McDonald's Monopoly

Its that magical time again, where supersizing at your local Mickey D's means more than added calories, it could mean winning a ton of cash! Yes, its another round of McDonald's Monopoly, and although there a lot of money to be potentially won (top prize is 1 million dollars), they game is just as frustrating as ever when it comes to not winning anything. Years ago, when the game started, McDonald's would kick off the game by putting free game boards and two starter game pieces in your Sunday paper. Well, gone are the old game boards--they're now a one long fold out strip of game board spaces available at the ordering counter, and gone are the free game pieces. No longer can you instantly win a free food item, such as small fries or cone, instead the only instant winners are Best Buy Bucks in the amount of $1 or $5, redeemable for merchandise that will inevitably cost more than the certificates are worth. While I am not a regular at McDonald's, I have accumulated a few game pieces within the past couple weeks, and though I am now on my way to potentially winning the $50, $500, $1,500, $10,000, and $50,000 prizes (there are also $1,000,000, $5,000, and $1,000 prizes), I have already gotten repeats on stamps and have yet to get a single Best Buy Buck. Apparently the chances to win $50,000 are available on large french fries only. Although you do have additional chances to win by entering codes found on the stamps at PlayatMcD.com, every time I have gone to do this, there has been a problem with the website.