“Honestly, the only reason I spun the wheel was because I wanted to win $10,” Madeline Peterson said, an international relations senior who happily won a water bottle.

Down the road, Pancheros Mexican Grill sold $1 burritos Tuesday. The burritos normally are a minimum $6.35 each.

“We want to welcome returning students and get to know new students,” Pancheros General Manager Scott Crabtree said.

Crabtree said he tried to keep the burrito price at $1 even with add-ons.

“It’s not a big deal if we lose money on this,” he said.

Most businesses agreed the promotions are not about making money, but about getting their name out to students.

“There are many benefits to the businesses — it allows them word-of-mouth in a typically positive way,” said Anna McAlister, assistant professor in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations. “It creates goodwill, because getting something for free is usually a good experience.”

McAlister said because a lot of students are new to East Lansing, the promotions are a good way to introduce them to the local businesses, adding that it’s a common practice in college towns.

GoombaS Pizza U.S.A. will host a free pizza day from 4-6 p.m. Thursday. The event will include free slices of pizza and giveaways from other local businesses, including 97.5 NOW FM.

GoombaS owner Gail Sutton said giveaways are the best kind of advertising. The restaurant plans to give away 3,000 to 5,000 slices during the two-hour period.

“It gets our food into the mouths of our customers,” ?Sutton said. “It’s a thank you to all of our customers — come in and have it on us for a change.”

VIP Tanning, 1215 E. Grand River Ave., getting in the back-to-school spirit by offering one free tan.

“With 11,000-12,000 new people on campus, you want them to get to know your ?business,” said Marshall ?Habba, manager of VIP Tanning.