Svetlana Savacenco of Moldova is trying to by Super Bowl tickets outside of University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale Ariz. on Jan. 26 2008.(Photo David Wallace The Arizona Republic)
ASBURY PARK N.J. The odds of winning the Super Bowl XLVIII ticket lottery are a million times better than Powerball but only the Super Bowl lottery requires winners to hand over hundreds of dollars or more to collect the grand prize.
Still that hasn't stopped Middletown native Ryan DeCarolis from entering each of the last 10 years hoping to win the chance to purchase face value Super Bowl tickets especially this year with the big game in MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford on Feb. 2 2014.
I've always wanted to get to that game just to see it once said DeCarolis 31. This one is more special because growing up around here you always go to the Meadowlands. You could probably count how many great things you've seen at the Meadowlands whether it's a concert or a sporting event. This is I guess the ultimate.
The annual lottery gives 250 non season ticketholder fans a chance at going to the game without paying exorbitant fees to brokers and ticket resellers. Each lottery winner gets the right to purchase two tickets. This year's price is undetermined but tickets have held at $800 to $1 200 for the past two years according to The Associated Press.
It would be a once in a lifetime experience said Giants fan Jeff Uthaichai 32 of Branchburg. I would have loved to have been in the building in 2008 to see David Tyree catch the ball off of his helmet and watch Eli Manning lead the Giants to beat the (New England) Patriots in that nailbiter of a game.
The deadline for requests is June 1 and NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy estimated that about 30 000 requests are received each year. There is a limit of one request per address and all submissions must include full name address city state ZIP code phone number and email address.
Requests must be sent via certified or registered mail to Super Bowl Random Drawing P.O. Box 49140 Strongsville Ohio 44149 0140. Lottery winners receive their tickets via overnight mail in January.
We can never meet the demand for tickets McCarthy said. If we could build a stadium for 1 million people we still wouldn't have enough available tickets.
Thirty five percent of Super Bowl XLVIII tickets will be shared by the participating teams 6.2 percent will be shared by the co host Giants and Jets 1.2 percent will be distributed to each of the 28 non host franchises and 25.2 percent will be retained by the NFL to be sold dispersed among network and business partners and used in the general fan lottery.
It's just one small slice of fans who will be at the game McCarthy said.
But it's enough to generate optimism.
I like the odds said Uthaichai a first year lottery applicant. It really is a no lose proposition. For just the cost of postage I have a relatively good chance to win a big reward.
Few understand the risk reward scenario better than DeCarolis. He usually submits for his address and his father's but he's including other family members this year because it is more feasible to attend and the ticket is expected to be a hotter commodity.
Most people don't even know about it DeCarolis said. A lot of people I did tell about this think you win the ticket. They didn't realize you still have to pay the face value of the tickets. They think you win the tickets and you're good to go. You still have to come up with the money.
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