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Thread: In it to Win it!

  
  1. #1






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    In it to Win it!

    In it to Win it

    As most of you probably know, the Montreal Canadiens have had what can only be described as an awful season. It started so very well with 9 wins in a row even when Carey Price got injured for the first time, they managed to keep going. However, when he came back and fell victim to a knee injury once again and was followed on the injured reserve list by Brendan Gallagher, everything became undone. From that point on, what looked like a very promising season became a nightmare one. Even Gallagher's return at the Winter Classic was not enough to right the ship and it has now became clear that the Canadiens have given up on the season by becoming sellers as the trade deadline draws near. It's not been all bad to be a Habs fan this year though, not for me anyways. As you may have seen from my other articles, I went to Boston for the Winter Classic and witnessed a rare Canadiens' victory, a few weeks later I won the First Line to the Top contest and was therefore able to enjoy a game from the Bell Centre's press gallery which was an awesome experience even though the Habs got ripped apart by the “mighty” Colombus Blue Jackets. Those two events had already made this season a great one for me but little did I know, it was about to get even better.

    On February 17th, I received an e-mail titled: An Invitation to the Casino from the Canadiens' fan club Club 1909. I'm not much of a gambler but of course I still read the e-mail and learnt that I had been selected amongst the lucky fans who were invited to attend the Club 1909 VIP event at the Montreal Casino on February 24th. The message explained that some members had been selected to attend the event because of their positive contribution about Club 1909 on Twitter and the fact that they were huge Canadiens fan. What was in store for us that evening? Well, the game against Ovechkin's Capitals would be shown on the giant screens in La Zone (a special section of the Montreal Casino), food and drinks would be provided and best of all, there would be a quiz hockey during which numerous prizes could be won. The e-mail didn't state what those prizes were but it did mention that one of them would be a Carey Price game worn glove. Needless to say, I was instantly giddy at the thought of a shot at winning such an awesome prize! So within 2 minutes of receiving the e-mail, I confirmed my attendance. Never mind the fact that the event was held on a Wednesday night, that I live over two and a half hours away from the Casino and that this being February in Quebec, chances were the drive could be hazardous, I was in it to win it!

    The week seemed to drag on but February 24th finally came around, bringing along a freaky winter storm (can't call it a snowstorm since there was some snow, some rain and even some freezing rain as an added bonus). The friend who was meant to come up to the Casino with me backed out because the weather forecast was just that bad and I'll admit that the thought of going up alone in a storm was somewhat scary...Thankfully, my dad being fully aware of how much of a fan I am and how badly I wanted to go stepped in and said he'd take me. Come to think of it, considering I inherited my obsession of hockey from him it's the least he could do! In all seriousness, dad's got one of those big car with 4 wheel-drive in which you almost feel like you're in a thank so as soon as he offered I agreed. I took the afternoon off work and we drove up, leaving Quebec City at 12:20 PM and arriving at the Casino at 3:00 PM. Thankfully, on the way there all we encountered was a lot of snow which is really no big deal for Quebecers. Since we were insanely early, the event only started at 6:30 PM, we played the slot machines. I put in a 20$ and an hour and a half later, I was sitting pretty with 100$ in my machine. I cashed out and told dad I'd buy him diner since he drove me all the way there. Considering he'd lost 80$ while I won my 100$, it was the right thing to do. We made our way to the Casino's restaurant and had the all you can eat buffet with a couple of beers before hitting the slots again as we had 45 minutes until the start of the event. That time, I broke even while dad put it a 20$ and cashed out with 170$.

    It was finally time to head to La Zone for the VIP event. When we got there, we had to sign a release allowing the 24 CH camera to film us and Loto-Québec to use any picture that may be taken for promotional purpose. Once that was done, we were allowed in and given our VIP passes, our drinks vouchers, a raffle ticket as well as 50$ to play at the Casino. I let my dad go and play the cash we got while I made my way to the table on which the prizes for the evening were displayed... As promised, Price's glove was there as well as two autographed pucks (Galchenyuck and Gallagher), two game-used sticks (Plekanec's and Markov's), 5 autographed jerseys (Subban, Pacioretty, Desharnais, Gallagher and Price), a number of flags and a few Winter Classic tuques. I was in awe staring at that loot and I had to give my head a shake to manage to walk away and pick a seat at one of the gaming terminals that would give me a good view for the evening. There was still half an hour to go before puck drop so the guy in charge of the entertainment started working the crowd and asking whether we 'd like to see the Price glove up close...like anyone would say no to this! When he showed it to me I couldn't resist, I had to ask to take it and then put it on and finally I had the guy take my picture while wearing it...Truth be told, I felt like a kid in a candy store! To be fair though, I wasn't the only one! There were about 80 Habs fanatic on hand and everyone was pretty excited about the evening ahead.


    On the stage the dealer was playing some black jack hands with the people who wanted to spend the money they had received that way but personally, I was just sitting there, taking it all in when the first prizes were given away. They started it slowly with some Club 1909 250 points cards which were randomly drawn before getting down to the serious business and explaining to us how the Twitter would work. Throughout the evening, they'd be asking us various questions the answers to which we'd have to tweet using #ChxCasino. The questions weren't all that hard especially since you can find pretty much anything these days with the help of your good buddy Google but here are some of the questions asked:

    Which player score a very important goal for the Habs in a playoffs series against Boston on May 10, 1979? Yvon Lambert was the answer for that one
    What is P.K. Subban's favorite restaurant? The Park
    When was the famous Good Friday game between the Habs and the Nordiques? April 20, 1984
    What was the nickname of the line featuring Blake, Lach and Maurice Richardd? The Punch Line
    Which team did the Habs play on December 31, 1975? The Red Army
    Which four trophies did Carey Price win last season? Jennings, Vezina, Hart and Ted Lindsay
    Which Habs player won the Calder trophy in 1941? Johnny Quilty
    Who was the Habs' first ever draft pick? Garry Monahan
    Who is the last Habs player to record 100 points in a season? Mats Naslund
    Which League did the Habs play in before joining the NHL? National Hockey Association
    Who were the Canadiens two captains in 1989-1990? Guy Carbonneau and Chris Chelios
    Which Commissioner suspended Maurice Richard which sparked a riot? Clarence Campbell

    As you can see, these weren't all that hard so many people were getting the right answer so for each prizes, there was a random draw between those who had answered correctly. So knowing the answers was one thing but having lady luck on your side was quite another. I'm happy to report that my lucky break came on the first big prize of the night! When they asked what was P.K. Subban's favorite restaurant I not only got the answer right but won the random draw to receive an autographed Subban jersey! I already had a Subban jersey but not an autographed one and not one from this year with the “A” on its chest and the laces. Needless to say I was over the moon with that great addition to my collection and from the point on, I was fully content with my VIP experience. Of course I still carried on answering the questions but to be honest, I'm not sure I would have survived the evening had I won another prize...understandably so, the goods have to be shared.



    They dished out prizes all through the game whenever there was a stoppage in play which made the game even more exciting plus, for a rare time lately, the Habs played brilliantly. Needless to say the atmosphere in La Zone was quite something! The also provided all kinds of snacks all the way through the evening, wings, prawns, popcorn, grilled cheese, there was something for everyone. When the final buzzer rang on that nail biter of a game, they announced the winner of the “holy glove” which turned out to be @claroquetengo1 who had showed up for the evening wearing a Gallagher jersey and the Sammy Zayn signed luchador mask he had got as a Club 1909 rewards. Do I need to tell you how happy he was? I'm not sure I can actually...I think that in this instance, the expression a picture is worth a thousand words makes a lot of sense so here's the picture of his win:

    While I had come hoping to win the Price glove, I still left the Casino overjoyed, we'd had a great time, won some money and I was taking home a brand new P.K. Subban autographed jersey. We left the Casino around 10:15 PM and started the long drive home. Unfortunately the weather had not improved while we were inside and we had to deal with a cocktail of snow, rain and freezing rain on the drive back. We took our time because as they say, better be safe than sorry and we got home safe and sound a little over 3 hours later. I was so excited that I couldn't sleep until 2:00 AM and I was therefore somewhat tired at work the next morning but hey, it was all so very worth it! Thanks to the Montreal Canadiens, the Club 1909 and the Montreal Casino for what has got to be one of the most fun hockey event I've ever attended. I sure hope they do this again in the upcoming seasons and if you're not a Club 1909 member yet, I have to ask; what are you waiting for?!?!

  2. #2




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    That's awesome! Thanks for sharing and ..... #gohabsgo!

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    Thanks for sharing this. Looks like a great time! That picture with one of Carey's glove is awesome!! Would love to try on a Carey Price glove and/or blocker one day, but sadly this is the closest I'll ever come:



    Thanks for the great write up!
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    That's awesome! Thanks for sharing and ..... #gohabsgo!

    Thanks for the comment :)

    Thanks for sharing this. Looks like a great time! That picture with one of Carey's glove is awesome!! Would love to try on a Carey Price glove and/or blocker one day, but sadly this is the closest I'll ever come:



    Thanks for the great write up!

    Thanks for the comment and never say never, you might get closer than you think one day :)

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    Super awesome! Glad to hear you had a blast! Congratulations on winning the autographed Subban jersey!

  6. #6






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    Thanks, it was a brilliant experience. Club 1909 has made an awful season for the Habs a great one for me...who would have thought :)

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    Congrats Karine, sounds like you had a great time and that Subban jersey is awesome.
    Do something nice for someone everyday, it will pay off in the long run.

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    Amazing!!! Thanks for sharing!

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