No Winner for Liberty's $1M

Virginia Beach, Va. (April 16, 2004) -- Customers of Liberty Tax Service couldn’t do what most Americans couldn’t do -- pick the winners of all 63 games in the Division 1 Men’s basketball competition.
 
So Liberty didn’t have to hand out a $1 million reward promised to the winner of its “Million Dollar Hoopla” contest. The promotion was held last month to celebrate March Madness.
 
“Sadly enough, everyone was knocked out by Friday afternoon. So no one even made it to the second round,” says Martha O’Gorman, Liberty’s vice president of marketing.
 
Customers were able to get entry forms at Liberty’s tax preparation offices or via the Web. The company received 911 entries, despite the fact that there was no advertising. Two big barriers for pickers were the Manhattan College win over Florida and Nevada’s wins over Michigan State and Gonzaga College.
 
“We'll be looking for a new angle next year,” says O’Gorman.
 
-- Robert Scott