Courtesy of the US Congress You Have the Chance to
It's all legal and legitimate.
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This is where I fell in love with this place. You could own it. I bought this mountain retreat on the island of Mallorca three years ago, put about a million into structural renovations and redecoration with handmade beds and goosedown pillows, Ralph Lauren's best sheets, DVD players and top of the line furniture and decor. Then I used it as my second hotel for the last two years, reaching No. 7 in popularity out of 931 hotels in just eighteen months. Like our original hotel, the new place was exceedingly successful. But a few months ago my doctor told me I had to cut back my workload drastically, sell the ten individual properties that make up the complex. And thanks to a law recently passed by the US Congress, you're going to get a chance to own one of these delightful houses and studio suites without it costing you even a thin dime. I'll tell you all about that in a minute. First, let me introduce myself. My name is George Scott. I've been running hotels and restaurants for 18 years. During that time my family company has been blessed with international success. Listen, let me be clear; I'm not doing this because I want to. What I want is to go on running the place. But I've reached an age where I can't ignore doctor's orders. So I'm going to do what he told me to do: cut back, slow down, just keep the one hotel and the restaurant, maybe learn to fish or garden, do good works, go fly a kite – who knows? My first thought was to sell the ten properties to a major hotel chain that had expressed interest in our original hotel. Their rep came, looked, admired, made positive noises, and chatted about my reasons for selling. Health reasons? Looking for a quick sale? He offered about half what the property is worth. When I talked to another hotel group it was a different story with the same ending – more money offered, but with the kicker that they sent a "market specialist" along, an insensitive clod who seemed bent on converting our stylish and intimate boutique hideaway into a tasteless plastic downmarket flophouse for bucket shop package tourists. I was also approached by money launderers. They were prepared to pay our full asking price, but only in filthy dirty criminal cash. Yuck. (Did you know that a million euros weighs about 20 pounds? They put the "down payment" in my hand.) In the end I thought, why not hold a raffle? What happened next changed the story and opened the door for you to own one of these sweet properties without it actually costing you anything.  The prizes share a pool with swimjet, a bar and barbecue, a sauna and exercise room, and 3 acres of lush gardens surrounded by pine and fig and palm trees.
It all started easy as pie. I went to see our lawyers and got organized to sell tickets. Setting up a raffle in Spain is simple. But then Congressman Jim Leach of Iowa (defeated last 7 November) got a bee in his bonnet about Internet gambling and pushed a bill through to make transferring money abroad for "gambling" purposes difficult, if not illegal. Predictably, there was a flurry of protest. Many of the 35 million Americans who take the occasional online flutter found themselves inconvenienced. But still, it became law and until the new Congress changes it we're stuck with it. Our lawyers creased their foreheads. The new act was aimed at the big online casinos and sports betting operations on the London Stock Exchange, not a small family raffle like ours, but it was a blunderbuss bill that might end up aimed in our direction and you know how cautious lawyers are. So we had to kill our raffle idea. At least in the form of a straightforward buy-a-ticket-win-a-prize raffle. What to do? We didn't want to give up our project, so we looked for an alternative way to solve the puzzle. What could we do that would be completely legal, but accomplish the same end? Turning potential disaster into a "can't lose, win-win" Standing in the shower one morning, an answer came to me – we could sell hotel vouchers instead of raffle tickets. That would be perfectly legal. Hotels do it all the time. The vouchers would be good toward a stay in our hotels. But they could also participate in the raffle. All we had to do was put numbers on the vouchers. The ten lucky people holding those numbers would win the ten properties. That solution satisfied the lawyers. Selling hotel vouchers is totally legal, even hotel vouchers with numbers on them. And suddenly the deal had just gotten lots, lots better for our customers. Is it a loophole? Yes. Will it stay open? Who knows? But in the meantime, it's a sweetheart proposition. You invest in a hotel voucher; you get a free participation in the drawings for the ten properties. But you still get to use your hotel voucher. Or give it away. Or sell it. You can't lose. You're not out of pocket no matter what.
A quick review of the offer: Scott Properties, our company founded in Delaware in 1987, is offering a limited edition of 33,333 numbered vouchers to be used toward a stay in our establishments, two of the most celebrated hotels in the Mediterranean. Once they are all sold we'll hold a raffle and ten fortunate souls will win our ten houses and studio suites in the mountains. Your odds of winning are 10 in 33,333. The odds of winning most lotteries are only 1 in 14,000,000 to 1 in 80,000,000 In contrast, once our raffle is over you'll still have what you paid us, whether you won a prize or not. For every hotel voucher you invest in to use in our hotels, you get ten chances to win. The vouchers are yours to use, give away, or sell. So it effectively costs you nothing to take part in the raffle. There are no catches, no conditions, no costs, no taxes – winners get a key to their new house or studio and a deed of ownership. The total value of the ten prizes is $6 million. Individually, the prizes are worth as much as $650,000. Even the smallest property is worth $325,000. It's a can't lose investment and a win-win opportunity. It’s that simple. Let's talk about "Too good to be true". An offer this good is sure to raise some skepticism, which seems fair since nothing like it seems to have been done before and it's such an remarkably good deal for you – effectively a free participation in a prestigious property raffle. Well, it's fair that some people might have doubts – we support lots of charities, but our hotels are businesses, profitable businesses. So let's just take a look at what's in it for us when we sell you a voucher. What we get is actually pretty simple: we get lots of people lined up outside our doors waiting to get in to stay with us. That means we can say goodbye to fat advertising costs. We raise our occupancy rate, increase our income. We get a chance to sell you meals at our new restaurant across the square, rent you a car, and of course once you're with us you'll spend more money than just the amount on your voucher (we have a 3 night minimum stay and we figure – we hope – that you will spend at least three or four times the amount on your voucher with us). Best of all for us, we've lured you across our threshold, we've got you tucked under our wing, and 44% of the people who stay with us once come back for another visit, send friends or family, get addicted to the "Scott's experience". We build our client base, build our brand, build our reputation. All that and we get our price for the ten properties as well as the fun of turning them over to our very own guests instead of a big corporation. Don't underrate how we feel about the faceless soulless giant hotel companies who wanted to take us over and destroy the charm of our exquisite little art colony complex, or the money launderers who wanted to buy us out with corrupt cash. This raffle is a poke in the eye to them all. Do you still think we're doing this just because we think it's Christmas?
The company, the people, behind this offer.... Our family has operated as Scott Properties of Delaware for 18 years, running hotels and restaurants, designing and rebuilding houses. Lots of people seem to think we're pretty good at what we do. Frankly, we think some of the quotes below are excessively flattering, but they wrote 'em so I'll quote 'em. What the critics say about our townhouse hotel, one of the hotels where you may use your voucher: "Elegant, luxurious, refined ... incomparable bedrooms." "One of the finest hotels I know in terms of comfort and discreet but warm service." "A little jewel box, a rarity among hotels – one that doesn't feel like a hotel, look like a hotel, or offer the dry and standardized service of most hotels. "Hardly a hotel in the conventional sense – more like staying with charming, civilized, knowledgeable friends who are endlessly helpful and marvellously patient. I've also rarely slept so well in such a wonderful bed in such a pretty room or eaten such sumptuous breakfasts at any time until Noon "At Scott's, nothing disappoints: the interior is as calm, sophisticated and unobtrusively luxurious as you could wish . . . a pampering treat." " . . . a night at Scott's is an experience to remember." "One of the most comfortable and elegant small hotels in the Mediterranean." "Scott's is a gem of a place – a fabulously restored mansion where the emphasis is firmly on comfort. Located in the heart of Mallorca's wine country." The Sunday Times of London asked renowned hotel critic Alistair Sawday to name his six favorite hideaway hotels in Spain. Scott's was one of them (and the only one on Mallorca). Diran Noubar's List of the World's Fifty Best Small Hotels includes Scott's. Small Elegant Hotels, A Connoisseur's Guide: Scott's is one of only three hotels listed for the whole of Spain. Great Places to Stay in Europe: Features Scott's. About Hotels Guide: Scott's is listed as one of their very few "Fabulous Finds".
And what critics have said about the prize properties: "Something very special: a peaceful retreat from the modern world with sufficient luxury to enhance, but not eclipse, the amazing natural beauty of the setting." "Probably the prettiest views from any hotel on the island, and every house and studio has its own private terrace looking at them." "The Scotts have done it again – their new place has all the comfort and relaxed good taste that characterised their original townhouse hotel, but this time in a mountain setting with a lovely outdoor pool and fabulous views down to the sea." "God is in the details, and Scott's proves the saying." People like our restaurant, too: The Marcellino's Restaurant Guide listed Scott's Bistro as one of its Top Ten restaurants (among 2,000+ on the island) for 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006.
Why this raffle is special: Because the odds are so generous. Ten voucherholders will win vacation homes worth up to $650,000. Participation is limited to only 33,333 people. Compare those 10 in 33,333 odds to most raffles where only one single person in 14,000,000 to 80,000,000 wins. Because of the "can't lose" factor – taking part doesn't leave you out of pocket even if you don't win a prize in the raffle drawings.
What our winners get: You pay no costs, no taxes. You get a legal document and the keys and you own the property free and clear, fully furnished and ready to enjoy. The prizes are valuable and saleable, gloriously located, and designed by Pedro Otzoup, one of Spain's most renowned architects. The houses and studios are chic and stylish, with handmade beds with goosedown pillows and Ralph Lauren's best sheets, DVD players, fully equipped kitchens, and private South-facing terraces looking down the valley to the sea. You can rent out your prize for income of up to $60,000 per season, with still many weeks left open for personal use. The large properties can bring in up to $1,900 per week during the seven-month season, as much as $60,000 per year. And it doesn't make any difference where you live in the world; a euro-based rental property is a valuable asset to have. We can even manage the rentals for you. The smaller properties can bring in half to a third of the sums we've mentioned above. And of course you can lend your prize to family and friends as well as using it yourself. Maintenance is easily covered by a few weeks' rent and taxes are low.
So let yourself feel that tingle of hope that you might be one of our ten winners. Somebody is going to win – ten somebodies are going to win. There's no reason why you shouldn't be one of them.
A few words about values beyond money … By now, the rewards we are offering you must be clear, but let me translate the numbers into another language, the language of feeling. It's all very well to look at a prize on paper and say it's worth $650,000, or perhaps even $500,000 or $350,000 if your prize is one of the smallest ones. It’s something else again to sit down on your terrace and absorb the full impact of a view that must be very similar – except for the pretty 18th century church in the middle of it – to the view that a Roman centurion would have had from that very spot. It’s something else to let your eyes dip from the horizon and see a hawk, flying below your terrace, hunting in your fields. It’s something else to get up from your chair, stroll fifty yards into the green gardens surrounding your property and ease yourself into a hammock slung between a fig tree and an olive tree for a sweet snooze balmed with the scents of the rosemary and thyme growing along the terraced wall. Thinking about the value of your prize in hard money or on your balance sheet is one thing, but your sense of pride in owning a property so magical is something else again. Numbers on paper are one thing, the experience of waking in your handmade bed, hearing only birdsong around you, and then looking out at the glorious sweep of the green valley that runs to the sea, touches your soul in other ways. Let's admit there's such a thing as ego, too. Someone once said to me – "I know you. You have that fabulous place up at the top, don't you – the one designed by that guy who did Claudia Schiffer's house?" I suppose my swell of pride probably showed me up as a bit shallow, but it's nice to own a house built by one of Europe's premier architects, a place that other people admire. Status – prestige – by association. Similarly, it's one thing to know that your prize can bring in rental income of – whatever the number may be in any given week. It's something else again to go to bed at night knowing that this very night, while you're dreaming, someone will be putting $150 or $250 or more into your bank account without you having to lift a finger. A sweet thought to go to sleep on. It's one thing to look at these prizes as just buildings; it's something else again to feel the strong warm tide of emotions they can stir: pride and satisfaction in owning them and the sheer appeal to all your senses – all the ways they banish stress – the stunning views, the murmur of the breeze, the music of birdsong, the perfume of the wild herbs and flowering plants. They all conspire to touch your heart. Sometimes, too, it's intriguing to think about, even get a chance to meet, the artists who lived and worked here years ago. The lady who built the place, now in her late 80s, visits from time to time, but as a minimalist who likes her décor spare she feels we've made it too comfortable, not stringent enough. So these prizes have history and should be shared. There is warm satisfaction in being able to say to a relative or friend – “Say, why not take a few days off and stay at my mountain place on Mallorca?” Generosity, sharing, enriches our souls. The prizes don’t exist in isolation, either. There are reasons why Mallorca is Europe’s No. 1 holiday destination. Mallorca is all of Spain in a teacup, an island just 60 miles end to end and side to side, but packed with mountains and marinas, coves, caves, long sandy beaches and pine forests, vineyards and olive trees and almond groves, and the history of a two-thousand-year-old Mediterranean capital founded by the Romans, marked by the traces of the Carthaginians, Greeks, Phoenicians, Moors, and pirates who stopped here. The island is a time machine. These prizes aren’t just vacation homes, bricks and mortar assets with a price tag or an income stream. They may be those things, yes, but they are much, much more. And what would you give to own a piece of all this? Well, happily for you, the US Congress has removed all the risk to whatever that number is.
Your stake in winning a prize … But just because the risk is gone doesn't mean that there isn't money involved. You will need to make a commitment, even though your commitment is safe. You've probably been waiting all the time you've been reading this for me to come to the point of "How much?" Bear with me – we’re almost there. You need to understand our thinking, how the numbers work. Our original selling price for the property was $6 million, based on all the bank assessments and the valuations of two top international real estate agents. But then we needed to add about 10% for marketing and admin. How best to raise that amount in a raffle? Theoretically, it’s possible to sell 6.6 million tickets at $1 each, but in practical terms it’s impossible because of administrative and marketing expenses. So forget that. And we did seriously think of selling 333,333 tickets at $20 each, but we felt the odds would be a bit long for you, even though they were 50 to 250 times better than lottery odds. In the end, we settled on a price of $20 for each property, but put all ten properties on one ticket, for a total of ten chances in 33,333 for $200 That’s 500 to 2,500 times better than the lottery odds. $200 – an amount people tell us almost anybody can find. With credit card processing fees the final tally will be about $209. The exchange rate varies, and we're officially priced at 150 euros, plus c.c. charges. I'll show you the nuts and bolts of it all down below.
We suggest you invest in a voucher, and we’re offering you a bonus If you invest in a voucher right now, you'll go into our Early Bird drawings, where one out of every 333 tickets wins a bonus10-pack of tickets worth $2,000. That's an extra 100 opportunities to win a house or studio. If you send friends or colleagues to us you can win even more. There are two cash drawings of $6,500 and $13,000 for people who help us spread the word. Our hotel vouchers are good for five years. They can be used, sold, or given away at any time until the end of 2012. Early Bird vouchers are good either before or after the property drawings. Using the vouchers you get back at least what you put in – and maybe much, much more.
Let's sit down at one of our antique desks, pour a glass of wine, First, because the odds and the winning potential are so good. You’re entered in ten drawings, not just one. And of course you get back the amount you invest in your voucher when you use it or sell it, so your raffle ticket is free. Second, because what you win could change your life for the better – give you cash if you sell your prize – give you income if you rent it out – give you a richer leisure life if you just use it for yourself or lend it to friends and family. Third, because $200 is so little compared to the value of the prizes. What else might you do with that money – put it in your gas tank? Buy floor wax or kitty litter or overpriced ink cartridges for your printer? What fun. Fourth, because this isn’t something you want to put off doing. Don’t fall into the “good-intentions-not-acted-on trap”. Anyone who has lived long enough will tell you that they have more regrets about the things they didn’t do than the things they did do. Register now for an Early Bird voucher. The Early Bird vouchers are limited and they’re going fast. Once they're gone, that's it. Early Bird vouchers offer three main advantages over the vouchers we will sell later: Advantage one: You may choose your own lucky number, subject to availability. Advantage two: For every 333 Early Bird vouchers sold, we will randomly draw one to receive a bonus pack of ten vouchers worth $2,000. That's an additional hundred opportunities to win the properties. Advantage three: Your Early Bird voucher may be used for a stay in our hotels either before or after the raffle. Conditions apply: minimum stay, three nights in a deluxe room or suite, subject to availability. One voucher may be used for each three-day stay, two for six days, and so on. But be advised ... The Early Bird vouchers won't be on offer forever. In fact, there will be an "Early Birds Club" - the people who got on board at the beginning, people whose initial support we will reward with special offers and discounts not available to later purchasers. And there's one other consideration: the new Congress may change the law that makes this offer so ironclad for you. There have already been what they call "carve outs" - exceptions - made for poker players and horse race betting. Who is to say that property raffles might not be excepted? If they are, we just might think about going back to just selling raffle tickets without the perks. My final thoughts to you … Decisions like this are made in your heart. I've tried to lay out the offer as honestly as I can, highlighting the advantages for you without false or inflated claims, letting you know it's an offer we stand behind with our reputation and personal integrity. But while there are a dozen practical reasons for investing in this small, no-lose gesture toward sweetening your future, let me please add my own philosophy that life has no meaning unless we live it with conviction and trust, unless we open our hearts to providence, unless we allow ourselves to take small stakes with destiny and offer our guardian angels a chance to light up our lives with a sweet gift of luck. Trust your angel and go for it. Regards and good luck,
George Scott PS These make marvellous gifts. We send your recipient a letter and brochures for both of our hotels. (And if your giftee wins you'll probably even get to share the use of the prize.) PPS Taipan readers who respond in the next 48 hours may claim on their hotel voucher an additional night for two people, including breakfast, in a deluxe accommodation at either Scott's hotel with a value of $275. Just note under "Comments" that you qualify
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*All photos were taken outside or inside the properties or show views from the accommodations. |
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