Posted on: Wednesday, January 5, 2005

PIGSKIN PICKS
Quick picks work for final winner

Advertiser Staff

Despite her near-perfect ballot, Lynn Sugiyama of Waipahu figured she was a long-shot to win the Pigskin Picks contest.

After all, Sugiyama said, she's had a ballot with 14 of 15 correct selections before, but came away empty-handed. Fortunately, her luck changed in this week's final contest.

"I was surprised because I really thought the winner would get 15 out of 15," Sugiyama said. "When I had the one error, I just thought, 'Oh, next time.' "

Sugiyama's only miss was selecting the Philadelphia Eagles to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals. Sugiyama's ballot was randomly selected from several ballots with near-perfect 14 of 15 picks on college and NFL games.

"I had no strategy this week," Sugiyama said. "There was a lot bowl games and stuff. I just played it by ear."

As the Pigskin Picks winner, Sugiyama wins a trip for two to Las Vegas from Worry-Free Vacations, Non-Stop Travel and the Golden Nugget Hotel, and $500 from The Advertiser.

Sugiyama, who works for the state's Department of Human Services, said she entered about 20 ballots last week. Sugiyama said she gathered ballots from friends, and also picked up one free ballot per day from The Advertiser building on Kapi'olani Boulevard, Monday through Thursday.

"Sometimes I put in a lot (of ballots)," said Sugiyama, who added that she's entered more than 20 before. "But this week I didn't put in as much because this was the last week, and I just went with the ones I got."

Sugiyama said sometimes she studies many hours before making selections, but this week she employed the rapid-fire method.

"This past week, it was real quick," Sugiyama said. "Before I would take a couple of hours."