Thoughts on Flannel Pajamas

Hi Winster Friends!
I was just watching Al Roker present the latest storm sweeping the country. Two feet of snow from Nevada to Minnesota today. We are officially sandwiched in between the hope of a White Christmas and the seemingly endless wait for Spring.

Being from the east, and having just visited my family over Christmas, I know how your mindset changes from one of wonder at every beautiful flake pre-December 25th to one of disdain all the way through April. The gray days bleed into black nights and you cocoon inside, in my case never taking off my flannel pj's. Which count as clothes now? I guess you just throw on a pair of boots and pretend they're pants. I see all the kids doing it :)

I think living in California, we're programmed to do things. The great weather forces us in to work and school every day, pushes us to exercise, run errands, make plans. There's something to be said for a season that allows you to rest and sit with your thoughts. Or in our case, sit at our computers and play with our friends. Nice segue, huh?

In the spirit of cocooning in our pj's, Winster is throwing a little pre-mid-winter Happy Hour tomorrow, Saturday January 12th from 3-4pm PST (6-7pm EST for those of you who are actually freezing). Free Spins and no ads! It's a make-up for those of you who were locked out during the last hour of our New Year's event.

See you there in your best flannels/pants :)

XO
Winnie

Happy 2013 Winsters!

Happy 2013 Winsters!

Although I'm a true believer in selective bad luck taboos (I never walk under ladders or open umbrellas in the house), my mother always told me that the number thirteen was lucky for me because she was born on the thirteenth. And without her, I wouldn't exist. So, whether it's true or not, I've always felt a little luckier in row thirteen airplane seats or on the thirteenth floor. And, to be honest I've won my share of roulette in Vegas betting on that number.

So 2013 feels like it'll be my year. And if the end of last year was any indication, I'm sure that's true. All of us at Winster are really touched by the camaraderie that exists on the site and we feel lucky to have become a part of it last year. If Winster has proven anything, it's that people can find friendship and commonality through the simplest things, like sharing a gift or playing for the same goal. Kind of makes you put your faith back in humanity :)

Have a wonderful New Years Day and I'll see you in the games!

XO

Winnie

Christmas Miracles

From the desk of Winnie

Happy Holidays Winsters!
I'm feeling the holiday spirit! I had a real life "Pay it Forward" moment today at the post office. Long line, as you can imagine, people with giant boxes attempting to get them out in time for Christmas. Me with my Christmas cards, waiting for the "special" stamps. All of us crowded into a small space, cranky and annoyed that there are only two workers helping everyone.

As I had my turn, someone came back in to tell the PO worker that they needed a stamp and she must have forgotten. I had a ton of extras so I just gave him one of mine. And then this cool thing happened...as I was standing on the side putting on my stamps, the next lady did the same thing, and another, and a handful of people walked out without having to stand in line. And they all thanked me for my Christmas spirit. It was kind of amazing.

And so, in the spirit of giving (and, to be fair, the spirit of good business) Winster is giving away a couple of adorable gifts for you to share with your friends. And some fun hats to celebrate the season in. Look for them now in the gift shop.

We're also putting the finishing touches on a couple of Holiday Happy Hours happening this Friday 12/21 and Saturday 12/22 from 10-11am PST (1:00-2:00 EST) and again from 3-4pm (6:00-7:00 EST). And, as an added bonus, two more Happy Hours at the same times listed on January 1st and 2nd! Take a break from the New Years Day "When Harry Met Sally" marathon and pull up a chair!

Lastly, we get a lot of feedback about prizes and whether it's worth having a membership based on the prizes we have. I can only say that we're working hard to add the ones you've asked for and mostly it's a matter of give and take until our prize partners are satisfied with the way they are portrayed on Winster. But hang in there, we're in the home stretch.

Have the Happiest of Holidays and an awesome New Year!
XO
Winnie

Happy Cyber Monday Winsters!
I got sucked in by a "Door Buster" deal this morning that was sent to me in my e-mail. The perfect boots I've been looking for, marked down from $150.00 to $24.00. Sold out of course, in all sizes and colors. Which left me to browse the not-so-cheap boots and, well, you can guess the rest of the story...


I hope you all had a long and restful weekend. Here at Winster, we attempted to play Happy Hour Slots between bites of stuffing, but as many of you know, our servers got a little overloaded on a couple of the events. Although our tech people worked furiously to reset them, customers games were frozen, stuffing got cold, nobody was happy.

Rest assured, heads rolled this morning (not really, you go with the flow when you work in technology) and we are adding servers and planning a make up happy hour for this week. We hope you'll join us for our official "do-over".

OK, now click til you drop?
XO
Winnie

I'm Thankful for a Five Day Weekend

Thanksgiving weekend is almost upon us Winsters! I hope you're out snapping up the last pre-made pie crust in the store. Or if you're like me, you have every intention of doing that later...or maybe tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, put down that spatula and get ready for another 3 days of Happy Hour play! Starting Wednesday 11/21 through Friday 1-/23 from 10-11am and again from 4-5pm PDT, get free spins, no ads and play for our great new prize, Walmart gift cards!

Here at Winster, we're all playing alongside you this week and weekend and will be available to answer any questions or fix any issues that may come up. 

Have a great holiday and I'll see you in the games!

Hold On To Your Hats!

Good Morning Winsters!

It's a cold day here in the west, it's a good thing I've got some warm hats in my Winster closet! And if you log in to your Winster closet, you may notice that all of your old hats are back too! That's right, we combed through the data and were able to give them back. I can't wait to see what you'll be wearing. 

Last night while we were sleeping, someone in our office added Readers Digest subscriptions back to the prize list. I don't know about you, but I am a magazine junkie. I love the holidays for one reason...catalogs! Now we can all win some real reading and not have to peruse our Toys R Us Big Books again :) Yay Readers Digest and welcome aboard!

Things are moving here at Winster, I hope you can feel our excitement as we get to know you and interact with you. We're having a blast, hope you are too!

Election Day

Hello Winsters!

It seems like only yesterday that I held an election party with a choice of Obama nachos or McCain spinach dip. I can't remember which was eaten first, only that I painstakingly glued their faces to chopsticks and that the election was called before the party even started.

I'm secretly hoping for a late night of nail-biting tonight :)

We're finally getting into a groove here at Winster. We marvel every day at the great systems that the old team built. They made it easy for us to look into player issues and solve problems as they come up. Of course there are still some bugs (it is technology after all) but we think for the most part, things are running smoothly. 

We've added back in three new prizes that should all be live by tonight. Papa Johns Pizza, Restaurants.com and See's Candy. Somebody here must have been hungry when prioritizing prizes. We've got a ton of other deals in the works and will roll them out as we can.

Keep playing and keep in touch with us. We love to hear from you!

XO

Winnie