Wheel of Fortune’s “Thanks a Million” Sweepstakes
OFFICIAL RULES
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.
NO SONY CARD NECESSARY.
VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.
THIS SWEEPSTAKES IS OFFERED ONLY IN THE 50 STATES OF THE UNITED STATES (“U.S.”) AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (“D.C.”), AND IS INTENDED FOR PARTICIPATION IN THOSE AREAS ONLY. PLEASE DO NOT PROCEED IF YOU ARE NOT AT LEAST 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER AS OF JANUARY 2, 2008 AND A PERMANENT LEGAL RESIDENT OF ONE OF THE 50 STATES OF THE U.S. OR D.C. THIS SWEEPSTAKES SHALL BE CONSTRUED AND GOVERNED ACCORDING TO THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES.
1.Eligibility: Wheel of Fortune’s “Thanks a Million” Sweepstakes (“Sweepstakes”) is open only to permanent legal residents of the 50 states of the U.S. and D.C., who are physically located and residing therein, who are 18 years of age or older as of January 2, 2008, and who are Wheel Watchers Club members as defined in Subsection 3.iii. below. Employees of Sony Electronics Inc. (“Sponsor”), Sony Pictures Television Inc., Sony Pictures Digital Inc., Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., Sony Corporation of America Inc., King World Productions, Quadra Productions, Inc., Wheel of Fortune (“Show”), Klick Communications Inc., Chase Bank USA, N.A., Sweepstakes administrator, their advertising or promotion agencies, those involved in the production, development, implementation or handling of the Sweepstakes, participating stations, stations airing Show, any agents acting for, or on behalf of the above entities, their respective parent, subsidiary, and related companies, officers, directors, subsidiaries, affiliates, licensees, service providers, any other person or entity associated with the Sweepstakes (collectively “Sweepstakes Entities”), members of their immediate families (spouses, children, siblings, parents), and/or persons living in the same household as such persons, whether or not related, are ineligible to participate in the Sweepstakes.
2.Sweepstakes Description: The Sweepstakes begins at 11:59:59 p.m. Pacific Time (“PT”) on January 2, 2008, and ends at 11:59:59 p.m. PT on February 10, 2008 (“Sweepstakes Period”). This Sweepstakes consists of three (3) individual sweepstakes” drawings (see Registration Deadline Chart (“Chart”) below for the registration deadline of each individual sweepstakes). As part of Sweepstakes play, registered Wheel Watchers Club members who have a unique 7-character or 9-character “Special Prize Identification Number” (“SPIN ID Number”) will have a chance to win a Prize (described below) in this Sweepstakes, as described below. This Sweepstakes will be running concurrently with Wheel Watchers Club SPIN ID Sweepstakes XIV. Participation or winning in this Sweepstakes is separate from participating and winning in Wheel Watchers Club SPIN ID Sweepstakes XIV. The potential winning of a Prize is subject to verification, as set forth below. The Sweepstakes will be played weekdays starting February 4, 2008, and ending February 29, 2008 (for 20 dailies or the “Show Days”, collectively, the “Show Period”). Check local listings for Show schedule, which may be changed or preempted without notice in one or more broadcast areas (e.g., due to remote Show tapings and other changes to the production schedule, special announcements, programs that may disrupt normal TV programming, or local station programming pre-emptions). In these cases, at the election of the Show, the Sweepstakes may be played outside the above-stated dates and/or individual shows and their corresponding SPIN ID Numbers may be aired on dates different than originally scheduled.
3.How to Participate: YOU MUST HAVE ONLINE ACCESS TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS SWEEPSTAKES. TO PARTICIPATE, YOU MUST HAVE A SPIN ID NUMBER. IF YOU ALREADY HAVE A SPIN ID NUMBER, THAT SPIN ID NUMBER IS VALID FOR THIS SWEEPSTAKES UNLESS YOU CHOOSE OR HAVE CHOSEN TO OPT OUT OF SUBSEQUENT SWEEPSTAKES OR YOU HAVE CHOSEN TO CANCEL YOUR WHEEL WATCHERS CLUB MEMBERSHIP. To be assigned a SPIN ID Number, if you do not have one, you must register for the Wheel Watchers Club.
i. Registered Wheel Watchers Club members can obtain their SPIN ID Number by logging in (with their same Username and Password) to the Wheel Watchers Club on Sony Rewards web site located at www.sonyrewards.com/wof (“Web Site”).
ii. Sony Rewards members that Have Not opted in to become a Wheel Watchers Club member can obtain a SPIN ID Number by opting in to participate in Wheel Watchers Club activities and receive a SPIN ID Number by checking the appropriate box from the Sony Rewards “Update Communications Preferences” page within the “YOUR ACCOUNT” section of the Web Site.
SPIN ID Numbers for these participants can be obtained by logging in to the Web Site. It may take up to 24 hours from the time a participant opts in to participate to receive a SPIN ID Number.
iii. If you are not a registered Wheel Watchers Club member, you can register by accessing the Web Site and following the online instructions to sign up for the Wheel Watchers Club by providing the following information on the registration form: First Name; Last Name; Address; City; State; Zip Code; Email Address; Gender; Date of Birth; and your choice of Username and Password (collectively, “Sony Rewards Registration Information”).
SPIN ID Numbers for these participants may be obtained from the new members’ email newsletters or by logging in to the Web Site. It may take up to 24 hours from the time a participant registers for the Wheel Watchers Club to receive a SPIN ID Number.
There is no fee to register for the Wheel Watchers Club. If a registrant is a resident of a jurisdiction that deems him/her to be a minor, he/she must obtain parental/legal guardian consent prior to registering or submitting any personally identifiable information. All Registration Information must be completed in full. Each participant can only register and participate in this Sweepstakes under one (1) Wheel Watchers Club / Sony Rewards registration. Such registration shall consist of one (1) Username, one (1) email address, and one (1) SPIN ID number. Participants who have more than one (1) SPIN ID number will be disqualified from the Sweepstakes. Once an email address has been registered by a participant, that email address cannot be used by any other person for the Sweepstakes (or to register). Only the participant registered under a particular email address may participate in the Sweepstakes using that email address. Registrations received by the same person to obtain more than one (1) SPIN ID number will be disqualified.
In order to be eligible for a particular individual sweepstakes drawing, you must have a SPIN ID Number at the time of the Registration Deadline for that particular individual sweepstakes (see Chart below). Each SPIN ID Number is unique and any variation of even one (1) character represents a different Wheel Watchers Club member. Sponsor’s computer is the official clock for purposes of Sweepstakes participation. Proof of delivery or receipt of a registration will not be deemed by Sponsor as proof of receipt by Sponsor. Any attempted form of participation in the Sweepstakes other than as described herein is void. Limit one (1) SPIN ID Number per person for the entire Wheel Watchers Club promotion. Registrations received by the same person to obtain more than one (1) SPIN ID Number will be disqualified.
Registration Deadline Chart
Individual Sweepstakes # Registration Deadline Show Dates
#1 January 14, 2008 February 4 - 8, 2008 and February 11 – 15, 2008
#2 February 3, 2008 February 18 – 22, 2008
#3 February 10, 2008 February 25 – 29, 2008
All Registration Deadlines end at 11:59:59 p.m. PT
4.Drawing of SPIN ID Numbers: For each individual sweepstakes drawing, ten (10) to twenty (20) SPIN ID Numbers (two (2) SPIN ID Numbers for each Show Day (Monday to Friday only) will be randomly selected from all eligible Wheel Watchers Club registrations at the time of the Registration Deadline for that particular individual sweepstakes. All drawings will be held on the day immediately following the respective Registration Deadline (beginning January 15, 2008), by the Sweepstakes administrator, an independent judging organization. At the election of the Show, at its sole discretion, a drawing may not be conducted on a given drawing date due to production exigencies. For those instances in which a drawing is not conducted on a given drawing date, additional selections will be made in the prior or subsequent drawing or on a new drawing date determined by Sponsor at its sole discretion.
5.Notification and Verification of Potential Winners: For each Show Day listed in the Chart above, this Sweepstakes will be played twice. On each of such Show broadcasts, two (2) SPIN ID Numbers designated for this Sweepstakes, as described in Section 4, will be displayed on screen (at different times) sometime during the Show. The registrant associated with a displayed SPIN ID Number is a potential winner (subject to verification and compliance with the Official Rules). Such registrant must confirm his/her SPIN ID Number was displayed by accessing the SPIN ID Number Verification site (by clicking on the “VERIFY” button in the upper right hand corner under “Think you saw your SPIN ID on TV?” from the Wheel of Fortune web site located at www.wheeloffortune.com or by clicking on the “Did My SPIN ID Win?” button from www.sonyrewards.com/wof) and inputting (and thereafter submitting) his/her Username and Password where indicated within 24 hours of the display of his/her SPIN ID Number on the Show (“Online SPIN ID Verification”). If such registrant does not complete such Online SPIN ID Verification within 24 hours or has unsubscribed from Sony Rewards or Wheel Watchers Club membership at the time the Sweepstakes is played, he/she may be disqualified and forfeit any eligibility for a Prize. Upon submission of Online SPIN ID Verification information, registrant will be immediately notified as to whether he/she is a potential winner. IT IS A POTENTIAL WINNER’S RESPONSIBILITY TO COMPLETE ONLINE SPIN ID VERIFICATION WITHIN THE CORESPONDING 24 HOUR VERIFICATION PERIOD TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR A PRIZE. NOTE: THE ABILITY TO COMPLETE ONLINE SPIN ID VERIFICATION BY A REGISTRANT WHOSE SPIN ID NUMBER WAS DISPLAYED ON THE SHOW MAY BE AFFECTED IF A SHOW THAT WAS ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED TO AIR ON A PARTICULAR DATE IS MOVED (REGIONALLY OR NATIONALLY) TO ANOTHER DATE, AS DESCRIBED IN SECTION 2 ABOVE. Eligible participants can only win for a particular Show by watching the Show on the date it was aired for the particular market in which they reside. If the registrant is a potential winner, such potential winner (or his/her parent/legal guardian if he/she is a resident of a jurisdiction that deems him/her to be a minor) will then be notified by phone within approximately three (3) business days of the date he/she completed his/her Online SPIN ID Verification to complete an Affidavit/Release (described below in Section 8). If a potential winner cannot be reached after a reasonable effort has been exerted, if he/she is found to be ineligible, if he/she cannot or does not comply with these Official Rules, such potential winner will be disqualified, and the corresponding Prize will not be awarded.
6.Prizes/Odds of Winning. Up to forty (40) Prizes (two (2) Prizes for each of the twenty (20) Show Days of the Show Period). Each Prize is $25,000. Prizes will be awarded in the form of a check made out to the winners. Number of Prizes awarded depends on the number of Wheel Watchers Club members whose SPIN ID Numbers were displayed on the Show and who successfully complete the verification of their eligibility as described herein. Prizes will be delivered to winners within 90 days of notification of winning and to addresses within the 50 states of the U.S. or D.C. only. Total ARV of all Prizes is up to $1,000,000. Odds of winning a Prize depend on the total number of eligible Wheel Watchers Club registrations at the time of the Registration Deadline for that particular individual sweepstakes drawing. All applicable federal, state, and local taxes on a Prize are the sole responsibility of each winner. No transfer of Prizes. Any depictions of the Prize is for illustrative purposes only. Unclaimed Prizes will not be awarded. Limit one (1) Prize per household for this entire Sweepstakes. Each winner will receive an IRS Form 1099 from the Sponsor (for the calendar year such Prize was received) for the total ARV of the Prize. Sweepstakes administrator is not the supplier or guarantor of
any Prize.
8.General Conditions: This Sweepstakes is subject to these Official Rules and all federal, state and local laws and regulations (collectively “Rules and Laws”). Each potential winner (or his/her parent/legal guardian if he/she is a resident of a jurisdiction that deems him/her to be a minor), after he/she has successfully completed Online SPIN ID Verification, will be required to sign, execute, have notarized, and return an Affidavit of Eligibility, a Liability Release, a Publicity Release, and any other documentation that the Sweepstakes administrator and/or Sponsor may require (collectively “Affidavit/Release”), within five (5) days after receipt or such potential winner may be disqualified. If a winner is a resident of a jurisdiction that deems him/her to be a minor, such winner’s Prize may be awarded in the name of his/her parent/legal guardian. Once submitted, any Registration Information become the sole property of Sponsor. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Sony Rewards privacy policy located at http://www.sonyrewards.com/en/footer/privacy_legal/ and http://www.sonyrewards.com/en/footer/california_privacy except where prohibited by law, a participant who submitted his/her Registration Information and/or a winner’s acceptance of a Prize by a participant constitutes permission of such registrant or winner (or his/her parent/legal guardian if he/she is a resident of a jurisdiction that deems him/her to be a minor) for Sponsor, Sony Electronics Inc., Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., Sony Pictures Digital Inc., and/or Sony Corporation of America Inc., to use, without notice or further compensation, worldwide, and in perpetuity, in any and all forms of media, now known and hereafter devised, including, but not limited to, without limitation, on the Wheel of Fortune or Sony Rewards Web site, winner’s first name and initial of last name, city and state. In addition, except where prohibited by law, the completion of an Affidavit/Release by a winner constitutes permission of such winner (or his/her parent/legal guardian if he/she is a resident of a jurisdiction that deems him/her to be a minor) for Sponsor, Sony Electronics Inc., Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., Sony Pictures Digital Inc., and/or Sony Corporation of America Inc., to use, without notice or further compensation, worldwide, and in perpetuity, in any and all forms of media, now known and hereafter devised, including, but not limited to, without limitation, on the Wheel of Fortune or the Sony Rewards web site, and on the Show, such winner’s full name, city, state, likeness, voice, photos, videos, biographical information and statements made by such winner for purposes of advertising, trade, promotion and publicity. Additionally, by opting-in to receive communications from any of the Sweepstakes Entities, registrant’s Registration Information will be subject to their respective privacy policies and terms of service and registrant agrees to receive additional email communication from those companies. Opting in to receive communications does not improve one’s chances of winning. The privacy policy for any Sweepstakes Entity
participating in an opt-in will be accessible from the Wheel Watchers Club or Sony Rewards registration form, as applicable. Sponsor reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the registration process or the operation of the Sweepstakes or any Web page related to the
Sweepstakes; to be acting in violation of the Official Rules; or to be acting in a non-sportsmanlike or disruptive manner, or with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other person in connection with the Sweepstakes. Any person attempting to defraud or in any way tamper with this Sweepstakes will be ineligible to win any Prize and will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. If, for any reason, the Sweepstakes is not capable of running as originally planned (e.g., Show schedule changes), Sponsor, at its sole discretion, reserves the right to cancel, suspend or modify the Sweepstakes or any portion(s) thereof; and, at its sole discretion, Sponsor may, conduct any or all of the drawings for the Sweepstakes and make Prizes available in a manner that is fair, consistent, and in accordance with the spirit of the Sweepstakes. In case of a dispute over the identity of a participant who is a potential winner, the authorized account holder of the email address associated with the Username may be deemed, in Sponsor’s sole discretion, the entrant. The "authorized account holder" is deemed the natural person who is assigned to an email address by an Internet access provider, service provider or other online organization that is responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted email address. Said owner must comply with these Official Rules and, at Sponsor’s sole discretion, may be required to provide proof of ownership of the email account.
9.Disclaimers: The Sweepstakes Entities are not responsible or liable for, and will deem ineligible, registrations that are entered by other than human means (such as by an automated computer program or any non-human mechanism, entity, or device), or for registrations and/or Registration Information that are illegible, destroyed, lost, misplaced, stolen, misdirected, tampered with, incomplete, deleted, damaged, or otherwise not in compliance with these Official Rules. By registering or opting in to participate in this Sweepstakes, each registrant agrees and acknowledges to be bound by the Rules and Laws; as well as the decisions of the Sweepstakes administrator, which are final and binding in all respects; to waive any rights to claim ambiguity with the Rules and Laws, and that Sweepstakes Entities shall have no responsibility or liability (including, but not limited to, liability for any property loss, damage, personal injury or death) in connection with: participation in this Sweepstakes (including, but not limited to, the preemption, cancellation, interruption of Show or any elements of Show as it relates to the Sweepstakes); changes in Show schedule which may affect the SPIN ID Number displayed in a TV viewing area and a winner’s ability to complete Online SPIN ID Verification; human error; incorrect or inaccurate transcription of Registration; acceptance/possession and/or use/misuse of any Prize awarded herein (including, but not limited to, delays by any company or any other persons providing any of these services for any winner due to reasons beyond control of Sponsor and/or Sweepstakes Entities); any technical malfunctions of the telephone network, computer online system, computer dating mechanism, computer equipment, software, internet service provider; interruption or inability to access the Sweepstakes, any Web page associated with the Sweepstakes, or any online service via the internet due to hardware or software compatibility problems; any damage to registrant’s (or any third person’s) computer and/or its contents related to or resulting from any part of this Sweepstakes; any lost/delayed/duplicate/multiple data transmissions (including those related to the assignment and/or delivery of SPIN ID Numbers to members as applicable), omissions, interruptions, defects and/or any other errors or malfunctions, even if caused by the negligence of one of the Sweepstakes Entities. Registrants further agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Sweepstakes Entities from any and all liability resulting or arising from the Sweepstakes due to their negligence or willful misconduct, to release all rights to bring any claim, action or proceeding against the Sweepstakes Entities, and hereby acknowledge that said Sweepstakes Entities have neither made nor are in any manner responsible or liable for any warranty, representation or guarantee, express or implied, in fact or in law, relative to any Prize.
10.GOVERNING LAW, JURISDICTION, ARBITRATION: Any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to (i) the Sweepstakes, (ii) the awarding or redemption of any Prize and/or (iii) the determination of the scope or applicability of these Official Rules or their enforcement or interpretation shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the substantive laws of the State of California without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules or provisions that would cause the application of any other state’s laws. Any controversy or claim arising out of or relat ng to this Agreement, its enforcement, arbitrability or interpretation shall be submitted to final and binding arbitration, to be held in Los Angeles County, California, before a single arbitrator, in accordance with California Code of Civil Procedure §§ 1280 et seq. The arbitrator shall be selected by mutual agreement of Sponsor and the entrant or entrants bringing forth the controversy or claim (collectively, the “Parties”) or, if the Parties cannot agree, then by striking from a list of arbitrators supplied by the American Arbitration Association or JAMS/Endispute. The arbitration shall be a confidential proceeding, closed to the general public. The arbitrator shall issue a written opinion stating the essential findings and conclusions upon which the arbitrator’s award is based. The Parties will share equally in payment of the arbitrator’s fees and arbitration expenses and any other costs unique to the arbitration hearing (recognizing that each side bears its own deposition, witness, expert and attorneys’ fees and other expenses to the same extent as if the matter were being heard in court). Entrant agrees that his/her claim will be resolved individually, exclusively by arbitration, without resort to any form of class action. Entrant further agrees that any claim/judgment/award in such arbitration shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with participating in the Sweepstakes but in no event attorneys' fees; and, under no circumstances, will an entrant be entitled to 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 increased. Should any term of this Section be deemed void, unenforceable or contrary to law, such term shall, but only to the extent necessary to bring this Section within the requirements of law, be deemed to be severed from the other terms of these Official Rules, and the remainder of these Official Rules shall be given effect as if it had not included the severed term herein.
THE PARTIES HEREBY WAIVE THEIR RIGHT TO JURY TRIAL WITH RESPECT TO ALL CLAIMS AND ISSUES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT WHETHER SOUNDING IN CONTRACT OR TORT, AND INCLUDING ANY CLAIM FOR FRAUDULENT INDUCEMENT THEREOF.
11.Rules/Winners List: For a copy of these Official Rules or the Winners List, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope (with proper postage affixed) to: Wheel of Fortune’s “Thanks a Million” Sweepstakes “Rules”/“Winners List” (specify which), P.O. Box 6611, Burbank, CA 91510. All requests must be received by April 10, 2008. Official Rules will also be accessible from the Wheel Watchers Club Web page during the Sweepstakes Period. Winners’ Information may also be posted online.
12.Sponsor: Sony Electronics Inc., 16450 West Bernardo Drive, San Diego, CA 92127.
© 2007 SCC. Participants may copy these Official Rules for personal use only and not for any commercial purpose whatsoever. All rights reserved.