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I was the winner of a $100 gift card on this site in the baseball playoff contest which ended in October.

I have still not received the prize because Fan Nation outsources the administration of this contest to an outfit called Ventura Associates.

The lengths I have had to undertake to receive a $100 prize would be laughable if they had not been a continuing source of stress for me.

I would advise no one to enter a contest on this site until Fan Nation severs its relationship with Ventura Associates.

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Here is the timeline of the nonsense I have received from Ventura Associates.

1) October 20 - Confirmation of victory in CNN/SI contest on October 20. However, I still have not received the $100.

2) $100 Gift Card is switched from Best Buy to American Express gift card -- there is no explanation why this was done.

3) December - I am sent one (Red) American Express $100 gift card in the mail. There are no instructions with it and I assume it has already been loaded. There is no confirmation that this is my contest gift.

4) December 24 - I receive a second (Gold) American Express $100 gift card in the mail. This comes with the illiterate greeting - "Congrats OF being the baseball challenge winner."

5) December 26 - I try to use the first card at a retail establishment and am embarassed when I am told there are no funds on it. This is not something I am used to and it is offensive to me. I pay my bills.

6) December 26 - I call customer service for American Express and the woman tells me the first card was cancelled by a woman, who we'll call "Tina." The customer service lady tells me I should contact "Tina." However, she refuses to give me contact information for "Tina." The customer service representative fails to see the problem there.

7) December 31 - I authorize both cards automatically and the process seems to work until I call customer service again for American Express because the whole process has been very confusing. He tells me NEITHER CARD IS VALID and someone IN MY NAME issued a check for $100 that I am supposed to receive in two weeks from Dec. 30.

8) I WAS NOTIFIED OF NOTHING IN THIS ENTIRE PROCESS. It is now Jan. 8 and no one at Ventura or Sports Illustrated has notified me of anything.

I am in the process of contacting Sports Illustrated with this information and asking them to reconsider their relationship with Ventura Associates.

I have lost time that I needed to invest in other pursuits dealing with Ventura Associates.

I would be glad to hear of any other people who have had negative experiences with Ventura Associates.