ Wahlburger's featuring Sullys and Murphs.

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Re: The True Story Behind the Rigged McDonald's Monopoly Game

Post by Johnnie »

Behind Hollywood’s A-List Bidding War for a McDonald’s Monopoly Article
Within days, an all-out bidding war erupted between several major studios and a deep bench of Hollywood’s A-list leading men. Warner Bros. attempted to buy “McScam” for a film to star Steve Carell (with Whiskey Tango Foxtrot co-directors John Requa and Glenn Ficarra attached to direct). Netflix bid at the behest of Robert Downey Jr. and Hangover filmmaker Todd Phillips. Universal attempted to snap it up as a star vehicle for Kevin Hart. As Vulture can exclusively report, Martin Scorsese came to the bidding table late in the game with the expressed interest of Leonardo DiCaprio for the lead (ex-cop Jerome Jacobson). Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg separately pursued the project. And Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment made a play for acquisition rights, according to sources with knowledge of the negotiations.
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Re: The True Story Behind the Rigged McDonald's Monopoly Game

Post by Johnny Carwash »

Ranking best-to-worst case scenarios:

1. Scorsese
2. Spielberg
3. Carell
4. staring at a blank screen for 2 hours
5. Phillips
6. bleach poured in your eyes
7. Wahlberg/Ferrell and Hart (tie)
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Re: The True Story Behind the Rigged McDonald's Monopoly Game

Post by GoodKarma »

Johnny Carwash wrote: Mon Aug 13, 2018 4:18 pm Ranking best-to-worst case scenarios:

1. Scorsese
2. Spielberg
3. Carell
4. staring at a blank screen for 2 hours
5. Phillips
6. bleach poured in your eyes
7. Wahlberg/Ferrell and Hart (tie)
....
999. Michael Bay
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