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" McDonald&amp;#039;s Monopoly season is back, twenty-five years after it first began. Though generally thought of as a mildly exciting cultural phenomenon (who but Mike Bloomberg could argue with free fast food?), the annual contest has had its fair share of controversy. The first one, in 1987, had $40 million worth of prizes, and McDonald&amp;#039;s increased that number year by year as more people played, and added &amp;quot;instant&amp;quot; wins redeemable for in-store prizes and board pieces. In 2001, it was discovered that individuals at Simon Marketing, the agency that handled the game, had redeemed winning pieces for themselves, resulting in more than $20 million in embezzled cash. McDonald&amp;#039;s, no stranger to nonsensical litigation, wound up actually paying $16.6 million to Simon, and the contest was put on hold, returning in 2003. This year, some of the more enticing prizes include a vacation courtesy of Delta, an NHL All-Star weekend trip, and, of course, those two $1 million cash-outs. There&amp;#039;s a full list on McDonald&amp;#039;s site. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.esquire.com/food-drink/restaurants/a16071/mcdonalds-monopoly-prizes-1349188255/?src=rss>