Boston Pizza Runs March Madness Cash Contest

Boston’s The Gourmet Pizza is presenting a cash challenge for college roundball fans disposed to indulge in NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament pools for a grand prize of $50,000.

Anyone who’s ever filled in those brackets for fun or money knows that the odds are astronomically against correctly picking the outcome of all 63 tournament games. And to win “Boston’s Bracket Buster” one would have to virtually do just that: accurately pick the outcome in 60 of the 63 games in the tourney to win the big money.

The rules in this case do modify the degree of difficulty. After registering to play by clicking on the Boston’s Bracket Buster link, contestants must pick the winners for the first round of the tournament. Before each of the subsequent six rounds, contestants then return to the site to make their picks in each of those rounds.

That improves the odds a bit on the traditional alternative of filling out all the brackets before the first games are played. And there are two $1,000 prizes to be awarded to players who make between 57 and 59 correct predictions, and 20 $100 prizes for those who manage 55 or 56 correct picks.

But the short odds in play here clearly favor players placing orders for Boston’s pizzas when they’re checking their picks while they’re watching the tourney games.

“We wanted to offer our customers an exciting, interactive promotion that would keep them engaged throughout the entire college basketball tournament,” said Erika Buesing, director of marketing for Boston’s, in a statement.

The Bracket Busters promotion tips off on March 1, continuing through the climax of the tourney on April 6.

Along with the Web site link, the contest is being pushed with P-O-P advertising in Boston’s locations.

SCA Promotions developed the idea and is handling execution of the campaign.