How PCH's "Special Early Look Sweepstakes Events" Work

The Nuts and Bolts of America's Most Famous Sweepstakes

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By
Sandra Grauschopf
Sandra Grauschopf
Sandra Grauschopf
Writer
  • University of Maryland
Sandra Grauschopf has been working in the contests industry since 2002. She is a passionate sweeper, with tens of thousands of dollars worth of prize wins to her name, and she has been sharing advice about how to be a winner for over a decade.
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Updated on 03/27/21

If you find Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes confusing, you're not alone. For one thing, they never seem to end! It seems like a winner is going to be drawn any day now, and then next thing you know, you're getting new offers to enter all over again. Doesn't PCH ever actually draw winners?

And what happens to those big prizes, like the "$7,000 a Week ForEVER" prizes? PCH advertises these huge prizes, then actually award something much smaller — a simple million dollars. Not that that's a bad prize, but is there some kind of bait and switch?

In both of these cases, the giveaway is on the up-and-up. The giveaways do end, and there is a chance that those big SuperPrizes are awarded. However, the system behind the giveaways is convoluted.

The quarterly giveaways with prizes like "$7,000 a Week forEVER" aren't straightforward sweepstakes, where the prizes are simply awarded at the end of the giveaway period. Instead, they are "Special Early Look Sweepstakes Events." The prizes are awarded according to PCH's rules, but that doesn't mean that the big SuperPrize is awarded every entry period.

Still confused? Here's a look into how the PCH SuperPrize Drawings work.

What an "Early Look Time Frame" Really Is

At the start of the giveaway, PCH assigns possible winning numbers. Every person who enters PCH sweepstakes is assigned a Prize Number from the pool of possible numbers for the corresponding Early Look time frame.

At the end of the Special Early Look time frame, PCH randomly draws a number, then checks if any of the people who entered during that time frame have the corresponding Prize Number. If so, that person wins the currently-advertised grand prize. Recent grand prizes have included $2 million and $10,000 a month for life, $5,000 a week forever, and other life-changing prizes.

If no entrant's Prize Number matches the randomly-drawn number, PCH usually holds a second-chance drawing. Typically, the second-chance drawing winner will receive a $1,000,000 prize.

When Is the Next PCH SuperPrize Drawing?

To find out when the next Publishers Clearing House drawing will take place, what the current grand and second-chance prizes are, and how to enter, check out the entry information about the current PCH SuperPrize Sweepstakes.

One of the reasons why people sometimes think that PCH sweepstakes never end is Publishers Clearing House runs one giveaway right after another.

Each PCH SuperPrize giveaway has an end date, but usually, a new chance to win enormous prizes starts the very next day. The grand prize varies, but the second-chance prize of a million dollars usually stays the same.

Are PCH Prizes Really Awarded?

The odds of winning are very, very long, but PCH Sweepstakes are not scams. The winners are drawn and the prizes are really awarded. Every year, PCH gives away between $3 and $13 million.

You can follow the PCH Prize Patrol on YouTube to watch videos of real people (not actors!) receiving the good news of their big wins.

One of the million-dollar winners was Natalie Bostelman, who gave an interview about what it was like to win a PCH SuperPrize. It's interesting reading for any would-be winner.

And the chances to win don't stop with the SuperPrize drawings. Publishers Clearing House also gives away lots of other prizes. See top ways to win with PCH to find more ways to win.