https://news.xbox.com/2017/08/01/xbox-one-x-taco-bell-promotion/

Most people don't know when they're going to die, and thus live in fear of death. I, however, have peacefully accepted the inevitability of my impending death in a few short months from eating excess Taco Bell trying to win an Xbox One X. Can I afford an Xbox One X? Yes, and I'll probably have one pre-ordered before this contest even starts as my default plan (provided the FCC ever clears the thing for sale). However, like the American hero here who came before me, I'm damn sure going to try to win a free one, if only for the fact that two things I love are joining together for one glorious adventure.

Much like Dan and the Taco Bell wedding, there's a decent chance I win this. At some point, probability may turn in my favor, and I plan on employing methods such as non-peak times of entry submission to hopefully up my chances. I am already also pathetically on a near-first name-basis with the Taco Bell I go to way too often, so I may see if I can get them to do me a favor and occasionally sub in/out items of equal or lesser value in the box to keep things fresh. I only know one item in the box at present, which is the steak quesarito. I approve of the quesarito, but the effects of that rubbery steak are frightening, as is the prospect of them stuffing in a truly sub-par item like burrito supreme in the meal to make this a more difficult process.

Provided I follow through with this terrible idea, I plan on chronicling the travesty, so get ready for another one of those threads. Wish me luck; I'm gonna need it.

Dan will just win this too.

If it's anything like the other Taco Bell console giveaways, the employees will steal all the codes before giving out the boxes.

Both times I tried to enter codes at two different Taco Bells they were already claimed.

A lot of people I know in real life know this about me, but as a lover of several fast food brands (anything chicken, Wendys, Burger King, McDonalds, Subway, Jimmy Johns, etc.) I have never found the appeal of Taco Bell. I purchased food from a Taco Bell once in my life, and accidentally left it in the passenger-side door compartment of my mom's car after borrowing it for the night to designated-driver some friends around town over a decade ago. I'm sure I have tasted a Taco Bell food in my life, but I couldn't tell you which dish it was or what my thoughts on it were. I just know I'm not interested.

Still, this story puts it a cut above Long John Silvers, a fast food restaurant I absolutely cannot put my life in the hands of and yet seems miraculously successful.

It may be around 14 years since I last ate Taco Bell.

Expected Value

@bocckob: congrats?

Not that watching people degrade themselves for small amounts of money isn't entertaining, but, really. Have some self respect and just cough up the $500.

They did this a couple of years with the PS4 and then the PSVR. You don't actually need to eat there, although I'm not going to discourage anyone from feasting on 4th meal. I won a PS4 both years by going to the rules and they will give you a free code you can enter once per day.

I'm going to try to win one as well because I took the money I would have spent on an Xbox One X and spent it on an Oculus Rift a couple weeks ago and I don't think buying a 3rd Xbox one in 3.5 years (original for Titanfall and an S last year) would be a great idea while trying to pay for grad school.

I wish I lived near a Taco Bell.

I'm very glad I don't live near a Taco Bell.

Both of these things are true.

But would you get married in a Taco Bell?

*Begins to write screenplay entitled, "Carlos and the Taco Factory". Deletes file.*

Don't forget to periscope.

This man speaks a truth.

in other news pretty sure years of Taco Bell broke my metabolism. Seems I'll have to eat low carb and count calories to maintain weight from here on out.

I could sure go for a Supreme Taco Party Pack though...

I'm pretty sure that's just called not being in your 20s anymore.

Ha, probably.

That's bullshit. I haven't run into that, but I'd raise a fuss if I did. Thankfully, the Taco Bell I go to is actually surprisingly legit with nice employees who seem to give a shit. I am well-aware this is not true of many Taco Bell locations.

Long John Silver's is fucking terrible. That is not food. I don't know how the fish and the fries taste the exact same when they are two completely different foods, but that awful batter just overpowers all, I suppose. Oddly enough, the A&W restaurant they're often paired with is pretty damn good. I'm pretty pro-fast food, but McDonald's is the one that I give the stiff-arm. I'm not too crazy about Jimmy John's, either.

Haha, in all likelihood, this is exactly what will happen. However, this is a dumb thing I can't resist.

Wait, you can get a new code every day? That would be a nice way of taking a day off when necessary. Also, I like your priorities. Fuck it, man; you're only on this big ball once and you can't take it with you. Might as well enjoy some things, and as far as vices go or long-term enjoyment per dollar, you can do a lot worse than video games.

Siempre.

I get you. The one I go to is thankfully just enough of a drive to be inconvenient.

Absolutely, although it wasn't an option back when I got married, and there is zero chance the wife would have gone for it. I find the idea hilarious and awesome, though, because weddings are a pretentious, insane waste of a boatload of money to make other people happy when that money should be going towards a great honeymoon/start of a new life together for a young couple. So, the Taco Bell wedding, while incredibly stupid at face value, is a perfect middle finger to the wedding establishment, and I love it for that. Also, Taco Bell.

I'd read that.

If I do this, there will definitely at least be some kind of photojournal for this nightmare.

Eh, you can still lose weight, but it's not fun or easy anymore. I ballooned up to about 240 there for a bit, but I'm sitting at 190ish right now in probably the best shape of my life, so I have the confidence to do something this unhealthy, having recently come back from the other side. A before/after pic of my abs/gut seems like a fun science project within this.

Ain't that the truth. I'm 33 now, but my metabolism took a fucking nosedive the minute I turned 30. In my 20s, I ate whatever greasy bullshit I wanted and didn't gain a pound. Now I have to basically bargain with myself and offset whatever bad food decisions I make with diet/exercise. In other words, this month of Taco Bell probably means a very lean and miserable October-December. Actually, probably a miserable September as well, because this may be the definition of too much of a good thing.

I never win anything, so I'm certainly not going to win this.

That will not stop me from enjoying some Taco Bell though.

@nodima: There's more than a few fast food restaurants that are successful solely because of the Southern US.

@notnert427: Yeah, for the previous promotions you could just go to the rules/FAQ document and scroll down to the part where they tell you how to get a code. It's a single code that I guess they flag to allow you to use it once a day, so you don't have to spend any money for the opportunity.

Oh my god, I remember that thread that @franticrain made. I checked and although they didn't win, someone on the forums here shipped them a Ps4. So beautiful. Godspeed, @notnert427 godspeed.

So it begins. I am pleased with the lineup choices for this box. Nothing in this tastes bad, and via the app, I can opt for the chicken or beef in the quesarito to change it up. I will probably also typically go for a soft taco on the regular taco. I am not thrilled with being confronted with the reality of that calorie count, although I suppose it could be worse. Wish me luck.

It is now Day 7 of this contest. I have failed (succeeded?) by not eating a eating a Steak Quesarito box on three of these days. In my defense, there wasn't a Taco Bell anywhere near me for much of the Labor Day weekend that I spent out in the middle of West Texas. However, I made up some ground of late. My brother, out of what I can only assume is some mixture of pity/benevolence, gave me an additional code to redeem. Unfortunately, in further efforts to make up for missed days, I discovered that I can't start getting the "no purchase required" free code per day until later on this month, so I have to legitimately earn it until then.

In all, I've redeemed five codes so far, but today's effort may have to wait because Taco Bell is telling me I've already entered today, presumably because I entered a code late last night in an effort at a non-peak time submission. This "you're doing this too much" auto-reply message is admittedly the low point of this journey thus far. Receiving what amounts to a "c'mon, man" from a text bot is waaayyy more depressing than I could have anticipated. However, I will soldier on. I am lifting my spirits by finally pulling the trigger today on the 4K TV I've been wanting and will need for my Xbox One X (which I'm hoping to win instead of buy, but will get regardless).

Health-wise, I don't feel worse yet or anything. I have resumed exercising (mostly out of guilt/fear), so I don't really know how to scientifically gauge what effects this will have, as my weight hasn't really changed much yet and I plan on keeping it that way. Honestly, this big box is smaller in portion size (and also way cheaper) than my usual lunch, so there may be some ancillary benefits to this tragedy in eating and spending less than I otherwise might. (I am aware of how low that means the bar is in terms of my general life choices.) Anyway, I'm still enjoying Taco Bell food. No joy on the Xbox One X yet, but there's still plenty of time left for glory.