Australian man wins a tropical island in an online raffle
For the budget price of A$49 (US$36) an Australian man has won himself a tropical bloody island. More specifically a tropical resort on the Micronesian island of Kosrae, a place so perfectly remote and teensy that it barely registers on a world map.
Australian couple Doug and Sally Beitz decided to take an unconventional route when it came to selling off their island paradise. Instead of a super boring auction or property listing, the couple decided to raffle off their island home online, in the hopes that they could change someone's life.
You read correctly. They held a raffle, the fundraiser of choices at school carnivals, for an entire island resort. A big one. The winner was announced on the eve of July 26 and is a known only as Joshua, for now.
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The raffle was announced in April via the resort website and YouTube channel, which encouraged people from all over the world to buy a ticket for a chance at a new, island bound life.
The island of Kosrae has a population of over 6,500 people is one of several small islands that make up the Federated States of Micronesia. The 16-room Kosrae Nautilus Resort has been owned and run by the Beitz couple for close to 20 years and comes with a four-bedroom residence for the owner, five hire cars, a pick-up truck and two ten-seater vans for adventures.
Originally the Beitz couple had set a minimum 55,000 raffle tickets in order for the competition to be valid, which would place their total revenue from the AU$49 tickets at roughly AU$2.6 million -- not too bad.
The self proclaimed "basic people" wanted to give the opportunity of island ownership to someone for whom such a dream would never be possible. Speaking with news.com.au, the couple stated "We think, with the raffle, we can hopefully leave the island in the hands of someone who's not a millionaire, but in the hands of someone who's just like us."
Joshua, wherever and whomever you are -- we humbly accept our place in paradise with you.
