Business

Mother Nature awards 153 ‘Snowfall Madness’ winners

 

RACHEL YOUNG PHOTO |  Robert's Jewelers owner Robert Scott, snow shovel in hand, at his Southold store last Thursday morning.
RACHEL YOUNG PHOTO | Robert’s Jewelers owner Robert Scott, snow shovel in hand, at his Southold store last Thursday morning.

After days of anticipation, the results are officially in: for the first time in the 21 years Robert’s Jewelers has run its “Snowfall Madness” promotion, the Southold shop is now obliged to pay out to 153 lucky customers who correctly guessed it would snow more than three inches on Jan. 2.

“It did hit,” storeowner Robert Scott announced in a live WLNG broadcast this morning, saying he received verification from weather officials that it snowed 3.67 inches between the hours of 6 p.m. and midnight on Jan 2. “We have 153 people that should be exceedingly happy at this point — I mean, exceedingly happy.”

“Snowfall Madness” makes this deal with customers: buy any piece of jewelry before the holidays and then choose from a selection of dates in late December or early January, the promotion’s rules state. If it snows three inches or more between the hours of 6 p.m. and midnight on your chosen date, Mr. Scott will refund your purchase.

By Mr. Scott’s admission, customers have alternately called him both ‘stupid’ and ‘brilliant’ for coming up with the idea. But to his credit, the odds had been in the longtime local jeweler’s favor these two-plus decades, with him never having to make a single payout.

That changed Jan. 2, when eight inches of snow fell on Long Island.

“Do you know how long I’ve waited for this to happen?” he said. “Twenty-one years. And people said it was a stupid event. I’ve had nothing but phone calls.”

Mr. Scott explained he is partially insured by his insurance company and is waiting for them to send him a check before he begins making cash payouts to the 153 customers, all of whom must claim their prizes to receive any money. Payouts will begin Feb. 1 and run through Feb 15, Mr. Scott said.

While he wouldn’t disclose just how much money he needs to lay out — “It’s a lot,” he said with a chuckle — Mr. Scott did say one of the winners included a man who purchased a $7,000 engagement ring.

At the time, Mr. Scott wasn’t ready to cut any checks just yet: he explained Friday that he needed verification from Weather Command, an Illinois-based environmental and forecasting service Mr. Scott said monitors snowfall at Brookhaven National Lab in Upton.

With the snowfall confirmed, Mr. Scott said in an interview this morning he feels “exceedingly happy.”

“Now the fun begins,” he said.

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