It’s time for the US NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

Next week, Americans will be filling out their brackets and gambling away their lives.

The Grotto is a microcosm of all the best parts of America, so we’ll be no different… On second thought, we’ll be VERY DIFFERENT. Let’s just say we’ll put our own twist on the pop culture phenomenon of an entire country with no knowledge of a sport wagering their hard earned money on games they would never bother to watch if they didn’t happen at this exact time of year.

So how does thr33som3s showcase tournament brackets?

thr33som3s is selling a new collection of Inserts, produced specifically for the 3v3nt. Each Insert you buy qualifies you for one slot on a Brack3t.

We will have at least THREE separate BRACK3TS, representing 64 teams as they march towards the national championship. 21 prizes will be given away per Brack3t. But, rather than have you pick the winners…. we’re going to let the famous GROTTO WHEEL decide which team will represent you.

🏀Grotto Members can enter up to 3 times. If you are chosen by the wheel, it is 5tz per selection.

🏀Non-Grotto Members can enter 1 time. 5tz if you are selected by the wheel.

The wheel will award slots on the bracket before teams are announced.

💠Example: West Region 5th Seed. or, South Region, 1st Seed.

After teams are announced, you’ll know which team is playing will be representing you. But, even when your team loses… you can still WIN! 20 of the 21 prizes per Brack3t will be awarded to losing teams. Plus, everyone who is selected by the wheel will receive an Insert, and all thr33som3s have Future Utility.

And, don’t worry that you get a horribly unfair seeding.

💠 Example: a 15 vs a 2. if your 15 loses in the first round, you get 13 entries into the drawing, the difference between the favorite’s and your seed. (if you’re a 2 and you are upset by an underdog, you only receive your seed #, so 2 entries, in the first round)

There are 6 rounds total. Losing teams receive their number of entries (difference in seeds) multiplied by the round number.

💠 Example: an 8 seed loses to a 1 seed in the second round. they receive 14 entries (7 for difference x 2 for round)

Each round, PRIZES are awarded to the losers in a quantity corresponding to the round number. 6 prizes in round 6, 2 in round 2, etc. The lower the round number, the better the prizes. Prize winners will be selected by the Wheel from all entries earned from eliminations.

If you are selected as a winner in a given round, you have to decide if you want to BURN your Insert and claim your prize, or if you want to defer any remaining entries you have to move on to the next round and the more valuable prizes. Unclaimed prizes in a given round do not carry over and won’t be awarded. An entry which is selected by the Wheel in a given round does not carry over to the next round if the holder decides NOT to burn the Insert to claim the prize, only undrawn entries carry over. If you are selected by the Wheel, do you want to risk a guaranteed Prize to the lure of an increasingly valuable. Prize pool? And, you always have the option to hold onto your Insert, you know it’s going to have Future Utility.

🏆🏆🏆PRIZES🏆🏆🏆

Round 1: Series 7 or Series 8, 6 potential winners

Round 2: Series 7 or Series 6, 5 potential winners

Round 3: Series 6 or Series 5, 4 potential winners

Round 4: Series 5 or Series 4, 3 potential winners

Round 5: Series 4 or Series 3, 2 potential winners

Round 6: a Series 2 Base will be awarded ONLY to the National Championship WINNER. The loser will drop to the losers pool and join all other remaining entries in a drawing for ONE Series 3.

Where do I enter?

As with all thr33som3s drops, you start with a simple form.

These forms are due by 4pm EDT on Sunday, March 13th. DO NOT pay any tezos until you have been instructed to do so. Only those selected for Brack3ts will need to pay. Winners will be tweeted out during the S3l3ction Sunday 3v3nt.

That’s how we’re kicking off a brand new Utility Mechanic in the thr33som3s universe, a new Insert where the majority of the tokens are GIVEN away to others.

Inserts are a type of token in the thr33som3s ecosystem whose main purpose is that of Utility. Most often, they are burned to increase ones chance of being able to buy a base card at original retail drop price. But, any given insert can also have specific Utility to its specific class. These new Val3ntin3s inserts are the first PINK Inserts and they will have a unique Utility Mechanic that has yet to exist in thr33som3s. Specifics of the PINK Utility will be released in the coming weeks. But the window to order them at drop price is already open and only lasts a total of 24 hours.

There have only been a handful of times when you can order an UNLIMITED amount of thr33som3s Inserts. The first three times resulted in Insert drops of /2222, /5555, and /30750 — yes, 30,750 Inserts were pre-ordered the last time we dropped an unlimited offering. — — because of their Utility, those same three Inserts now have existing editions of /756, /1600, and /9700… meaning EXACTLY 69% of all those unlimited Inserts have already been burned. (Funny, I know… 69… but, such is the thr33som3s universe.) In other words, to play all the utility mechanics offered in thr33som3s, cheap Inserts is the very best way to do it.

This will be the ONLY UNLIMITED INSERT DROP before Series 9. If you don’t have bulk inserts, now is your only chance to load up.

Cost of each Insert is .333tz. There is no limit to how many you can order. The MINIMUM order amount is TWO.

You’ll use this link to place your order: https://forms.gle/pgYbw3BDYhW4kCLo7

BUT, OF COURSE, THERE’S A TWIST

The reason you have to order two is because in order to get ONE for yourself you have to GIVE AWAY the rest. But, you can only give one to any particular friend’s wallet. One gift per friend or lover. If you want to give 10 away, you need 10 unique friends’ wallets.

These are Val3ntin3s cards for your friends and lovers, maybe even your ex lovers. Since they are YOUR gift to your friends, you can customize the description. Your order is an INDIVIDUAL MINT, specific to you. The description will include YOUR NAME and a short message.

THIS IS IMPORTANT!!!!!!!! YOU ARE BUYING THESE TO SEND TO YOUR FRIENDS AND LOVERS. THEY CAN DO THE SAME FOR YOU. SO, THE BEST WAY TO STACK THESE CHEAP INSERTS IS TO GET OTHER COLLECTORS YOU KNOW INVOLVED.

ALL thr33som3s HAVE FUTURE UTILITY

In the case of these new inserts, their Utility BECOMES MORE POWERFUL depending on how many mints you order.

A mint edition of 2 (the minimum) has THE LEAST UTILITY.
A mint of 30 has FAR MORE.
A mint of 100 has FAAAAAAAAAAR MORE.
A mint of 300 has FAAAAAAAAAAR MOOOOOOOOOOOOORE.
etc.
etc.
The single HIGHEST mint edition will have the single highest Utility.

what exactly is their Utility? well, we NEVER discuss future Utility. but, they are Inserts, so at the very least, they have Insert Utility and can be burned during Insert Burn Mechanics.

BONUSES — —

you will receive additional FREE MINTS for yourself depending on how many you give to others. YOU KEEP THE BONUS.

Buy 11 (one for you and 10 for others) receive 1 bonus

Buy 33, receive 3 bonus

Buy 100, receive 10 bonus

Buy. 300, Receive 33 bonus

Buy 500, receive 100 bonus

Buy 1000, receive 500 bonus

Buy 2000, receive 1500 bonus

buy 3000+ receive 3333 bonus

BUT, REMEMBER — — — — — — — YOU MUST HAVE AN INDIVIDUAL WALLET FOR EACH GIFT

That’s a LOT of wallets

So, maybe you don’t personally know 3000 people in the Tezos community. How on earth are you going to get a list of 3000 wallets together (or even 100 or 300, for that matter)?

NFTBiker offers a tool where you can look at the holders of any given NFT. Maybe, you want to send your unique thr33som3s Val3ntin3s to every holder of one of your other favorite objkts.
https://nftbiker.xyz/history?token_id=340804

Many collectors in the Grotto are banding together to form coalitions to buy 3000 inserts to unlock the 3333 bonus inserts, the surest way to stack those cheap inserts. It only takes 30 collectors buying 100 (33.3tz) to unlock the full amount.

Let’s Talk About the Val3ntin3s Gift

This isn’t a useless, worthless, spammy airdrop. The last time thr33som3s did a bulk airdrop to those outside the Grotto was for Beet’s Escape Room for Here & Now 3. 888 Shayna Escape inserts were airdropped to every participant in the project. And, the Grotto immediately set about trying to buy them back because of their huge Utillity. Of the 888, 237 have been sold. The highest price paid was 14tz, and the average price has been 3.53tz. These aren’t worthless airdrops.

The average re-sale price for any thr33som3s unlimited Insert is now over 2.3tz, with many, many thousands sold. So, sending these Val3ntin3s Day gifts is truly a generous offer. And, don’t forget, the true value of a thr33som3s Insert lies in its Utility. 37 THOUSAND thr33som3s cards have been burned in total, the bulk of them Inserts.

Again, here’s the link to the order form: https://forms.gle/pgYbw3BDYhW4kCLo7

Time to Share the Lov3

So, the clock is ticking. This whole experiment is only going to last for 24 hours, and by the time you’re reading this, it’s more than half gone.

As I write this, I’m pretty damned proud of this drop mechanic. On Monday, I’ll be sending out TENS OF THOUSANDS of my paintings with HUNDREDS of personalized messages across the Tezos community. And, we’re doing it with NO NOTICE and NO PRE-PLANNING. Watching my collectors mobilize and coordinate in such an enthusiastic way is truly heartwarming. I’m so proud of what we’ve built. And, I can’t wait for a whole new group of Tezos NFT collectors to get a glimpse at this amazing project.

Thank you for your time, your effort, your financial support… but, most of all for the amazing Love and Friendship you have all shared with me in the last year.

thr33som3s