2025-26 #2016PENS CONTEST
OFFICIAL RULES
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER THE PROMOTION. PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. Void where prohibited or otherwise restricted by law. THIS PROMOTION IS IN NO WAY SPONSORED, ENDORSED OR ADMINISTERED BY, OR ASSOCIATED WITH X.
- ELIGIBILITY: The #2016PENS Contest (the “Promotion”) is open only to legal residents of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, and Ohio who are the age of majority or older in the jurisdiction in which they reside at the time of entry, who have a X account, and who are followers of the @MShakeFactory handle on X. Void in all other jurisdictions and where prohibited by law. Obtaining an X account and following the @MShakeFactory handle are free of charge. Employees and directors of The Milkshake Factory (“Sponsor”), Pittsburgh Penguins LP and each of their respective parent, subsidiary companies, affiliates, divisions, franchisees, representatives, consultants, sub-contractors, suppliers, distributors, legal counsel, advertising, public relations, promotional, fulfillment and marketing agencies, and members of their immediate families (defined for these purposes as including spouse, parents, children, and siblings and each of their respective spouses) and individuals living in the same household, are not eligible to participate. By participating, participants agree to these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor, which are final and binding in all matters relating to this Promotion.
- PROMOTION PERIOD. The Promotion will be announced from time-to-time by Sponsor during the 2025-2026 Pittsburgh Penguins season. A Promotion begins when the Announcement (as defined below) is made and ends at the Submission Deadline (as defined below) (the “Promotion Period”). All times stated by Sponsor are in Eastern Time (local to Pittsburgh, PA). Untimely entries will not be accepted or be eligible to win, except as otherwise set forth in these Official Rules. Entries will not be acknowledged. Sponsor’s clock is the official clock of the Promotion. Sponsor reserves the right to cancel or reschedule any part or day of the Promotion in its sole discretion and without prior notice.
- TO ENTER: During the Promotion Period, the Sponsor will post a question on the @MShakeFactory X handle (the “Announcement”). The post will contain the deadline for submitting a response (the “Submission Deadline”). Sponsor may post multiple times for a single question. Participants must answer the question by the Submission Deadline (either by replying to a tweet or by posting a new tweet), must use the hashtag, #2016PENS, when tweeting the answer, and must follow any additional rules or instructions set forth by Sponsor in the Announcement. Every participant who answers the question during the Promotion Period, includes the #2016PENS hashtag and follows any addition Sponsor instructions will gain one (1) entry into the Promotion for that question.
Limit: Participants may participate in the Promotion for each question, provided that they comply with these Official Rules; however, participants may only obtain one (1) entry per question during the Promotion Period. Multiple participants are not permitted to share a X account. Any attempt by any participant to obtain more than the stated number of entries by using multiple/different X accounts, identities, registrations and logins, or any other methods will void that participant’s entries and that participant may be disqualified from the entire Promotion. Use of any automated system to participate is prohibited and will result in disqualification. In the event of a dispute as to any registration, the authorized account holder of the X account used to register will be deemed to be the registrant or player. The “authorized account holder” is the natural person assigned an email address or account by an Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization responsible for assigning email addresses or accounts for the domain associated with the email address for the winning X account. The potential winner may be required to show proof of being the authorized account holder of the X account associated with the winning entry.
4. WINNER SELECTION: After the Submission Deadline has closed for a question, a qualified panel of judges, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion, will select one (1) potential winner from among all eligible entries received for such question. The judges will base their review of the entries on the following criteria:
(a) Greatest display of appreciation of Milkshake Factory and/or the Pittsburgh Penguins (1/3)
(b) Relevant response to the question (1/3)
(c) Originality (1/3)
In the event of a tie for a winning entry, the entry with the highest score in the “Greatest display of appreciation of Milkshake Factory and/or the Pittsburgh Penguins” category will be deemed the potential winner. In the event that there is still a tie, Sponsor will have an alternate judge review and judge the tied entry to break the tie.
The potential winners will be notified on X under the @MShakeFactory handle or by direct message on X. A PARTICIPANT IS NOT A WINNER OF ANY PRIZE, EVEN IF THE PROMOTION SHOULD SO INDICATE, UNLESS AND UNTIL PARTICIPANT’S ELIGIBILITY AND COMPLIANCE WITH THE OFFICIAL RULES HAVE BEEN VERIFIED AND PARTICIPANT HAS BEEN NOTIFIED THAT VERIFICATION IS COMPLETE. All potential winners may be subject to verification of eligibility, and may be required to sign and return an Affidavit of Eligibility/Release of Liability/Prize Acceptance Form (“Release”) within a certain time period after notification. If a potential winner cannot be reached (regardless of reason), does not respond within the designated time (if required), or there is a return of any prize/prize notification as undeliverable, he/she may be disqualified and an alternate potential winner may be selected. Upon disqualification, no further compensation will be given. Failure to comply with any term or condition in these Official Rules may result in disqualification at Sponsor’s sole discretion. In the event that a potential winner is disqualified for any reason, an alternate potential winner may be selected from the remaining entries based on the next highest score. Depending on prize, Sponsor may limit the number of attempts to award a prize to two (2) attempts. In such case, if a prize winner cannot be confirmed after two (2) attempts, the prize will remain un-awarded.
- PRIZES & APPROXIMATE RETAIL VALUES: The prize for each Promotion will be two (2) lower bowl tickets to the Pittsburgh Penguins home game at the PPG Paints Arena on Saturday January 31st, 2026 and an Autographed Bryan Rust jersey. Approximate Retail Value: $590.
Prize Restrictions: No substitution or transfer of prizes is permitted and prizes are not exchangeable for cash. Limit: one (1) prize per person per drawing. The date of the game and selection of arena seat locations is solely within Sponsor’s discretion. Tickets are subject to availability, venue capacity and age restrictions. Games are subject to, among other things, delay, postponement, rescheduling and cancellation by game coordinators. Winners and their guest(s) must abide by all ticket terms and conditions and venue policies. Sponsor, or its designees, reserves the right to revoke full or partial prize from any winner or winner’s guest who it and/or venue personnel deem may, in their sole discretion, be intoxicated, be a safety risk, have violated any venue policy or law, and/or may bring Sponsor into disrepute. The winner will receive a direct message from @MShakeFactory on X for further information on how to receive the winning prize. In the event Sponsor, for any reason whatsoever, is unable to provide the Selfie opportunity, no compensation or substitution will be provided; however, the prize will still be awarded and Sponsor will have no further obligation to winner. All federal, state and local taxes are the sole responsibility of the winners. Prize consists of only those items specifically stated as part of the prize and are subject to change in Sponsor’s sole discretion. All expenses and costs associated with the acceptance or use of the prize that are not expressly specified in these Official Rules as being part of the prize (including, without limitation, transportation to the game and costs/expenses incurred at the game) are the sole responsibility of the winners. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value in its sole discretion. If required by law, winners will be issued a 1099 tax form for the prize value.
- OWNERSHIP AND PUBLICITY: By accepting a prize, winners grant Sponsor and its parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, agents and licensees, a royalty-free, unconditional, irrevocable, and perpetual right, license and consent, without any compensation, consideration or further notification, to use and refer to the participant, his or her name, likeness, image, distinctive characteristics, city, state, entry, X handle, Selfie, any statements made and prize information, for any purpose, including but not limited to editorial, advertising, trade, commercial, and publicity purposes in any media throughout the world, unless prohibited by law.
- RELEASE OF LIABILITY: By participating in this Promotion, participants agree to be bound by the Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor. By accepting a prize, winners agree to hold harmless Sponsor, Pittsburgh Penguins, X and each of their shareholders, directors, employees, subsidiaries, affiliates and independent contractors (“Released Parties”) from and against any and all claims and liability arising out of use or misuse of a prize or participation in the Promotion. Winners assume all liability for any injury or damage caused, or claimed to be caused by participation in this Promotion or use or redemption of any prize.
- Except where prohibited, all participants agree that: (1) any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with the Promotion or any prize awarded shall be governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by the courts in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; (2) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering this Promotion, but in no event attorneys’ fees; and (3) under no circumstances will participants be permitted to obtain awards for, and participants hereby waive all rights to claim, indirect, punitive, incidental and consequential damages and any other damages, other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses, and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
- GENERAL CONDITIONS: Released Parties are not responsible for any typographical or other error in the printing, the offering or the announcement of any prize or in the administration of the Promotion. Sponsor will not be responsible for incomplete, undecipherable, lost, late, damaged, misdirected or mutilated entries, misdirected or faulty messages or for any technical problems, incorrect announcements of any kind, hardware or software failures of any kind including any injury or damage related to phone or other devices. Incomplete/illegible entries are void. Sponsor is not responsible for any human or other error that may occur in the processing of the entries, nor are they responsible for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, or delay in operation or transmission, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to or alteration of entries, or for technical, network, telephone, computer hardware or software malfunctions of any kind, or inaccurate transmission of, or failure to receive any entry information on account of technical problems or failures of any wireless or internet service providers, traffic congestion on the Internet or at any web site or any combination thereof, which may limit a person’s ability to participate in the Promotion or receive communication from Sponsor.
Sponsor assumes no responsibility for undeliverable messages resulting from filtration of a participant’s wireless or Internet service provider or for insufficient space to receive messages. Sponsor reserves the right to cancel, terminate, suspend, or modify the Promotion or any portion thereof (including any day it plans on holding drawings) for any reason whatsoever, for example, without limitation, if fraud or technical failures destroy the integrity of the Promotion, or if a technical problem corrupts the administration as determined by Sponsor, in its sole discretion. If the Promotion is canceled, Sponsor shall have no further obligation to any participant in connection with the Promotion. Any use of robotic, automatic, programmed, or the like methods of participation will void all such entries by such methods.
CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT BY ANY INDIVIDUAL TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEB SITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE PROMOTION IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, RELEASED PARTIES RESERVE THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM ANY SUCH INDIVIDUAL TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. THIS PROMOTION IS INTENDED FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE UNITED STATES ONLY AND SHALL BE CONSTRUED ONLY ACCORDING TO UNITED STATES LAW.
- PRIVACY: All information submitted as part of the Promotion will be treated in accordance with Sponsor’s privacy policy, available at https://www.milkshakefactory.com/privacy-policy/, and these Official Rules. In the event of any discrepancy between the privacy policy and these Official Rules, the privacy policy shall control and govern.
- WINNER’S LIST: For a winner’s list, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to “#2016PENS CONTEST”, Pittsburgh Penguins LP, 1001 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. Please include on the outer envelope the date the Promotion began. Requests for a winner’s list must be received ninety (90) days after the winner for the applicable Promotion is chosen.
- SPONSOR: The Milkshake Factory


