We’ll fly you to Atlanta, Texas, and getting to your hotel in Atlanta, Georgia is your problem

I was reading the official rules for T-Mobile’s sweepstakes [archive] in which the grand prize is a trip to see the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Atlanta, Georgia. (Yes, I read fine print.)

One “Grand Prize”: The Grand Prize winner, subject to verification, will receive a four-day, three-night trip (July 13, 2025, to July 16, 2025) for winner and one guest for the 2025 MLB® All-Star Game® presented by Mastercard currently scheduled to be played at Truist Park in Atlanta, GA, on July 15, 2025. Each Grand Prize includes round-trip, coach-class air travel for winner and one guest between a major airport nearest winner’s residence to Atlanta, TX; three nights’ hotel accommodations (one standard double-occupancy room) on July 13, 14, and 15, 2025, in Atlanta, GA, at a hotel determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion; two tickets for winner and one guest for the 2025 MLB® All-Star Game® presented by Mastercard (ARV: $5,000), plus a check for $2,142 for Grand Prize winner to use for taxes, meals or travel expenses in their sole discretion (ARV: $2,142) (collectively, the “Grand Prize”). ARV of entire Grand Prize: $7,142.

This is a lot of text, but one thing that stood out to me is that the airplane tickets are not to Atlanta, Georgia, which is where the event is taking place, but to Atlanta, Texas, a small town, population 5,765 according to the 2010 census.

Continuing the fine print…

Grand Prize does not include tickets to or for any other game, event or exhibition during the 2025 MLB® All-Star Week other than as specifically set forth herein. The exact seat locations for the game or any events and nature and duration provided by Prize Partners is determined by Sponsor and the applicable MLB Entities at their sole discretion and subject to availability. Sponsor and Prize Partners make no guarantee the check will cover all expenses incurred by winner. Ground transportation to/from airports and in Atlanta, GA, is not included. The winner (or their parent/legal guardian if a Minor) must claim the prize within two business days of being notified and return Prize Claim Documents within five business days of date documents are sent and will then be contacted by the Administrator with details to receive the prize. This Grand Prize is subject to Additional Prize Terms below.

The next part of the fine print also says that ground transportation between airports and Atlanta, Georgia is not included, so it’s on you to arrange the 10-hour drive between the two Atlantas. Maybe they expect you to hitchhike from Atlanta, Texas to Atlanta, Georgia. You’ll have to stay focused, because you have only two days to cover the distance. You’ll have to be even more focused coming back, because the All-Star Game takes place on the evening of the 15th, and your flight out of Texas is on the 16th. Depending on the precise timing of that return flight, driving may not be fast enough. You might have to take a flight to catch your flight.

Lats year’s All-Star Game was held in Texas, and this discrepancy may have been overlooked when T-Mobile adapted last year’s sweepstakes official rules to the 2025 edition.

The statement of the Grand Prize also says that the exact seat location, nature, and duration are subject to availability. This implies that they don’t actually possess the tickets yet. They’re going to try to obtain the tickets later, hoping they don’t get caught in a short squeeze, like the one that plagued the 2015 Super Bowl. And they might decide that there is no availability at all, so no tickets for you.

Baseball aficionados know that the week of the MLB All-Star Game is packed with events, the most popular of which is probably the Home Run Derby, for which T-Mobile is even the presenting sponsor! But nope, you don’t get tickets to any of those other things. Just the All-Star Game itself.

(The reason is that the All-Star Game is the part that has the best name recognition, even if it might not be the most exciting part.)

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