With luck and great aim, hockey fans net big prizes

Who would have thought that the childhood pastime of constructing and flying paper airplanes could be so profitable? It was for a Kansas City hockey fan, whose perfectly thrown paper airplane earned him a new pickup truck, courtesy of SCA. Each year, the Kansas City Blades host a Paper Airplane Toss contest benefiting the March of Dimes. Contestants buy paper for $1 and fold their own airplanes. On Feb. 19, during a break in the action, a Chevy S-10 pickup was placed on the ice with an eight-inch target set into the sunroof. .

From their seats, spectators attempted to throw their airplanes through the target and into the cab of the vehicle. Blades fan Larry Switzer hit the target from about 10 rows up in the lower level. His perfect landing earned him a Chevy S-10 valued at $29,000. Larry was the third winner in nine years. The promotion’s biggest winner was the March of Dimes. Since SCA carried the risk of the prize being won, more money was awarded to the charity through fans’ generosity and enjoyment of the promotion.

A couple of fans with ice water in their veins also scored major prizes in February hockey team promotions. Foxwoods Resort Casino, located in Mashantucket, Conn., teamed with SCA and the New York Rangers to promote Foxwoods at Rangers’ home games. This year, for the second consecutive season, the program has earned another fan $77,777 at SCA’s expense.

The intermission contest challenges one randomly selected fan to make three of five shots through a template placed in front of the hockey goal. The template has three openings to improve the fan’s chances to strike it rich. The first shot, worth $777 and dinner at Foxwoods, is from the near blue line. The second shot is from center ice and is worth $7,777. The final shot, from the far blue line, is worth $77,777. Peter Hockmeyer, a 61 year old real estate broker from Basking Ridge, N. J., made three lucky shots in four attempts during the Feb. 2 match against the New Jersey Devils - good for the $77,777 prize.