Also in the group of winners that didn't actually win along with the couple others already posted. I think there's one or two others, at least, that posted in the larger thread? We are the 300?
And it wasn't as simple as the congratulations screen being able to be passed around. I noticed that myself the night I won because I accidentally refreshed the page after being sent back to it from sending in my data for the contest (after being told you won you submit name, birthdate, e-mail, address, and maybe something else?) and the page refreshed fine since it's a simple URL that didn't require data to reach. What seems to have happened was that someone found how to access that winner's form, which wasn't as simple as the congratulations screen, and apparently there was a way to trick it into saying they were a proper winner by entering multiple codes until it eventually just let the person through. And in doing so I guess that somehow glitched there system into then allowing too many winners, slowly, over the course of twelve or more hours? I don't fully understand how that glitch caused it to raise the rate over a span of time but whatever.
It sucks a bit but I can't say I'm overly angry. Annoyed, sure. But I'm shrugging past it and moving on. I've got other stuff to play and I'll eventually get myself a Vita but Sony isn't getting my money for Vita games I'd be buying right now and will likely end up grabbing much cheaper a year from now. Oh well. I'd love to be one of the second chance winners but I'm not holding out hope since currently the odds are 1:150, with the possibility of going up a bit due to how that second chance drawing works with unclaimed Vitas.
I'd love to see it get enough bad press that Taco Bell caves but I honestly don't see that happening. I know the people in that Facebook group posted earlier are trying to get the word out to as many people as possible and some are even trying to go through lawyers and the Better Business Bureau but I think that's a bit much. Their contest rules are solid and have a clause for this sort of situation so at this point we just have to suck it up and move on with things. And maybe cross our fingers and hope that Taco Bell at the very end goes all favorite uncle on us and says, "We can't leave all of you unhappy, here's a Vita for all of you. Look how great we really are!" and suddenly everyone thinks Taco Bell is the best thing ever.