Ever see a fish bowl in a restaurant encouraging you to drop in your business card for the chance to “win” a free lunch? I attended one of those events once, and it was basically a sales pitch for investment services. Since it’s really a sales presentation, I wonder what would happen if someone just called them up and asked for the free lunch event, even though they hadn’t “won” it. I’m guessing the seller would be happy to oblige, since the contest angle is only there to create the appearance of scarcity where none actually exists.