Valentine Lottery (in Contests)

I couldn't help to notice 2 things:

1. My admin characters are overloaded with items.
2. Valentine's day is this Tuesday.

I could do a regular lottery, but why not try to put these two things together, and make it a bit more interesting?

Valentine Lottery
A lottery where you don't buy a ticket for yourself, but for someone else. Like most other admin lotteries before, tickets are limited to one per person, and are free.
Who you want to send a Valentine to is entirely up to you. It can be anything from a person who you wanted to send a real life Valentine card to (but never found the right excuse to get their address), to someone who you just want to surprise with a "Thank you".

How does it work?
Your task is easy: just tell me who you want to send a CB Valentine. Telling me is best done via a Chat Mail message to me, but email or PM may also work. Optionally include a (20 char or less) message to accompany your gift (if your entry is picked). There's no need to pick a number. Please, keep your entry to the point and use the full (account) name of the person, so I don't end up sending to the wrong person.
My task is not that easy: I have to collect all entries and feed it to a little program called cupid, (about to be) written for this lottery. We all know that love is blind, so cupid will use a random number generator to decide at who to aim his arrows prizes at.
There's a limit of 2 CB Valentines per recipient, to avoid turning this into some kind of popularity contest.
On Valentine's day (that's February 14, in case you had no idea), I'll send the prizes to the lucky winners.
Who was responsible for sending these Valentines will be kept a secret...

What can I win?
Well, nothing ;)
But the person you want to send a Valentine to has a change at winning a very nice prize, see the table below.

Any rules?
Of course there are rules. Here they are:

• Max. 1 entry per person.
• Narcissists are disqualified from entering.
• Posting your entry into this thread means you did not read the rules. It's not that hard to imagine what will happen with your entry if you do that...
• Dealing with the regular entries already will keep me very busy, so don't bother asking if I got your entry, ask for changes or something like that. I may treat it as a request to have your entry removed.
• Accounts made on or after today (Feb 11, 2006) are not allowed to enter, either as sender or as recipient.
• A person can have multiple secret admirers, but only up to 2 Valentines will be awarded with a prize per person.
• I already know you all like me, so there's no need to nominate me. And even if you do, it won't get me any prize.
• Any attempt to force someone to pick you may void that entry.
• There is no limit on the number of people that may enter; all valid entries made before I start sending the prizes (most likely somewhere Tuesday afternoon) do count.

Valentine	Score / PR / MPR:	900,443 / 395,838 / 395,838
A Wet Noodle	[73x67] (+43)	4,927,636
A Vorpal Blade	[75x47] (+32)	2,290,306
A Katana	[74x41] (+18)	1,218,093
A Vorpal Blade	[75x30] (+27)	1,027,054
A Katana	[74x37] (+16)	925,253
A Katana	[74x31] (+18)	724,320
An Executioner's Sword	[82x25] (+20)	602,195
An Executioner's Sword	[82x18] (+10)	228,675
An Elven Long Sword	[80x12] (+10)	147,010
An Enforcer's Crossbow	[4x38] (+40)	3,757,317
An Assassin's Crossbow	[4x24] (+24)	851,611
An Enforcer's Crossbow	[4x25] (+20)	753,985
An Enforcer's Crossbow	[4x11] (+12)	149,650
1,042 Slayer Arrows	[15x4] (+4)	7,636
Trench Coat	[40] (+70)	4,295,148
A Mithril Chain Mail	[28] (+31)	499,437
A Combat Gi	[1] (+17)	93,784
A Trollskin Armor	[22]	20,325
A Shadow Cloak	[11] (+21)	1,574,559
A Cloak of the Istari	[6] (+10)	483,555
A Set of Chain Mail Leggings	[14] (+29)	1,596,957
A Pair of Elven Boots	[6] (+10)	172,630
Gloves of Holy Wrath	[6] (+15)	860,374
A Pair of Helm's Gauntlets	[4] (+7)	83,202
A Cornuthaum	[0] (+7)	1,034,399
A Helm of Durin	[9] (+17)	761,734
A Mage Shield	[0] (+37)	3,392,618
A Mithril Shield	[20] (+14)	50,467
A Buckler of Mandos	[10] (+1)	6,281
A Fire Familiar	lvl 567,020	10,959,048
A Tattoo of Endurance	lvl 493,670	9,396,949
A Lesser Steel Familiar	lvl 63,470	1,014,112
A Lesser Tattoo of Endurance	lvl 41,470	642,838
A Lesser Tattoo of Endurance	lvl 19,570	282,209
A Lesser Steel Familiar	lvl 11,970	167,606
A Lesser Tattoo of Augmentation	lvl 9,520	130,659
A Jigorokano Familiar	lvl 11,420	164,061
A Rune of Enlightenment	lvl 20	11,030
1M CB$
500k CB$
250k CB$
200k CB$
150k CB$
100k CB$
50k CB$
25k CB$
10k CB$
5k CB$
1k CB$

PS. Don't get too excited about the named items on the list; they all expire their names in a month or so.

This is awesome, as long as it doesn't involve playing Space Invaders it gets an A+ in my books =)

sent mine in, somebody better pick me, I know i'm lovable ;)

Same.

Note: I'm not going to respond to each and every entry I'm going to receive. If you sent it by chatmail, you can assume I have received it.

i bet nobody makes me they're valentine but i sent mine in. i hope that person enjoys it and gets something cool :). great contest bart

                ...:::::::...        ...:::::::...
             .:::::::::::::::::. .::::::::::::::::::.
          .::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::.
        .:::::::::::::::::::'.-=.-~, ':::::::::::::::::::.
      .:::::::::::::::::::' /{,_;--'},'::::::::::::::::::::.
     .:::::::::::::::::::: |  .=~`|//| :::::::::::::::::::::.
    .::::::::::::::::::::: | /   ; \ | :::' __, '::::::::::::.
   .:::::::::::::::::::::' ||    | | | :' .' \/\  ::::::::::::.
  .:::::::::::::::::::::: |\|    | | |\  / \ /_|  :::::::::::::.
  ::::::::::::::::::::::. \ |  , /|'/ / | \ /_ |  ::::::::::::::   
  ::::::::::::::' ,_ '::: `\ \/|/ / /`.: \ /__/  :::::::::::::::
  :::::::::::::  /\/`'. ':. `\ `./.'/\ : /.--' .::::::::::::::::
  :::::::::::::  |_\ / \  ::. '. ,/|\/| //  ''''':::::::::::::::
  :::::::::::::  | _\ / | .::  | | \ \///  .""'-.  :::::::::::::
  ::::::::::::::  \__\ / .: .'/| |  `)`/__//_/_/_\  ::::::::::::
  '::::::::::::::  '--.\ : /\/_| |} /.---. \ \ \ /  :::::::::::'
   '::::::::::::''     \\ |\/_/| | //`  . `'...-'  :::::::::::'
    ::::::::::  .-""'.  \\\/ /{| |//  .:::::....::::::::::::::
     ':::::::  /_\_\_\\__\`(`  | '/  :::::::::::::::::::::::'
      '::::::  \ / / / .---.\  | |  :::::::::::::::::::::::'
       '::::::. '-..,'` .:.`\\ | |} ::::::::::::::::::::::'
         '::::::......:::::: \\| |  ::::::::::::::::::::'
          ':::::::::::::::::: \` |  ::::::::::::::::::'
            '::::::::::::::::  | |  ::::::::::::::::'
              ':::::::::::::: {| |  ::::::::::::::'
                '::::::::::::  | |  ::::::::::::'
                  '::::::::::  | |  ::::::::::'
                    '::::::::  | |} ::::::::'
                      '::::::  | |  ::::::'
                       ':::::. |/  ::::::'
                         ':::.....:::::'
                           ':::::::::'
                             ':::::'
                               ':'

Great idea, Bart, thanks.

to bad im not loved as a skeleton :(

sent mine in a while ago. Great contest Bart!

Man... its amazing the kind of stuff these multis have, eh?

Oh snap! Its the wet noodle!

omg, how i want the Trench Coat or the FF...


lol

What a great contest idea, Bart! You deserve an honourary Valentine for thinking it up :)

Just wondering: if I were to choose a person who had already received two Valentines, will you tell me so that I can choose someone else, or is my vote effectively wasted?

I think it's best if I keep all details secret.

I'm aware that some elements of this lottery are a bit mean (you can only pick one; the risk of wasting a vote), but I do believe that the prizes are good enough to allow for this ;P

Sure, that makes sense, given the whole anonymous nominator/recipient thing.

Awesome idea bart, Be a cool 18th B-day present! :P

This is a spectacular contest. I hope the person I sent my Valentine to enjoys it, assuming I didn't waste my vote.

I sent mine in, just to give a player a good feeling :)

Awww, how sweet! Bart, will you be my Valentine? ;)

My moms B-day is on valentines day! :D I'm getting her a biiig present! Can't wait!

She'll be 42!

Grats to your mom, I just turned 18 4 hours ago, so far my B-day has been amazing...

<Insert Hitchickers Guide to the Galaxy reference here>

i absolutely love the contest bart!! you always know how to shake things up!

/me loves bartjan for this

Don't waste your declarations of love on Bartjan, he already knows everyone loves him, and can't win a prize anyway!

Bart - Is there any chance to see the names of the possible recipients before you award the prizes? I'd just like to see who we are "admiring" :P

lets all send a nice valentinecard to BartJan just to thank him
lets spawn his email :p

Spawn or spam?
Somehow I don't think he'll like you if you spam him. I have no idea what he'd do if you "spawn" his email...

i voted

Are people posting that they voted secretly hoping that will be enough for someone to vote for them? ;)

If you still haven't nominated someone, there's only about 18 hours time to do so.

Haha, no one has been game enough to say they nominated someone after Stephen's comment.

im sorry for stating that i voted, i thought that was what we were supposed to do. and maybe because i did someone would vote for me :D
i mean.... idk what your talking about
<.<
>.>

only about 30 minutes before you can vote for me!

I was wondering, would it be possible to get some impersonal statistics when this is all done? Like, how many votes were cast (or, Valentines sent, that is), and how many people were chosen. Basically, to see how successful this ingenious contest is.

Make it general. e.g. "35 votes were cast, and 29 people received a valentine lottery entry. The most any one person got was 4 votes" something along those lines, so we don't hurt anyone's feeling =)

Thus "impersonal"...

I can't wit for some results from this contest lol ...

/me loves giving :P

/me crosses fingers for his 'admirer

This lottery now closed for new entries. Winners have been picked and will be notified. I will summarize after all prizes have been sent.

woops sorry Bart i sent you a CM asking who sent mine, but sent it before i read that post =)

If I have made no mistakes in sending the items, this is the list of who got what:

Prize	Valentine
A Lesser Tattoo of Endurance lvl 19,570 282,209	Bast
An Enforcer's Crossbow [4x25] (+20) 753,985	Bast
A Wet Noodle [73x67] (+43) 4,927,636	Borderliner
A Jigorokano Familiar lvl 11,420 164,061	Chargerz-Back
A Katana [74x41] (+18) 1,218,093	Darkwalker
Trench Coat [40] (+70) 4,295,148	DarkXIII
An Enforcer's Crossbow [4x11] (+12) 149,650	Destitute Turnip
A Shadow Cloak [11] (+21) 1,574,559	drownedbubble
A Cornuthaum [0] (+7) 1,034,399	dyno
A Trollskin Armor [22] 20,325	dyno
A Helm of Durin [9] (+17) 761,734	edyit
A Katana [74x31] (+18) 724,320	fool
500k CB$	Forge
An Elven Long Sword [80x12] (+10) 147,010	fornatas
A Fire Familiar lvl 567,020 10,959,048	freed
An Executioner's Sword [82x25] (+20) 602,195	GentlemanLoser
Valentine Score / PR / MPR: 900,443 / 395,838 / 395,838	GentlemanLoser
200k CB$	House_Shannara
1k CB$	Hyrule_Castle
A Lesser Tattoo of Endurance lvl 41,470 642,838	imacrackers
1M CB$	InebriatedArsonist
25k CB$	Jayuu
A Tattoo of Endurance lvl 493,670 9,396,949	J_Carp
A Rune of Enlightenment lvl 20 11,030	linkz0r
A Lesser Tattoo of Augmentation lvl 9,520 130,659	Maelstrom
An Enforcer's Crossbow [4x38] (+40) 3,757,317	Maelstrom
A Vorpal Blade [75x30] (+27) 1,027,054	Mem
A Mithril Shield [20] (+14) 50,467	Mem
10k CB$	Nightmare
An Executioner's Sword [82x18] (+10) 228,675	Oxtetor
A Mage Shield [0] (+37) 3,392,618	Pitspawm
A Lesser Steel Familiar lvl 63,470 1,014,112	PoweredByMushu
50k CB$	Real_Life_is_Better
250k CB$	Seitori
A Katana [74x37] (+16) 925,253	Shade
A Mithril Chain Mail [28] (+31) 499,437	shadowsparkle
A Buckler of Mandos [10] (+1) 6,281	smallpau1
A Vorpal Blade [75x47] (+32) 2,290,306	Trigun
A Cloak of the Istari [6] (+10) 483,555	trigun
A Pair of Helm's Gauntlets [4] (+7) 83,202	tscm
1,042 Slayer Arrows [15x4] (+4) 7,636	Tyra
150k CB$	UltimaSpock
100k CB$	Unica
Gloves of Holy Wrath [6] (+15) 860,374	Unica
A Combat Gi [1] (+17) 93,784	Viperboy
A Set of Chain Mail Leggings [14] (+29) 1,596,957	WildEagle
A Pair of Elven Boots [6] (+10) 172,630	WolfCorpse(GW)
An Assassin's Crossbow [4x24] (+24) 851,611	ymisodumb
A Lesser Steel Familiar lvl 11,970 167,606	[BW]Anfauglir
5k CB$	[red]carcharoth

All items were sent to the highest score character of the account.

I just want to thank bartjan for holding this lottery give-away. I know it made a lot of people happy/ier on this Valentines Day. You Rock

i am a bit curious. some people got 2 gifts and others who were voted for got nothing. why is that?

how do you know they were voted for?

because my valentine got nothing

92 entries were received. After eliminating any entries that would break the rules (too popular, or voting for me), I ended up with 76 entries that had a chance of getting a prize.
6 People received 3 or more nominations. They all 6 got at least 1 prize (purely by chance).

still does nothing for my question

Megaman: There were only 50 prizes, to be distributed over 92 (after applying the rules, 76) entries. This means that there is always a chance of not getting something. I'm sorry if you're disappointed in that, but the purpose of this lottery was not to make people (financially) rich...

More nominations means more chances to win? In other words, imagine each nomination is a piece of paper in hat. Just because Bast got picked once doesn't mean she can't get picked again...

Thanks to the person who nominated me. You "stay cool" too. *smile*

Hehe thanks to whoever sent me a valentine =)

I feel loved

Thanks for the gift bartjan & my valentine :)

Congratulations on a well run lottery bartjan! You made 43 people\s valentine's day even better, as well as for the people who voted for them. Thanks!

Heh, thanks to whoever nominated me! And of course to Bart for running this contest.

ty for the good contest, i got 1k!! ... :D

Yes, this was a supersplendiferous idea! My Valentine got just what they needed. Thanks again, bart! ^_^

Thanks for my valentine too :-)

I was very happy, because I know who sent it :-)

*smiles*

thanks bart, and whoever nominated me :-)

its only $5k, but after a terrible Valentines day, just the fact that somebody nominated me made this day better.

Congrats all!

I have to say I am impressed - now for a change in strat. Thanks Bart and thanks to my Valentine :)

wow..i actually got something for valentines..thanks bart..and i owe my valentine a hug! ^_^

and me :) thanks mystery persons and Bart.

your welcome border
woops now you know i voted for you

Another year, another disappointment.

Valentines Day should be renamed "Lonely Nerds Day".

As usual............ passed over like a 10 day old possum roadkill. :\

Oh, that was you on the side of the road? If I'd known, I'd have stopped and done you the decency of pushing you into the ditch, so you could be alone in your misery ;)

*puts Maelstrom in the book right after Bast* ;)

Did it occur to you that maybe, just maybe, your eyepatch, pegleg and hook might be a tad intimidating to some (ok, most) potential dates? You might improve your chances if you tried out some modern natural-looking prosthetics...

All mail I found in my post box was in a blue envelope from the Dutch tax agency...

I would at least have thought Mustapha Kamel (Abu Hamza) would have sent you a valentine. No spare hook in the post? I think you should come to England and give him a little visit to explain why you are so upset.

Hooray :) U rock!