On Saturday, September 22, Gibson announced Chris Thompson of Macon, Georgia as the winner of the Custom Shop Zakk Wylde Bullseye Les Paul. After Gibson received an outpouring of entries—more than 75,000—for this historic giveaway, there could have hardly been a more overjoyed recipient. “I’ve been waiting 20 years for my first Gibson,” Thompson says.
Chosen randomly by a computer, Thompson says he had an extraordinary hunch he’d be the winner of this incredible Les Paul.
“Thanks so much to everyone at Gibson, and of course Zakk Wylde himself,” Chris says. “This really is a dream come true for me. I’m still trying to get used to the idea of owning such a prestigious guitar. I have been playing guitar off and on for the last 20 years. But I had been lusting after a Gibson Les Paul long before that. I can’t tell you exactly how many guitar giveaways I’ve entered in the last 5 years—at least 100. I don’t really know what it was, but I just had it in my head that I was going to win this one. I had even saved the first page of the entry form to use as my wallpaper and named it ‘Zakk Wylde holding MY new Gibson Bullseye Les Paul.’
“I guess I was really hoping that I’d finally get lucky and in doing so win the finest customized metal guitar ever produced. I can’t wait to hear those active EMGs scream. This will be my first experience with active pickups or EMGs, which is something I’ve wanted since I first heard Zakk play. But never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d ever play, much less own, a Gibson Zakk Wylde Bullseye Les Paul.”
Congratulations, Chris!