The event sucked because of the randomness.
In my main city I barely got to 260 progress, and only because the event was extended by one day so I got 3 extra tickets. Of course, since I did not get to 280 progress the golden upgrade I will get from the statue is useless to me (at least until next year).
In my second city I easily got to 280 progress - thus having enough upgrades for level 9 - even before the event was extended by 24 hours.
I used the same strategy in both cities. The difference in results is due to the randomness: In my second city I got more paws on the boards, and the paws that were there were relatively easier to get. In my main city I had fewer and more difficult to get paws, so worse result overall.
Skill doesn't matter if the game refuses to put any paws on the board.