About That Tricky Tray.. I Just Want To Say_Chapter 15 (Closed)

Use This Post To "Speak Your Mind" About A Tricky Tray or Anything Related To A Tricky Tray. Tell us about the Grand Prize You Just Won or How You Haven't Won A Thing 10 Tricky Trays Straight. Just Click On The comment link below and start typing away. However..no personal attacks will be tolerated .

Comments

Mr. Tricky Tray said…
Time for a new chapter on the Tricky Tray Blog !

Mr Tricky Tray
Mr. Tricky Tray said…
I am currently still without power in my area ..from the storm...please be patient with postings being updated .Thanks
bettycd said…
Any events still being held this weekend?
Anonymous said…
I still see alot still listed on trickytray.com
Anonymous said…
Even if you have advance tickets, call to verify before you travel. There have been so many that have postponed after the storms. It isn't always the committee that lists events here so they may not know to update the listing.
Chris Reilly said…
Hi Everyone,

This is the 3rd time I am try to leave a comment. The system keeps throwing me OFF (no wonder not many blogs!) and the new Mr. Tricky tray e-mail is a mess.

Anyway - I hope everyone is OK and did not have any or much damage from the storm.

The Gift extravaganza Tricky tray for Friday November 16th is posponed until Friday December 7th. Hope you all can make it on that day. Thanks for your support.
Contact Chris at Reillyc2563@Yahoo.com
Mr. Tricky Tray said…
Hi Tricky Trayers,

If you are reading this, you can see there is no problem posting on this blog. Not sure what Chris's problem was. Also there is no email issue on trickytray.com.

Let's see some posts to confirm this even if it's just to say "Hello"

Mr Tricky Tray
Anonymous said…
Hello from Parsippany, NJ!
Anonymous said…
can anyone post specific descriptions and activities of cheaters? I want to be on the look out....not the generic ticket bending..but specific people who bring in their own tickets or somehow 'mark' the tickets
Anonymous said…
re Chris Reily: Eventually you figured out how to post info but you really aren't telling us which TT was rescheduled - we need the date, the sponsor
You really don't think your name provides any meaningful info to a multistate group that references the blog for info
Anonymous said…
went to tt old bridge high school marching knights band. It was their first but they jammed in toomany people in one room. Prices were expensive and gifts weren't that great. My friends and I will not go next year. Maybe wait to they get there act together.
Anonymous said…
Went to Old Bridge Marching Band tricky tray on Friday Night. Food was awful and prizes were not worth the cost of tickets. Will not go back again.
Anonymous said…
Friends and I went to St Peter's tricky tray in New Brunswick on Saturday night. Great prizes however one small group sitting together won about 30 or so prizes out of possibly 100. There was definitely something fishy going on but I'm not sure what. The caller even made some comments in jest but all the people sitting around our group were also wondering what was up. I can't believe this was just luck or from some bent tickets but it was surely some type of a scam. What a shame!




Chris Reilly said…
Hi Everyone,

It was not the Tricky Tray site that was at falt when I tried to log on last week it was me & my computer! Server was acting up. Frist day back to work after the storm and I was upset and rushing. Should have read my blog and realized I forgot to mention the Group for the Tricky tray I was rescheduling - The Hudson County Animal League - new date Friday - December 7th. St. Michaels Center on 23rd Street in Bayonne. 7 to 10PM. $12 Admission, plus a can or more of Cat food and an item or more for the Bayonne Food Bank. For more info and tickets please call Cheryl 201-337-7612 or Maureen 201-424-5405 or e-mail me at Reillyc2563@yahoo.com. www.HCALnj.org or on Facebook. Thank you for your understanding and continued support. Happy Thanksgiving all.
Anonymous said…
re: St. Peters Tricky Tray
They probably brought their own tickets. One in the group comes in, sees what the ticket color is, texts the others still in the car, they bring the appropriate color/colors of tickets and flood the containers with "their" numbers. Do you remember if any of the winning numbers for them were much different than other winning numbers? If no one is paying attention to the sequencing of the numbers then it is easy for them to get away with it.
Anonymous said…
Thanks for the explanation. We were so upset with them continuously winning that I didn't notice the numbers. They spoiled a nice evening for everyone.
Anonymous said…
Went to a smaller tricky tray last weekend. Alas, also one table won dozens of prizes - and it was irritating. There were maybe 4 women at the table who each had a unique noisemaker, so we could tell which one of them specifically won. One in particular easily spends hundreds on the regular tray sheets, and a hundred on each bigger level. She comes to win - and looks at it like a business. Very few prizes are kept, most end up on Ebay or sold in other ways.
Be very careful about assuming that a table winning a lot of prizes must be cheating. Maybe they are lucky, which does happen. Sometimes they just bought that many tickets.
The week before I was at an event where there were a few event chairwomen who were spending a lot and winning a lot of prizes for their events. When money is tight, evidently it is cheaper to win prizes at someone else's event then to solicit.
All that in addition to those who cheat
Anonymous said…
Wow! What a shame. Whatever happened to a fun night out with friends or family and hoping to win a basket or two? Another thing that has changed with the times and not in a good way.
Anonymous said…
I've run into people buying things at garage sales to use as tt prizes. Also sat at tables with people who laughed because they won back the same prizes they had donated. The joke was they were going to donate the same prize next year. Parents are often required to donate multiple trays, so stockpiling of prizes to donate saves them a lot of money
Anonymous said…
The tricky tray at St Peters was ruined by the cheaters. They started off by winning the first seven prizes in a row! I don' t think that is luck. I spent $100 on tickets as did most of my friends, some spent more. I am not upset that we didn't win but by the blatant cheating however it was done.
Anonymous said…
don't say someone obviously cheated just because they won a lot.
Pay attention to what is going on at events. Did anyone walk by that table and get a look at how many tickets they had purchased? Sometimes you have a couple people minding the tickets of all the runners. They claim a lot of prizes but may have 20 or more people's tickets.

Anonymous said…
and sometimes people just get lucky while other people turn into very sore losers
Anonymous said…
These people never got up and were not holding anyone else's tickets. They sat and screamed constantly as they won. The runners seemed to be holding their own tickets. And when a runner does win usually people shout to them that it was their ticket and they won.
I guess I was a sore loser and so were people all around us as we could hear the grumbling and comments being said when 7 or so prizes are won by the same people to start off the night and that was just the beginning.
Anonymous said…
Just saying, it is not healthy to let things fester and build up like to a breaking point. There is a lot to be said for getting up off your butt and walking by that screaming table. Walk by that idiot who eBays her wins and you will see a massive about of ticket stubs all taped down and organized.
It calms me down realizing that the person screaming spent $100's more on tickets than I did. you get to smirk and say 'they bought their prizes'
If different number series are involved and no one has them but that suspicious table, again get off your butt and go talk to one of the committee about whether those are legit tickets they are awarding prizes to. There are a lot of committees out there who can't imagine anyone cheating at a fundraiser.

Lately the conversation has been running toward either quitting going to events because of the negative feel, or embracing the idea that it takes everyone getting involved to shut down the cheaters. We'll need to come up with new friends and well, I just really don't like bingo. Here's to getting lucky and randomly winning!
Anonymous said…
Anyone know of any rescheduled events this weekend?
Anonymous said…
what are everyone's thoughts about tricky trays that allow children and those that are Adult only?
Anonymous said…
I think if the events were open to children 12 and over there would be a lot more in attendance...including me. I have a 12 year old and a 17 year old whom I always take to TT's. They are not only extremely well-behaved, but they also help run the prizes. They have been doing that for about 7 years and they always check that the numbers match. I also buy enough tickets for all of us, so I spend about $150 to $200 at every TT they go to. When it's ADULT ONLY I rarely go. It's just hard leaving them home alone for that many hours. They LOVE going! The other thing I will not do is spend $50 for a dinner, or whatever the cost is nowadays.
Anonymous said…
Babysitters are expensive ... so I'm totally ok with parents bringing children but they have to supervise them. And if there is someone at home to watch them instead of bringing them, leave them at home. Same thought as the dinner events - if you want my money in ticket donations, than don't waste it on catering expenses.
Anonymous said…
you can't leave a 17 year old home with a 12 year old? some kids are babysitting at 11...i was at 14--and did better than the previous adults...i went to TTs as a kid because I enjoyed going-not because I was dragged by my mother...if they enjoy it--and there is no issue with a minor gambling-fine....its the ones that don't want to be there that get antsy..
Anonymous said…
The list events is stopping at 12/1
Anonymous said…
Never mind--its working again---3rd times the charm..
Anonymous said…
I was behind the table winning at st peters they did not cheat and I myself sold the one woman $200 in tickets and they went back and bought more of the first prize level. Don't turn a nice night out into a jealous rant. They bought their tickets don't begrudge them. If you looked carefully they won many of the smaller prizes and several of the door tickets because of the amount of first level tickets they bought. Their ticket numbers were sequential to one of my guests so there was no cheating.
Anonymous said…
Excellent Point - The normal attendee does not spend hundreds of dollars on each level of prizes. Sometimes people are just lucky, while other times they just spent that much more on tickets.
We complain mightily when there is cheating going on simply because many committees are naive to the possibility and need to be aware. We want to share actual examples of cheating ... but no one wants to trash the reputation of an event just because someone or some table seemed to win too many prizes
Anonymous said…
ORGANIZERS PLEASE RESPOND TO INQUIRIES. I have been an organizer, I know how hectic it can be. But that is not excuse NOT TO RESPOND to people. If you post an email address/facebook page...DON'T IGNORE PEOPLE WHEN THEY TRY TO CONTACT YOU THAT WAY...If you aren't going to bother to respond....don't list an email. It is 3:50am.....the time I have to make phone calls...I don't think you want me calling you now...but I am tempted to since you can't be bothered to respond to email at a convenient time.
Unknown said…
Friends of Somerset Regional Animal Shelter is thinking of having our TT on the same day as the Ryan E. Doltz Foundation tricky tray. I think this might be a conflict for a lot of people and would prefer to move it to another date, since I think a lot of people go to the Doltz one AND ours. Anyone have any thoughts on this?
Anonymous said…
re Bayonne Hudson Animal protection....nice size if you are looking for a smaller event...gifts were expertly wrapped.
MAJOR ISSUE: caller alternated between waiting for a winner to be verified before calling the next prize and dumping the tickets before the number was verified..and big surprise there was a problem....the caller suddenly lest the stand without a word to deal with the problem as we sat there for a while....the kids were not prepped on what to do --specifically to verify the entire number. Also-the numbers were drawn from a wicker basket--where some could get stuck...it was WAY OVER PRICED...the low level value was under $50--seemed to average about $25 value yet $5 for a sheet of tickets....the next level was under $100...with many only about $50 value...yet the tickets were 7 for $10...very stingy with the desserts..put 2 trays out on a common table at a time..very limited choice.....they were not ready when the doors open--ticket sellers not present--desserts still in store boxes with cakes uncut...prize levels poorly marked..ticket seller for level 2 blocking the prize table.....they handed out papers to fill your personal info on--no word on why..and pushed people to complete them...A FEW EASY CHANGES WOULD MAKE THIS EVENT MORE DESIRABLE:

There were plenty of kids running the prizes--use a few of them to facilitate the drawing.

HAVE 3 buckets (none wicker) to pull tickets from....that way if there is a problem---you still have the tickets---it may even be illegal to dump the tickets without verification..have a runner manage this buckets--not dumping until the bucket is needed again.

KEEP THE WINNING TICKET..use one of the runners to tape the winning ticket onto a chart intead once it has been verified--just in case a similar problem occurs.

Get better prizes or lower the price....there are many organizations that will donate--you just have to contact them...many sports teams, liberty science center, great adventure, etc...contact many recreation places, restaurant chains, etc.
Anonymous said…
you can make better prize baskets by combining smaller value prizes if you get more donations.
Anonymous said…
I went to Wayne PAL tricky tray about a month ago. I won the live Christams Tree from the Wayne PAL Christmas Tree Sale. I went today to get a tree. The parking lot was empty. I went in and was told "we aren't having a tree sale this year". I said I won a tree at the tricky tray. The woman said "oh, thats strange" I will have to give you a call about this. I will call within and hour. So I went to the mall and waited. 2 hours later I called and was told she went to lunch. I finally went home and decided to get a tree soemwhere else when she finally called me back. She said I could go to Max is Back tree stand in BUTLER and buy a tree for $50. Then bring the receipt back tot he PAL and they would give me $50. I told her I was now at home in Englewood and not going to drive back out to Butler or Wayne and asked if I could buy the tree anywhere and bring the receipt in another day when I was out that way. She said she would have to call me back on that. Well that was at 2:09 this afternoon. I bought a tree and put it up. I guess I am out the prize and the money I spent winning the prize. I'm not sure why they would put that prize in the tricky tray when they knew they weren't having a tree sale. I'm really not sure why they would try to further inconvenience me by asking me to run all around the mulberry bush burning gas. I guess they just don't care about people who come out to support their organization by attending their event. Though it is a nice event that I usually attend, I will not be going there again and spending money on prizes I may or may not get after I win.
nichole said…
Went to tricky tray in somerset tonight n it was there first one n it was so great!!itwas also a spsghetti dinner n was all u could eat delicous,! Everyone was so friendlyn i eon a few baskets n a grsnd prize! Had great gifts!
Anonymous said…
re christmas tree..give them through Monday----late aftrenoon--if they won't allow you to get a tree at a place of your convenience---you can report them to the state....i forget the name of the office--something about gambling and games of chance.....maybe leave them a message that you will take this action--and follow up with mail...sure things happen.....but they have a legal obligation to make it right...

if they are going to reimburse anyway--why should you have to go to a specific place?
Anonymous said…
She was going to let me know if they would reimburse me but never called me back. This is very unfortunate because it is a nice tricky tray. I won't be going there anymore, nor will any of the people I know. We are not willing to spend money and not receive a prize when we win it.
Anonymous said…
I like to go to at least 3 Tricky Trays per year. I'd like to tell you about my best and worst experiences.

Worst was at St. Mary's Byzantine Catholic Church in Hillsborough where I went last year. They had about 400 great prizes but they had a huge auditorium filled to capacity. There were way more people than prizes and no room to move around. It took a long time to even drop tickets and the number calling took 3 hours! I won't be going back to this one.

Best experiences were this year at 2 separate Tricky Trays - The Giving Network and People for Animals - held in the Manville VFW. Admission tickets were limited and advanced purchase was encouraged, prizes were great, prize tickets were reasonable and calling was quick. I would go to these events again.
Anonymous said…
re the empty Christmas tree lot: Enough with the whining.
You gamble that any business will be open and that you will be around to claim a gift certificate win.
It's unfortunate, but why should PAL (a nonprofit) have to reimburse you for purchase of a tree elsewhere? Do you really think they put out that gift certificate for you to win knowing that they would not have the tree sale? That would be deception and worthy of reporting to the commission.
Otherwise suck it up and be an adult about this.

And for the record most events will give a complainer back only the value of a single ticket it took to win the problem prize. And that includes any electronic prize that turns out to 'not work'. I won a TV, plugged it in and nada. Discovered that the warranty card had been torn out probably to send in. TV had not been registered. Event said it was donated and imagine that, they didn't know who donated it ... but they would be happy to reimburse me my $4 ticket. Yes, I whined and discovered others who won bad gifts were offered back only the value of the individual ticket it took to won the prize. In the end, the events are run by nonprofits because they need funds. If an event starts giving out retail value reimbursement, they will be overwhelmed by people with their hands out who may 'break' prizes because cash is always best. Once a committee deals with a 'complainer' they start posting signs that prizes are 'as is' and the organization has no responsibility in making good solicited prizes.

I'm sorry - there is nothing unique about businesses closing their doors and gift certificates becoming unusable. It's Christmas and your demand for $50 will take away from PALs operating funds doing so much good for those in need. For many the events are truly a donation. For you it's gambling lady, and in the end you lost. How bout if you consider doing the Christian thing here .
Anonymous said…
Think you were wrong in calling person that did not get a prize she won--Christmas tree a complainer.
PAL runs the Christmas tree sale, so they would know that somebody would most likely come in expecting a free tree. The fact that the PAL did not have their usual tree sale should not punish the winner. They should have thought of this, especially since it was the PAL that ran the tricky tray and also offered the gift certificate to their PAL tree sale.
So what if the lady gambles? If PAl does not want gamblers or people who are not PAL people, then they should say so.
But it seems to me that many non-profits rely on these gamblers you speak of.
Anonymous said…
To the person posting about Friends of Somerset Regional Animal Shelter is thinking of having our TT on the same day as the Ryan E. Doltz Foundation tricky tray. This definitely will be a conflict for a lot of people as the Ryan E Doltz Foundation Tricky Tray has been held for the last 7 years on the same weekend every year (the 1st Saturday in May). The Doltz one always sells out, but there would probably be alot of upset people who like to go to the FSRAS TT and forcing them to make a choice may hinder them from ever going again. With both TT's being as big as they are, if you don't already have a date scheduled and don't have it the same time period every year, then holding it on a non-conflicting date would probably benefit both organizations and the committed patrons to both will be more apt to attend both TT's. GOOD LUCK...Happy Holidays!
Anonymous said…
To the person posting about Friends of Somerset Regional Animal Shelter is thinking of having our TT on the same day as the Ryan E. Doltz Foundation tricky tray. This definitely will be a conflict for a lot of people as the Ryan E Doltz Foundation Tricky Tray has been held for the last 7 years on the same weekend every year (the 1st Saturday in May). The Doltz one always sells out, but there would probably be alot of upset people who like to go to the FSRAS TT and forcing them to make a choice may hinder them from ever going again. With both TT's being as big as they are, if you don't already have a date scheduled and don't have it the same time period every year, then holding it on a non-conflicting date would probably benefit both organizations and the committed patrons to both will be more apt to attend both TT's. GOOD LUCK...Happy Holidays!
Anonymous said…
First of all I was not whining about not getting the Christmas tree...just to set the record straight, I was pissed about not getting the Christmas tree. The PAL knew full well they were not having a tree sale when they put the prize out.I know that when you have a tree sale you have to order the trees way in advance. So to think they just decided at the last minute not to have a sale is not true. Number 2, I did not demand $50 to go buy a tree. PAL told me the prize value was $50 and to go get one at another tree stand. Number 3, I posted on here so others would know what is going on, that's what this post is for. And finally, you know nothing about me, so please keep your rude insults and comments off here and stick to the format.
Anonymous said…
when i have been at TTs and there was a problem with a prize--something of EQUAL VALUE TO THE PRIZE WAS OFFERED..not the value of the ticket..I wonder what the LAW is on this..after all that ticket could have been put in another prize bucket and won a different prize....

and there is a difference between a prize that doesn't work and one that is none existant.......
Anonymous said…
The TTs i was at when there was a problem with the prize--it was on site, during the event. for example, an item was broken by a runner or attendee knocking it over.....
Anonymous said…
What's with all these scam/sham posts on the blog? Can't the admin remove the fake posts?
Mr. Tricky Tray said…
I am cleaning them up now even though the blog has caught alot of spam already. If it becomes a problem consistently in future, I will have to elimnate post as anonymous..but you can still post with a made up registered name that would be anonymous too. Let's see. Happy New Year to all..I should be posting voting link for best Tricky Tray of 2011 by Jan 1 .

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