Wow, what a ride! When the road to the 2023 college basketball Championship made it to Houston for the Final Four, there was no number 1 seed in sight. In fact, no team seeded better than No. 4 made it to the tourney’s final weekend – for the first time since seeding began in 1979. All of this made for a lot of busted brackets – and a crazy Minsky’s March Mayhem Bracket Challenge!
When the final buzzer sounded, only one team was still smiling – the UConn Huskies were National Champs! Just like the actual tournament, the Minsky’s March Mayhem bracket experienced many lead changes for the nearly 4,000 Minsky’s fans who entered this year’s bracket – and why not? There were $5,000 in prizes up for grabs! The nets have been cut down and championship trophies have been presented – but now it’s time for Minsky’s 2023 March Mayhem Top 3 prize winners to receive their own one shining moment!
John Cuddy and his fiancé, Helen, with Tanya Teffer at Minsky’s Prairie Village.
The Minsky’s Bracket Challenge Grand Prize Champion is John Cuddy! Congratulations, to John on winning $3,000 in total prizes – including $2,000 in Minsky’s gift cards, $500 in gift cards from eggtc, $300 in gift cards from Osteria Il Centro, and $200 in gift cards from the Tenderloin Grill. John said it was his second year entering the Minsky’s Bracket Challenge, and while his Mizzou Tigers didn’t do as well as he hoped in the tournament, he was thrilled for the chance to just win some free pizza!
John’s is a huge Minsky’s fan, declaring, “Minsky’s is the best pizza in Kansas City by a mile.” When he was a kid, John said he remembers going to Minsky’s after youth basketball games. These days, John loves to visit the Minsky’s in Prairie Village with his fiancé, Helen, where they enjoy John’s favorite Minsky’s Pizza together – the Papa Minsky.
Second Prize winner Anthony Stiens with Chris Mayer, manager at Minsky’s City Market.
Minsky’s Mayhem 2nd-place winner is Anthony Stiens! Anthony says he has played the Minsky’s Bracket Challenge for many years now, but this was his luckiest year by far – especially after winning $1,500 in gift cards! Anthony said, “What’s funny about this year is I filled out my Minsky’s bracket first and then entered several other smaller bracket challenges with my friends and this was the bracket that turned out to be the lucky winner!”
Anthony said before they had kids, he and his wife would go out to eat at Minsky’s about once a week to enjoy a good meal together. Now, since having children, Anthony said they order Minsky’s to go even more often than before – from their nearby Minsky’s location in Liberty. Anthony said his favorite pizza is Minsky’s Spicy Thai, and, “I love Minsky’s because the pizzas are always full of flavor – and because they did the bracket challenge again this year!”
Third Prize Winner, Ty Bellem at Minsky’s Barry Road West/Zona Rosa with server, Emily
The final winner of the 2023 Minsky’s March Mayhem Bracket Challenge is 3rd place winner Ty Bellem! This was Ty’s very first time entering the Minsky’s Bracket Challenge and said he has his wife to thank as she sent him the sign-up link! Ty is a Missouri Tigers fan, and even though his team didn’t make it quite as far as he hoped in the tournament, he was excited to learn he was the 3rd place winner – receiving $500 in Gift Cards!
Ty says, “Minsky’s has great pizza and, as a kid, we drove all the way to Overland Park (from Lee’s Summit before they had a Minsky’s) to enjoy their pizza.” His favorite memory at Minsky’s was going to the Lee’s Summit location for his youngest’s 21st birthday, and celebrating with a Gigantor! These days Ty frequents the Barry Road West location, where he enjoys his favorite pizza – the Papa Minsky.