OK, so the election result surprised us a little. The media’s reaction is what we find more curious. We see rare events occurring all the time in our promotions—and it’s our business to arrange huge cash payouts when the improbable happens.

On Election Day, most traditionally reliable polling models had Mr. Trump as 10% to 30% to win the election. Those odds aren’t great, it made him unlikely to win, but they’re better than the odds of sinking a basketball shot from half-court—and we pay out on that all the time. 10-30% is certainly better than the chances of hitting a hole in one on the golf course, even for a top pro. Last March, at the Els for Autism fundraiser, Rickie Fowler made the shot and we arranged a million-dollar payout to a great cause. Here’s the video.

There’s a couple things to think about here:

First, a 10% chance or a 20% chance isn’t no chance. “Unlikely” isn’t the same thing as “can’t happen”. (Conversely, an 80% chance is by no means a Sure Thing.)

Second, an unusual result gets people talking. And that’s our business: providing prize coverage if one of your contestants accomplishes something unusual. If your customer picks the magic envelope with $1,000,000 inside or sinks the half-court shot, we’ll arrange coverage to get your lucky winner paid. We can help you fit a large prize to a modest budget.

We wouldn’t be in business for 30 years if nobody ever won. We’re not naïve enough to say “we’ve seen it all” but we’ve had a lot of lucky winners. Give us a call: one of your customers could be next.