The Riders decided to distribute Grey Cup tickets to the public via lottery. Basically, they opened a window for 101 hours this week where you could submit your name and they would draw for the right to buy tickets. Winners of the lottery were supposed to be contacted today.
However, as a Canadian living in the US, I was ineligible for the lottery. Since it was a lottery it was governed by Canadian lottery and gaming rules which state you have to be a resident of Canada to participate.
After 21 straight Grey Cup games I was not allowed to even attempt to have an opportunity to purchase Grey Cup tickets.
I contacted the Grey Cup committee and less than 3 hours before the lottery was to end I got the following response:
"I apologize for the late response. We have been looking into this situation to resolve the issue. At this point, your best option would be to have a Canadian enter the lottery on your behalf. I apologize for the inconvenience."
That is what I did but it will be interesting to see if I can buy the tickets or if they will have to buy them and I will have to reimburse them. That will be a royal pain in the neck.
Did anyone "win" the lottery today? They were supposed to let everyone know yes or no, but my Canadian resident friend hasn't received an email yet.
Your friend might want to check their Junk email box as I know a lot of the emails were going in there. And also don't fret too much, there are always tickets available before the game. I would come to Regina regardless of your ticket luck beforehand, and depending on how many you are looking for you should have no problem finding some at face value, especially if, god forbid, the Riders aren't in it. Don't let the streak die my friend, I'll be at 13 this year, keep it going!