The PCH

It all starts with your PCH Sweepstakes entries. Every sweepstakes entry we receive is processed with care and a secure, electronic record is kept on our Contest Audit File. This file contains each entry’s identifying numbers and date of receipt.

How is a winner identified? On prize drawing day, a winning number is randomly generated for the giveaway. If a matching number is found on the Contest Audit File, the computer sends a Winning Number Found Report to Maryann Carter of the PCH Contest Department. After the entry’s eligibility is verified, as set forth in the Official Rules, a new SuperPrize winner is identified! The wheels are then set in motion for a PCH Prize Patrol delivery, and an unsuspecting new winner will soon receive the surprise of a lifetime.

What happens if there’s no match to the winning number? Unfortunately, not everyone who receives a SuperPrize Number sends in a sweepstakes entry. If no match is found on the Contest Audit File, our computer sends a Winning Number Not Found Report to Maryann Carter.

That’s why we often say “Don’t risk forfeiting millions of dollars!” Can you imagine how you’d feel if one of your SuperPrize Numbers ended up being a match to the winner and you had not sent in that entry? You don’t want your SuperPrize Number to end up on a Winning Number Not Found Report!

When there’s a guaranteed award of a base prize or the full amount and no matching winning number, Publishers Clearing House awards the prize to an alternate winner randomly selected in a second chance prize drawing among eligible entrants. Our newest millionaire, Joseph Beane, won the August 31st SuperPrize on a second chance drawing.