$1 Million Dollar Bracket Challenge

OFFICIAL RULES

 

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.  PURCHASE DOES NOT IMPROVE CHANCES OF WINNING.  THE FOLLOWING CONTEST IS VALID ONLY IN THE FIFTY UNITED STATES AND DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (D.C.), AND IS OPEN ONLY TO QUALIFIED PERSONS (AS DEFINED IN THE RULES BELOW).  VOID ELSEWHERE AND WHEREVER PROHIBITED.  DO NOT PARTICIPATE IN THE CONTEST IF YOU DO NOT FALL WITHIN THE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS AS SET FORTH BELOW. 

 

Contest Name:  $1 Million Dollar Bracket Challenge (the “Contest”).

 

Contest Dates:  Contest registration is scheduled to begin at 12:00:01am ET on 2/15/2023 and end at 12:00:00pm (noon) ET on 3/16/2023 prior to the start of the first game in the first round of the designated tournament (the “Registration Period”).  The Grand Prize Contest is scheduled to occur between 3/16/2023 – 4/3/2023 during the designated 2023 Men’s College Basketball Tournament.  Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations.  Void outside the U.S. and D.C., and wherever prohibited or restricted by law.  Participating contestants acknowledge that the Contest is one (1) Nationwide Contest made up of many participating jewelers, as outlined in Appendix A, who are located in various states and those respective various time zones where a jeweler is physically located.  

§  Designated Tournament:  2023 Men’s College Basketball Tournament being played between 3/16/2023 – 4/3/2023, with the Semi-Final and Championship games to be held at the in Houston, TX on 4/1/2023 and 4/3/2023.

§  NOTE:  In the event the tournament is cancelled, postponed, rescheduled, or any portion of the scheduled games are cancelled, postponed, or rescheduled, due to Pandemic, Force Majeure, act of terrorism, war or any other reason, Sponsor reserves the right to either cancel the Bracket Challenge contest, or to adjust the Contest dates, in its sole discretion. 

§  In the event any scheduled game during the tournament is cancelled, forfeit, postponed, delayed or not played as scheduled for any reason, including due to Pandemic, Force Majeure, act of terrorism, war or any other reason, resulting in fewer than (63) games being played during the tournament, then there shall be no opportunity for any entrant to claim either the Grand Prize (correctly predict all 63 games in the tournament) or the Bonus Prize (correctly predict 60 or more games in the tournament).

 

Who May Enter:  Contest is open only to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and District of Columbia, who reside within the designated states as determined individually by each participating jeweler (“Jeweler”), age 18 or older as of date of entry, with a valid U.S. driver’s license or government issued photo ID, except the following persons who are not eligible to enter, participate or win:

(a)   Employees, officers, and directors of Gems One Corporation (“Sponsor”), Million Dollar Media, LLC (the “Contest Administrator”), each of their respective franchisees, parents, affiliated companies and subsidiaries (collectively, “Released Parties”), and the members of the immediate families or households, whether or not related, of any of the above. “Immediate family members” includes, for purposes of this promotion, parents (including in-laws), grandparents, siblings (including step-siblings), children (including step-children), grand children (including step grand-children) and each of their respective spouses, regardless of where they reside.

(b)   Individuals who do not have access to an internet connection in order to visit a participating Jeweler website or complete the contest registration requirements

 

How to Enter – On-Line Registration: Visit any participating Jeweler location (see Appendix A) to obtain the designated Jeweler bracket website during the “Registration Period” and connect to the designated Jeweler bracket challenge Contest website registration page.  Fully complete the on-line registration with all required information to enter, including your name, complete address (including city, state and zip), valid email address, birth date, phone number (including area code), and  each registrant will designate their own ‘Screen Name’, and must enter their username (email address) and password.  The designated ‘Screen Name’ will be displayed on the ‘Standings Page’ during the contest.  Each registrant’s username (email address) & password will allow participants to return to the contest site to Log-in and view their prediction, points and standings.

 

After having read and agreed to these Official Rules, each entrant must fully complete their bracket prediction prior to the bracket prediction deadline, per the requirements as listed below.  Any entry submitted with an invalid email address will be disqualified. 

IMPORTANT:  There is a maximum of one entry per person, per valid email address per Jeweler bracket website during the entire contest registration period.  Any contestant submitting more than one entry per Jeweler bracket website by using the same or duplicate emails or names will void all entries by that contestant. 

 

Any available opt-in opportunities are not required to enter the Contest, and checking the opt-in boxes will not improve your chances of winning.  By participating and submitting an entry, contestant agrees that Sponsor and participating Jewelers are authorized to contact entrant via email, mail, phone or any other form of media to make contestant aware of information pertinent to the contest, and to distribute information regarding the Sponsor and Jeweler featured products, special events or promotional offers, or purchase incentives.  Contestants may opt-out of any further email communication at any time by simply following the provided opt-out instructions.

 

Bracket Prediction Deadline – Bracket Predictions must be completed and submitted (saved) by 12:00:00pm (noon) ET on 3/16/2023:  Each contestant must complete, submit and save their fully completed bracket prediction for the 2023 Men’s College Basketball Tournament, per the requirements outlined below.  Bracket predictions must be completed, submitted and saved between:

 

NOTE – Play-in game byes:  The play-in games on 3/14/2023 and 3/15/2023 are byes, and not part of the prediction challenge.

 

Bracket Prediction:  Once the designated 2023 Men’s College Basketball Tournament team selections have been announced on 3/12/2023 – all pre-registered or newly registering participants must fully complete the provided Bracket Prediction form on the Picks page of the contest website.  Any contestant who does not complete a bracket prediction for all (63) games in the tournament for any reason by the required deadline at 12:00:00pm ET on 3/16/2023, shall be disqualified from the contest, and not eligible to participate or win the grand prize or bonus prize.

 

Tie-Breaker:  Each participant will also be required to submit their prediction of the Total Cumulative Points to be scored in the Championship Game on 4/3/2023.  Any contestant who failed to complete the Total Cumulative Points ‘tie-break’ prediction will be assigned a point total of 0 cumulative points for the Championship Game. 

 

IMPORTANT – Save Picks:  After completing or editing a Bracket Prediction, participants are required to click the ‘Save Picks’ button on the contest website to save their bracket predictions selections, cumulative score prediction or to make any updates to their bracket predictions prior to the registration deadline.  Any changes or completed bracket predictions made without clicking the ‘Save Picks’ will not be saved, and will not be eligible or recognized for this contest.

 

All bracket prediction entries must be received by 12:00:00pm ET on 3/16/2023 in order to be eligible to participate in the Contest or claim any prize award (see below).  Any registered participant or contestant who fails to fully or correctly complete the required Bracket Prediction for all (63) games in the designated tournament (and then Save their picks) will be disqualified from the contest and will be ineligible to claim any prize.  Any bracket prediction not received by the Contest Administrator by the required deadline for any reason including, but not limited to transmission error, human error, internet problems, programming or technical errors, equipment or website malfunction, user error, data corruption, internet traffic or errors caused by viruses or hackers will be disqualified.  Sponsor is not responsible for any delays or difficulty in receipt an eligible contestant’s Bracket Prediction, or for any loss or corruption of data that prevents a contestant from participating for any reason. 

 

Any incomplete or illegible entries will be disqualified.  Released Parties are not responsible for lost, late, misdirected, illegible, incomplete, invalid, unintelligible, damaged, or for entries submitted in a manner that is not expressly allowed under these rules, or for any entry not submitted or received due to any technical error or failure, unauthorized human intervention, inaccurate capture or mis-entry of any required information, or the failure to capture any such information or effects of hackers or failure of any electronic equipment, computer or cellular transmissions and/or network connections; all of which will be disqualified.

 

Each participant must submit an entry on his/her own behalf.  Any entry submitted on behalf of another individual or using another person’s user name will be disqualified and ineligible to claim any prize.  No mechanically reproduced or automated entries permitted.  Use of any automated system to participate is prohibited and will result in disqualification and all such entries will be deemed void. 

 

In the event of a dispute as to any online registration, the authorized account holder used to enter the Contest will be deemed to be the registrant and he/she must be eligible according to these Official Rules.  The “authorized account holder” will be determined by Sponsor as the individual listed on the account and/or the natural person assigned the e-mail address on the account by an Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization responsible for assigning e-mail addresses for the domain associated with the submitted address.  All entries received become the property of the Sponsor and will not be returned.

 

Eligible Entries:  There will be a maximum of 1,000,000 total entries allowed among all participating Jeweler brackets combined.  The contest registration shall be closed following receipt of the first 1,000,000 eligible entries received.

 

Scoring – Bracket Points:  Each eligible participant who has successfully completed the on-line registration and bracket prediction as required by these Official Rules will receive the following points for each of the (63) games for which they have correctly predicted the winning team:

 

1 point for each correct pick in Round 1

2 points for each correct pick in Round 2

3 points for each correct pick in Round 3

4 points for each correct pick in Round 4

5 points for each correct pick in Round 5

6 points for the correct Champion

 

Any incorrect predictions will receive 0 points.  The maximum point total for correctly predicting the winning team in every game played during the designated Men’s College Basketball Tournament is 120 points.  At the completion of the designated tournament, each eligible contestant bracket prediction received will be compared to the actual bracket outcome. 

 

Tie Breaking Procedures – Bracket Champion Prize Awards (see below):  In the event of a tie among any point leaders in the Bracket prediction within any participating Jeweler bracket following the conclusion of the tournament, the tie-breaker to determine winners for any Jeweler bracket champion prize shall be as follows (tie breaker procedures shall not apply for the $1,000,000 40 year annuity Grand Prize or $10,000 Cash Bonus Prize award levels – see below):

·         Contestant who has predicted closest to the actual Cumulative Points total in the Championship game, regardless if the prediction is higher or lower than the actual point total.

·         In the event of a remaining tie among any eligible contestants within any Jeweler bracket for any bracket champion prize award, the tie-breaker shall then be a random drawing among remaining tied contestants conducted by the Contest Administrator at that participating Jeweler location.

 

Prize Awards:  The following prize awards will be available to eligible contestants participating in the Contest:

 

All prize awards are NON-CUMULATIVE.  An eligible contestant is eligible for only one (1) prize award.

 

Grand Prize – Predict all (63) Games Correctly (“Perfect Bracket”):  If any eligible contestant correctly predicts the winner of all (63) games in the designated 2023 Men’s College Basketball Tournament (a perfect bracket), they will be eligible to claim the grand prize subject to approval and verification of compliance with these official rules.  The grand prize is:  $1,000,000 40-year annuity, awarded in the form of equal annual installments of $25,000 Cash per year for 40-years without interest.  The initial prize award of $25,000 cash shall be awarded within approximately 30-days of receipt of all required prize acceptance paperwork, and each subsequent payment shall occur on or about the anniversary date of the first payment for 39-years.  No current cash value of the annuity prize award will be available.

 

A maximum of one (1) grand prize will be awarded from among all combined participating Jeweler brackets, regardless of the number of contestants who have submitted a potential winning perfect bracket prediction.  In the event of multiple winning entries in this Contest, then the cash value of the grand prize will be evenly distributed among eligible winning contestants (i.e. if there are two winning contestants, each contestant will receive $12,500 per year for 40-years).  If no eligible contestant successfully completes the grand prize-winning requirements, then the grand prize will NOT be awarded.

·      NOTE:  For purposes of clarity, if any game(s) are cancelled, forfeited, or indefinitely suspended for any reason, and fewer than (63) games are played in the designated tournament, then no entrant shall be able to correctly predict the winner of all (63) games in the designated Men’s College Basketball Tournament, as required to claim the grand prize.  As a result of any such cancellations, forfeits or indefinite game suspensions, there shall be no (63) game perfect brackets, and no opportunity to claim the $1,000,000 40-year annuity grand prize, and no grand prize or alternate substitute prize or compensation will be available for award in the contest.  Any eligible contestant who has correctly predicted every game played in the tournament as of the date of any such cancellation(s), forfeit(s) or indefinite suspension(s), but fewer than all scheduled (63) games for any reason, shall not be awarded and shall have no opportunity to claim the grand prize.

 

Bonus Prize – Predict (60) or more Games Correctly:  If any eligible contestant correctly predicts the winner of (60) or more games in the designated 2023 Men’s College Basketball Tournament, they will be eligible to claim the bonus prize subject to approval and verification of compliance with these official rules.  The bonus prize is: $10,000 Cash.

 

A maximum of one (1) bonus prize will be awarded from among all combined participating Jeweler brackets, regardless of the number of contestants who have submitted a potential winning 60 or more correct games prediction.  In the event of multiple winning entries, then the cash value of the bonus prize will be evenly split among eligible winning contestants.  If no eligible contestant successfully completes the bonus prize winning requirements, then the bonus prize will NOT be awarded

·      NOTE:  For purposes of clarity, if any game(s) are cancelled, forfeited, or indefinitely suspended for any reason, and fewer than (60) games are played in the designated tournament, then no entrant shall be able to correctly predict the winner of (60) or more games in the designated Men’s College Basketball Tournament, as required to claim the bonus prize.  As a result of any such cancellations, forfeits or indefinite game suspensions where fewer than (60) games are played, there shall be no (60) or more correct game  brackets, and no opportunity to claim the $10,000 bonus prize, and no bonus prize or alternate substitute prize or compensation will be available for award in the contest.  Any eligible contestant who has correctly predicted fewer than (60) or more games for any reason, shall not be awarded and shall have no opportunity to claim the bonus prize.

.Jeweler Bracket Guaranteed Prizes (if available) – Most Points Scored

·         IMPORTANT NOTE:  Not all participating Jewelers shall award guaranteed prizes.  Participating Jewelers may choose to offer guaranteed prize awards in the Jeweler’s sole determination and discretion.  Any available participating Jeweler bracket prize awards shall be as designated and listed on the participating Jeweler bracket website.  See any participating Jeweler bracket website for availability and prize award details.  If there are no prize awards designated, then there shall not be a Jeweler prize award for that participating Jeweler location.

 

If available from your participating Jeweler, the eligible contestant(s) who earn the most points from among all eligible contestants within that participating Jeweler bracket shall be eligible to claim the associated prize award(s) available from that participating Jeweler, subject to approval and verification of compliance with these official rules. 

 

Employees of Jeweler and immediate family members of employees of Jeweler are not eligible to claim any Jeweler guaranteed prize awards . In the event multiple contestants are tied for the most points earned for a prize within a participating Jeweler bracket, then the tie breaking procedures (see above) will apply for determining the all prize award winners for that participating Jeweler. Winners must accept delivery of prize as specified by Jeweler.  Prize does not include any other costs or associated expenses not specifically listed by Jeweler or any related delivery, prize acceptance, installation or use costs.

 

All applicable federal, state and local taxes are the winner’s sole responsibility.  All prize awards are non-transferable and no cash redemption or prize substitution allowed, except at Sponsor’s sole discretion or as provided herein.  Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize of comparable or greater value, at its sole discretion.

 

All of the following will apply for each prize winner: 1) Winner may be required to complete and return, within 5 days of date of receipt, a W-9 form (if prize value exceeds $600), an affidavit of eligibility, and a liability/publicity release (where permitted); 2) Winner may be required to present a copy of a valid social security card and a valid driver’s license as a condition of participating or receiving any prize;  3) Winner will be issued an IRS Form 1099 reflecting the actual value of all prizes won, if prize value exceeds $600; and 4) Winner will be responsible for paying all applicable taxes (including, but not limited to all local, state and federal taxes) on all prizes awarded.  Failure to collect or properly claim any prize in accordance with these rules will result in forfeiture of the prize.  If forfeited for any reason, finalist will not receive any other prize substitution or compensation, and the prize will remain the property of Sponsor and will not be awarded, except as provided herein. 

 

Additional Rules & Restrictions:  By participating in this Contest, entrants agree to abide by and be bound by the Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor and Administrator, which shall be final in all matters relating to this Contest.  In the event an entrant wins a prize, and is later found to be in violation of these rules he/she will be required to forfeit the prize or to reimburse Sponsor for the stated value of the prize if such violation is discovered after winner has used the prize. Participation in Contest constitutes permission for the Sponsor and its designees to use prize winner(s) names, cities and states of residence and/or likenesses for purposes of advertising and trade in any and all media now or hereafter known worldwide on perpetuity without limitation or further compensation, notification or permission, unless prohibited by law.  False, fraudulent or deceptive entries or acts shall render entrants ineligible for any prize.

 

By participating, entrants agree to hold all Released Parties harmless from any claims, losses, actions, or damages of any kind, whether actual, incidental or consequential, for injury (including but not limited to death), damages, losses or expenses arising out of or relating to entrant’s participation in this Contest, or the acceptance, possession or use/misuse of any prize, or participation in prize-related activities (including but not limited to travel or activity related thereto), and to assume all liability thereof. 

 

Released Parties shall not be liable to winner or any other person for failure to supply the prize or any part thereof by reason of any acts of God, Pandemics, Force Majeure, any actions, regulations, orders, or requests by any governmental entity, equipment failure, terrorist acts, war, fire, unusually severe weather, embargo, labor dispute or strike, labor or material shortage, transportation interruption of any kind, or any other cause beyond Released Parties’ sole control. 

 

Participants are restricted to use of ordinary and typical computer equipment, mobile phone equipment, Internet access and cellular networks. Sponsor disclaims all liability for the inability of a participant to complete or continue an entry due to equipment malfunction, busy lines, inadvertent disconnections, acts beyond the Sponsor’s control, or otherwise. The Sponsor disclaims any liability for received entries due to technical difficulties or transmission errors. The Sponsor disclaims all liability for any delays, mis-delivery, loss, or failure in the delivery of any item sent by mail, courier, express, electronic transmission, or other delivery method.  Released Parties are not responsible for mechanical, technical, electronic, communications, telephone, computer, hardware or software errors, malfunctions or failures of any kind, including: failed, incomplete, garbled or delayed transmission of online entries, traffic congestion on telephone lines, the Internet or at any website or lost or unavailable network connections which may limit an online entrant's ability to participate in the Contest, and any injury or damage to entrant’s or any other person’s computer or mobile phone related to or resulting from participating in or downloading any information necessary to participate in the Contest.  Released Parties are not responsible for any other errors of any kind, whether computer, technical, typographical, printing, human or otherwise, relating to or in connection with the Contest, including, without limitations, errors which may occur in connection with the printing or advertising of this Contest, administration or execution of the Contest, the cancellation of the game, the processing of entries or in the announcement of the prizes or prize winners.  Sponsor, in its sole discretion, reserves the right to disqualify any person tampering with the entry process or the operation of the contest website.

 

Sponsor reserves the right to cancel, modify or terminate the Contest for any reason including in the event the Tournament is postponed, rescheduled, cancelled or fewer than (63) games will be played for any reason including due to Pandemic, Force Majeure, acts of God, terrorist acts, war, or if any fraud, misconduct, technical failures, programming error or other issue destroys or threatens the integrity of the Contest, in the opinion of the Sponsor/Administrator, or if a computer virus, bug, or other technical problem corrupts the administration, security, or proper conduct of the Contest as determined by Sponsor/Administrator, in their sole discretion. In the event of early termination of the Contest, the grand prize and bonus prize shall not be awarded for any reason.

 

If due to circumstances beyond the control of the Sponsor, the Tournament or any game or event associated with this Contest is delayed, rescheduled, postponed or cancelled, Sponsor reserves the right, but not the obligation, to cancel or modify the Contest and shall not be required to award any prizes(s). 

 

IN CASE OF DISPUTES:  By participating, each entrant agrees that (1) any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of or in connection with this Promotion, or any prizes awarded, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and any judicial proceeding shall take place in a federal or state court within the State of New Jersey; (2) any and all claims, judgments, and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering this Promotion, and in no event will entrant be entitled to received attorneys' fees or other legal costs; and (3) under no circumstances will entrant be permitted to obtain awards for, and entrant hereby waives all rights to claim, punitive, incidental, and consequential damages, and any other damages, other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses, and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of entrant and Sponsor in connection with this Promotion, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New Jersey, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules or provisions (whether of the State of New Jersey or any other jurisdiction), that would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of New Jersey.

 

Official Rules & Winners List:  For a copy of these Official Rules or the names of prize winners, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to be received by 6/3/2023 to: Gems One $1 Million Dollar Bracket Challenge, c/o Million Dollar Media, P.O. Box 248, Woodbridge, NJ  07095.  PLEASE SPECIFY which you are requesting: Official Rules or Winners List. 

 

Sponsor: This Contest is Sponsored by Gems One Corporation.

 

Administrator: This Contest is administered by Million Dollar Media, LLC, P.O. Box 248, Woodbridge, NJ  07095.

 

Facebook is not a party to this Contest, and has not offered or sponsored this Contest in any way; and shall have no liability or responsibility for any claim arising in connection with this Contest or any item(s) awarded.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

APPENDIX A – Participating Jewelers

·         To be updated by 3/12/2023