Sounds like a "take-the-money-and-run" vibe or a "staged contest" con.
Either the site will mysteriously have difficulties in September and all "attempts" will be made to return funds, which will never happen. (Most people won't bother to get their money back unless they spend an insane amount of cash trying to win.)
or
The date of event comes, the winners are "chosen" and none of the suckers who spent their money actually get anything. Of course a few actors will pose and "verify" that they won, but in truth no one actually does.
Fuckin' genius.
Then again...it could be real.
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