Vernon Hills man heads to Super Bowl super free

The Arizona Cardinals may have been underdogs to make the trip to Florida for Super Bowl XLIII this weekend, but they won't be the only unexpected guests in town.

Tommy Margules, 27, of Vernon Hills, won a trip to the big game courtesy of General Cigar Company's Macanudo 1968 Red Zone sweepstakes. Margules said he won the trip at the Libertyville shop, Cigars & More.

"I bought a cigar and I was given a raffle ticket, which I promptly threw away," he said.

An employee gave him a hard time about tossing the ticket so Margules, an engineering student, said he took it out of the trash and filled it out.

That ticket ended up winning him two free Super Bowl tickets, a hotel room, transportation and access to the NFL Experience fan fest on game day.

Super Bowl tickets range from $500 to $1,000 at face value, and are more expensive on online resale sites.

Margules decided to take his college roommate, Tony Calabro of Washington D.C., with him to the game.

They arrived in Tampa on Thursday and will stay until Monday.

Calabro said his father is from Pittsburgh so he has reason to support the Steelers.

"Just walking around down here, I've really never seen as many Steelers fans since I was in Pittsburgh," he said.

While visiting Tampa, Margules has a camera to record his experiences. His videos will be accessible via YouTube and MetaCafe, as well as through forums on cigarworld.com.

Margules said the city is lit up with energy in anticipation of the big game.

"There's people out and about, they're sociable, they're chatty. It's a friendly culture," he said.