Author Topic: Marlboro Ranch in Montana  (Read 31791 times)

Offline sky121

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Re: Marlboro Ranch in Montana
« Reply #20 on: May 19, 2015, 08:07:24 PM »
Hope to write a trip report when I get back. So far I still have 2 months to my trip.
Ah, got it.  Looking forward :)
"Not all who wander are lost"

Offline Dan

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Re: Marlboro Ranch in Montana
« Reply #21 on: May 19, 2015, 11:33:39 PM »
Are you going to get a 1099 for this trip?
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Offline Workaholic

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Re: Marlboro Ranch in Montana
« Reply #22 on: May 19, 2015, 11:34:48 PM »
Yes. Together with a $600 check to cover the 1099.

Offline Dan

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Re: Marlboro Ranch in Montana
« Reply #23 on: May 19, 2015, 11:35:33 PM »
Yes. Together with a $600 check to cover the 1099.
I read that the trip costs Marlboro $5K/person.
How much is the 1099 for?
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Re: Marlboro Ranch in Montana
« Reply #24 on: May 19, 2015, 11:38:16 PM »
They value it at between $4,500 to $5k. Will be able to give exact info when I get back. My trip is gonna cost them more then it ever cost them for anyone because they have to get separate kosher food for me. They never did it before.

Offline Dan

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Re: Marlboro Ranch in Montana
« Reply #25 on: May 19, 2015, 11:39:52 PM »
How does $600 cover a 1099 for $5K?
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Re: Marlboro Ranch in Montana
« Reply #26 on: May 19, 2015, 11:43:58 PM »
I'm assuming that depends on income. No? I'm no accountant and I don't know how taxes work.

Offline Dan

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Re: Marlboro Ranch in Montana
« Reply #27 on: May 19, 2015, 11:46:54 PM »
You would have to be in a really low bracket for that to cover it.

An NYC couple making a combined $150K pay 28% federal+10.3% NY+NYC taxes.   Ignoring the potential deductiblility of the state tax depending on AMT, a $10K 1099 would cost them as much as $3,830, of which Marlboro is covering just $1,200.
« Last Edit: May 19, 2015, 11:49:58 PM by Dan »
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Offline lunatic

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Re: Marlboro Ranch in Montana
« Reply #28 on: May 19, 2015, 11:49:41 PM »
How does $600 cover a 1099 for $5K?
Covers most of the social security and medicare

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Re: Marlboro Ranch in Montana
« Reply #29 on: May 19, 2015, 11:50:59 PM »
Most people I spoke to that already went on this trip tell me that they didn't see a difference at all in their taxes, so I'm not sure what's going on here. But a free trip plus $600 plus a nice set of luggage, is not bad in my opinion.

Offline Dan

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Re: Marlboro Ranch in Montana
« Reply #30 on: May 19, 2015, 11:51:53 PM »
Covers most of the social security and medicare
Are those subject to sweepstakes winnings? I don't think they are.
« Last Edit: May 19, 2015, 11:58:39 PM by Dan »
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Offline Dan

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Re: Marlboro Ranch in Montana
« Reply #31 on: May 19, 2015, 11:52:19 PM »
Most people I spoke to that already went on this trip tell me that they didn't see a difference at all in their taxes, so I'm not sure what's going on here. But a free trip plus $600 plus a nice set of luggage, is not bad in my opinion.
If they make $30K combined then that can make sense.
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Offline Workaholic

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Re: Marlboro Ranch in Montana
« Reply #32 on: May 19, 2015, 11:53:27 PM »
So if you get selected by them for this trip, you would've declined due to the amount of taxes you'll have to pay?

Offline Dan

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Re: Marlboro Ranch in Montana
« Reply #33 on: May 19, 2015, 11:56:19 PM »
So if you get selected by them for this trip, you would've declined due to the amount of taxes you'll have to pay?
Nah, they wouldn't have picked me because I've never smoked a cigarette in my life ;)

I'm not saying I would decline, but I definitely wouldn't call it a free trip just like I wouldn't call a car won on Price is Right a free car.  There's a real cost to winning a sweepstakes in the US.
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Re: Marlboro Ranch in Montana
« Reply #34 on: May 19, 2015, 11:57:11 PM »
I hear you.

Offline smart brit

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Re: Marlboro Ranch in Montana
« Reply #35 on: May 20, 2015, 01:33:46 AM »
Looking forward to the TR!
Please take pictures

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Re: Marlboro Ranch in Montana
« Reply #36 on: July 13, 2015, 12:22:41 AM »
Following is my trip report that I wrote on Facebook with some small changes and more photos.


It's been a few days already since I'm back from the Marlboro Crazy Mountain Ranch in Montana. Being from New York, people keep on asking me what a ranch is (a large farm, especially in the western US and Canada, where cattle or other animals are bred and raised.) and what the Marlboro ranch is, so I'll try and see if written words can bring out the extent to how amazing the experience was for me.

The Marlboro Ranch is an 18,000 acre working ranch which is divided in two parts. There's the guest part where the housing and activities are located, and the rest is for the cattle.

Most buildings in the ranch are old western town buildings which were reconstructed to form a small town on the ranch.




When I first got the FedEx envelope in the mail stating that I'm a possible winner to the ranch, I had no idea what it was. I thought it's probably another piece of spam mail or some kind of timeshare offer so I put it aside for the time being.





A few days later I decided to do a Google search on this and was pleasantly surprised at what I found so the first I did was to call up Marlboro and confirm that I accept the invitation.

From that point on, I had a lot of paperwork to fill out and then stuff started arriving. First I got my airline tickets, a check for $600 to cover the taxes that this trip will cost me and a $25 gift card to pay for taking my luggage on the plane.





The next day I got luggage and a cap with the ranch logo to wear at the airports so I can meet other people going to the ranch (the Jets cap in the photo is not what they sent).



The reason why Marlboro has this ranch and invites people over for an all expenses paid trip is because by law they are prohibited from advertising in a way that minors under 21 years old can see the ads. So they came up with this plan some years ago to give people the best experience they ever had and like this get them connected to the Marlboro brand.

Our trip began July 6th at Newark Airport heading to Bozeman Airport in Montana with a stop in Chicago (where I came across the coolest thing ever).




As soon as we passed security in Bozeman, we were greeted by the ranch staff - dressed in the easy to recognize red shirts and cowboy hats - and were notified that they're collecting our luggage and we'll find it in our rooms at the ranch. We then ate lunch at the airport and hopped onto the busses for the hour-long drive to the ranch with views of the crazy mountains that are breathtaking in by itself.

Shortly before arriving to the ranch we looked out of our windows and were greeted by 2 cowboys with horses on each side of the bus.

We pulled into the ranch at around 1:30 PM and we were assigned to our rooms where our luggage was already waiting for us together with some surprises on our beds.



Then we went to get fitted for our cowboy hats and boots and went to the general store to buy some gifts with the $150 coin they gave us to buy stuff.



I don't remember the exact schedule that I had for every day due to the fact that they kept us busy from early morning till late at night with all activities and food but I'll try to write down everything we did in the order of how I remember them.

Besides the 3 regular meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) there were snacks 24 hours a day and they also had an appetizer before dinner and a snack after dinner, which each of those were more than I have for a regular meal.



I couldn't eat any of those because I keep kosher, so for the first time ever, they contacted the Chabad Rabbi in Bozeman and arranged kosher meals for me to be shipped to the ranch, double sealed. It wasn't easy explaining to all my new friends there that kosher doesn't mean that the food is blessed by the Rabbi...














For activities I chose over the 2 days that we did activities to do Ziplining (their biggest line is 2,000 feet long while going over 65mph), off-roading in a big red H1 Hummer (was really fun), fly fishing (a new experience for me), a tour of the whole ranch (very interesting), ATV, clay shooting (first time I used a shotgun but it was really fun even though I wasn't too good at it and got all bruised by the recoil), horseback riding.








Music. DJ. Live band. Poker games. Outdoor dinners and shows. All in all it was fun packed, full days which I'll remember for life.






The relaxation and calmness that I had there - no worries about anything (besides for calling my wife...) - is something that just can't be described in words. It was something out of this world.





I got to meet amazing people from all over the country, amazing staff (I don't know where they find those people, but they're the best there is). It was really great to get to know so many new friends. I miss you all already.

The day we left was a sad day for everyone and no one was ready to leave the ranch just yet. But we had to make room for the new group of guest that were scheduled to arrive later that day.

The 2 full days and 2 half days that I was there, won't be forgotten so fast and I stay with a bunch of memories of this trip. Hopefully I'll be able to return again and have this experience all over again.


Offline Workaholic

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Re: Marlboro Ranch in Montana
« Reply #37 on: July 13, 2015, 12:32:05 AM »
Oh, forgot to mention. One of the chefs told me that around 8 years ago they hired the executive chef from Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan to be their main chef.

Offline Moshe123

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Re: Marlboro Ranch in Montana
« Reply #38 on: July 13, 2015, 12:35:36 AM »
Interesting. I don't smoke

Offline Hershelsdeals

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Re: Marlboro Ranch in Montana
« Reply #39 on: July 13, 2015, 12:43:56 AM »
Amazing TR!