In December 2022, a luxurious $8 million home in Beverly Hills was given away through a lottery drawing organized by the social media influencer Omar Elsayed. Over 200,000 people entered the lottery for a chance to win the keys to the furnished 6-bedroom, 7-bathroom mansion. The excitement and hype surrounding the giveaway garnered widespread media attention as people wondered who would get to live mortgage-free in one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Los Angeles.
What was the lottery house giveaway?
In early 2022, Omar Elsayed purchased a 12,000 square foot home in the coveted Beverly Hills Post Office neighborhood of LA for $8 million. Instead of moving into the mansion himself, Elsayed decided to give it away for free through a lottery-style contest. He partnered with Yard House to organize and promote the giveaway. People interested in winning the multi-million dollar home could enter the lottery contest by making a $25 donation through Yard House’s website. The donations went to The Boys and Girls Club of Venice.
Over 200,000 people entered the lottery for a 1 in 200,000 chance to have the keys to the furnished mansion handed over to them. The overwhelming response and media coverage turned the lottery giveaway into a viral phenomenon. While some doubted the legitimacy of the contest, Yard House confirmed that the lottery winner would indeed receive ownership of the home free of charge.
Where was the Beverly Hills lottery house located?
The lottery house is located at 2330 Hutton Drive in the Beverly Hills Post Office area of Los Angeles, California. The neighborhood is named after the original Beverly Hills Post Office that served the area. It sits adjacent to Beverly Hills and borders other exclusive areas like Bel Air and Westwood.
The 12,000 square foot Mediterranean-style mansion was custom built in 1992. It sits on over half an acre of land and includes amenities like a home theater, gym, wine cellar, and pool. The lucky winner would get to enjoy high-end finishes and features rarely seen even among luxury Beverly Hills homes. Located near boutiques and restaurants on Canon and Little Santa Monica Drives, the property offers privacy and seclusion despite being in the middle of one of LA’s most exclusive neighborhoods.
Lottery House Features and Amenities
- 6 bedrooms
- 7 bathrooms
- 2 stories
- 12,000 square feet
- Home theater
- Gym
- Wine cellar
- Pool
- Spa
- Massage room
- Screening room
How did people enter the lottery?
There were two ways to enter the lottery for a chance to win the Beverly Hills mansion:
- Make a $25 donation through Yard House’s website. Each $25 donation earned one entry into the lottery. There was no limit to the number of entries one person could have.
- Send a postcard with basic contact information to the address provided by Yard House. This earned one entry per postcard.
Yard House collected all mailed entries and online donations. Everyone who made a valid entry was assigned a unique number that was entered into the lottery drawing. Making multiple donations and sending in postcards increased someone’s odds of being selected, but did not guarantee a win.
In order to win, entrants had to be 18 years or older and a US resident. The lottery house giveaway excluded residents of Florida, New York, Rhode Island, and Puerto Rico due to state sweepstakes laws.
What charity benefited from the lottery donations?
All proceeds from the $25 lottery entries went to the Boys and Girls Club of Venice. The nonprofit organization runs after-school programs, sports, and activities focused on youth development and empowerment. Yard House selected the charity to receive the donations because Elsayed wanted to give back to the local community. The Boys and Girls Club of Venice expressed gratitude for the support and influx of donations driven by lottery hype.
Yard House guaranteed a minimum of $100,000 would be donated to the Boys and Girls Club. With over 200,000 entries at $25 each, the final amount raised was likely far higher. The nonprofit received immediate financial assistance while one lucky winner got a multi-million dollar mansion.
How did Yard House select the winner?
Yard House conducted the lottery drawing on November 18, 2022. All eligible entries were assigned sequential numbers that went into a random number generator to select the winner. The process was filmed and supervised by a law firm to certify it was truly random.
They documented the selection process as follows:
- Total valid entries were calculated as 218,358.
- A computer randomly selected a number between 1 and 218,358.
- The winning number chosen was 72,372.
This means the person who was assigned entry #72,372 won the Beverly Hills mansion. Yard House then verified the information submitted with that lottery entry and contacted the winner.
Who was the winner of the Beverly Hills mansion?
The winner of the $8 million Beverly Hills lottery house was 56-year-old Karen Gabor of San Diego, California. Gabor entered the giveaway twice – once through the online donation and once via postcard. One of her entries ended up being randomly selected, beating the odds to win her the mansion.
Gabor works as an administrative coordinator at a high school in San Diego. She had been living with her husband in a small 2-bedroom house, but always dreamed of owning a mansion in Beverly Hills one day. Winning the lottery fulfilled that lifelong dream beyond her expectations.
Gabor said she was in complete shock when Yard House contacted her to confirm she had won. The enormity of winning a home worth over 150 times her family’s current house was hard to grasp. She looks forward to moving into the mansion with her husband and enjoying a luxury lifestyle in one of California’s most exclusive neighborhoods.
How was the ownership transferred?
After selecting and verifying the winner, Yard House facilitated the legal transfer of the home’s ownership from Omar Elsayed to Karen Gabor. This complex process involved:
- Confirming Gabor met requirements to legally own property in California
- Drawing up contracts to transfer the deed from Elsayed
- Selecting and funding escrow company to handle the transaction
- Finalizing sale terms and closing costs
- Signing over ownership to Gabor
- Paying taxes and fees to record the sale
Yard House covered all closing costs so Gabor could obtain the mansion truly mortgage and payment free. The ownership change was finalized and recorded on December 13, 2022, making Gabor the official owner.
How did the winner react?
Karen Gabor described being in disbelief when she got the call confirming her lottery win. It took some time for the reality of winning a $8 million Beverly Hills mansion to sink in. When Yard House representatives met Gabor and her husband at the home to hand over the keys, the enormity finally struck her.
“When that door opened and we saw the inside for the first time, my knees nearly buckled and I just started crying,” said Gabor. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d actually have the keys to a Beverly Hills mansion in my hand.”
Gabor called the experience incredibly emotional and surreal. She expressed her deepest gratitude for the life-changing opportunity and still can’t believe her luck.
What did the winner plan to do with the home?
After the ownership transfer finalized in mid-December 2022, Karen Gabor and her husband were free to move into the mansion whenever they pleased. Since the home was entirely furnished, they planned to relocate immediately from their current residence in San Diego.
While Gabor considered selling a home of this size and value in the hot Beverly Hills real estate market, she decided to live in it with her husband for at least a year. She couldn’t pass up the chance to enjoy living mortgage and rent free in a luxurious mansion in LA.
Gabor did plan to continue working at her school district job despite the windfall. She may rent out a portion of the mansion to offset taxes and expenses. Yard House offered 1 year of paid property taxes as part of the prize package.
How did Omar Elsayed select the Beverly Hills mansion?
Omar Elsayed spent months working with real estate agents to select the perfect home to give away in the lottery contest. He focused his search on Beverly Hills because of its prestige and global recognition. Proximity to landmarks like Rodeo Drive also factored into the decision.
Elsayed viewed over a dozen luxury homes in LA before settling on the Hutton Drive mansion. The key features that made this particular home stand out included:
- Newly renovated and move-in ready
- Prime location near Beverly Hills Hotel
- 12,000 square feet of living space
- 6 bedrooms and 7 bathrooms
- Celebrity pedigree – owned by baseball star Curt Schilling
- Sophisticated decor and finishes
- Amenities like home theater and gym
Elsayed liked the traditional appearance and interior styling of the mansion. The half-acre lot also gave it a private, resort-like setting. While not the most expensive home he viewed, Elsaye felt it provided the right balance of luxury, location, and sensational appeal for the giveaway.
Who is Omar Elsayed?
Omar Elsayed is a 28-year-old Egyptian social media influencer and content creator living in Los Angeles. He operates YouTube channels focused on vlogs, pranks, and lifestyle content. Elsayed has over 600,000 YouTube subscribers and 250,000 Instagram followers.
Originally from Cairo, Elsayed moved to the United States as a teenager with his family. He became interested in creating internet videos while in high school. His early viral stunts and pranks drew millions of views on YouTube and launched his influencer career.
Elsayed is known for flashy stunts and over-the-top content. The Beverly Hills mansion lottery aligned with his tendency for sensational giveaways to attract attention. However, he also aimed to make a positive impact by raising money for charity in the process.
How did Elsayed pay for the home?
At just 28 years old, Omar Elsayed has already amassed millions of dollars through his social media channels, brand sponsorships, and other business ventures. While his exact net worth is unknown, estimates peg it between $5-10 million.
Elsayed confirmed he paid the full $8 million price for the Beverly Hills mansion upfront in cash. The funds came from his accumulated influencer earnings over the past decade. Despite giving the home away, Elsayed likely profited from the tax write-off and publicity generated.
What other big giveaways has Elsayed done?
The Beverly Hills mansion is far from the first flashy giveaway Omar Elsayed has staged. Some of his other viral stunts and prizes include:
- Giving away $100,000 to random people on the street
- Filling friend’s backyard with 10,000 plastic balls
- Buying all food for customers in grocery store for a day
- Hosting all-expenses paid trip giveaways to Dubai
- Gifting new iPhones to college students in library
- Paying rent for a year for 10 families in need
Elsayed regularly features cash and prize giveaways in his YouTube content. He enjoys staging elaborate surprises and capturing peoples’ emotional reactions. The Beverly Hills mansion lottery took his signature style to a new extreme.
What controversies surrounded the lottery?
Despite the charitable component, Elsayed’s mansion giveaway stirred some controversies and criticisms:
- Some questioned if it was truly random and fair
- Concerns over Yard House’s qualifications to run such a high-stakes lottery
- Criticisms that it exploited lower income people’s lottery hopes
- Debate around the ethics and legality of lottery-based contests
- Accusations that the giveaway was mainly a greedy publicity stunt
However, Yard House insisted they followed all applicable laws and conducted the drawing transparently. The video footage of the random selection verified their process. Ultimately, the publicity worked enormously in Elsayed’s favor, cementing the giveaway’s success.
How did the lottery go viral?
The Beverly Hills mansion giveaway gained immense viral popularity across social media platforms and news outlets. Several factors contributed to the viral spread:
- Influencer promotion – Elsayed’s massive YouTube/Instagram following
- FOMO effect – “Fear of Missing Out” made people share
- Intriguing headline – “$8 million mansion” grabbed attention
- Lottery aspect – People fantasize about winning a fortune
- Underdog story – Average person winning a Beverly Hills mansion
- Media coverage – Dozens of news outlets reported on the story
As the drawing neared, hype and speculation around who would win the house reached a fever pitch. The selection of an ordinary administrative coordinator only added to the sensationalism. Overall, Elsayed’s strategy proved enormously successful in driving engagement and publicity.
Conclusion
The Beverly Hills mansion lottery orchestrated by Omar Elsayed became a viral phenomenon that captured worldwide attention in late 2022. Over 200,000 people entered for a chance to have a $8 million home handed to them for free. Against all odds, the winner turned out to be 56-year-old Karen Gabor – a humble school administrator from San Diego.
While Elsayed’s motivations were debated, the giveaway resulted in $100,000+ raised for charity. Yard House ensured legal compliance and fairness through their selection process. The publicity and content generated turbocharged Elsayed’s influencer career. Most importantly, an average woman and her family got to change their lives by winning the keys to a Beverly Hills luxury estate.
