Category: News

Supreme Ventures’ latest Lotto winner says he won’t clown around with his $45 million jackpot win.
A. Regent hit the jackpot with numbers 06, 10, 11, 12, 21, 33 in draw #1630 on Wednesday November 20.
He says the combination, which are rakes from a dream, is one that he has been playing for several years with just a few changes.
“A relative of mine got a dream a long time and picked out the rakes from the dream. As the years went by, we changed out some of the numbers. I don’t remember what the dream was about, just that it had an old man in it,” Regent said.
Regent’s win is the second Lotto jackpot in seven weeks.
The previous winner copped $277 million on October 12, the second largest jackpot in two years.
The lucky ticket for the $45 million jackpot was purchased at JJ Mobile Phone & company, 372 Willowdene Parkway, Spanish Town, St Catherine.
 

The winner, who donned a red and blue clown costume to collect the jackpot, says the winning ticket was one of several purchased at least four draws in advance. Regent has been buying Lotto tickets for over 20 years and says it was just for fun until he was told that he had the winning numbers.
“I was headed to work and my family member left for work before me. When he came back home and tell me that I won I thought it was a joke and still went to work. When we return home we would deal with it,” he said.
Having checked the winning numbers on the results hotline, 888-RESULTS, Regent realised that the win was no joke and started to plan from a millionaire’s perspective.
“Life has been up and down but the win will give us a better life; we’ll be better able to balance life. We’ve been through a lot and that’s the main reason why we would need a permanent home.  Our priority is to find a home and we’ll take it from there,” he added.
Regent says while contemplating what else to do with his life-changing jackpot, he has no plans to share the joy with many persons.
“Inside I feel great, but I am trying to remain calm and not show too much anxiety or emotion,” he said.
 
Source: http://www.loopjamaica.com/content/45-million-lotto-jackpot-give-st-catherine-man-better-life

Huntley Medley – Jamaica Gleaner – December 6, 2019
Gaming company Supreme Ventures Limited, SVL, wants to be a major contender in the global sport betting market and Gary Peart is convinced that this growing segment has the potential to double the size of the business he was tapped to chair in June.
That explains, he says, the careful targeting of more than $1.5 billion already invested in income-generating infrastructure at its racetrack at Caymanas Park, St Catherine, which has been operated for the past three years on a 30-year lease from the Jamaican Government by SVL subsidiary Supreme Ventures Racing and Entertainment Limited, SVREL.
The search for revenue and profit growth beyond last year’s gross sales of $62.9 billion and net profits of just over $2 billion, has also led to cost containment and a more streamlined organisational structure that takes effect at SVL on January 1.
The new set-up has assigned CEOs and boards to all SVL subsidiaries, which report into the main company led by president and CEO Ann-Dawn Young Sang. Young Sang has also been given responsibility to accelerate the overseas expansion of the business that started recently with the beaming of the horse racing signal for betting from its track in Jamaica to Guyana, located on the South American mainland.
Peart, a stockbroker, investment and management practitioner, explains how he sees the new group CEO carrying out the expansion function.

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

“We want a president and CEO to be using their best asset, which is their mind, saying, where are the jurisdictions we can move into? She will open up a market, execute the transaction, I drop it in as another subsidiary, put in a board, a CEO, it starts to run. If we get even one every three years, it’s the easiest and best way to double the business,” he said in an interview with the Financial Gleaner.
A former chairman of the Jamaican gaming regulator, the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission, Peart is of the view that Jamaica’s advanced regulatory system within which SVL operates, provides the company with a competitive advantage in several markets of the Caribbean where regulations are still developing.
While the SVL chairman would not say where the Jamaican company is likely to set up shop next, he is clear that the market expansion would not be confined to the Caribbean. In September, the Caymanas Park broadcast signal was also successfully relayed to the New York Racing Association platform in the United States.
As an example of the potential for more revenues to be generated from the investments at Caymanas Park, Peart said that on the first day of exporting races via the signal, SVREL earned about US$2,000 in new revenues, which are now up to about US$30,000 a day.
This, he says, has helped to double annual revenues from just over $300 million in 2016 to more than $700 million in 2017. Revenues to SVL’s JustBet sport betting operation continued to grow at a fast clip to $1.1 billion last year, but the segment posted a net loss of $26.9 million.
The strategy for profit-making targets the mining of significantly greater revenues from a global build-out of the signal, as well as the aggressive development of an online sports betting platform that launched on December 1 and can be accessed from anywhere in the world. The new digital platform extends SVL’s mobile betting service, MBet, which it introduced last year, supported by mobile wallet Quisk.
In detailing the strategic approach, Peart, who has been a director on SVL’s board since 2017, acknowledged criticisms of the state of disrepair of some infrastructure at Caymanas Park, but said the company was prioritising investments in capital works that can unlock revenues towards a first-time profit for SVREL this year.
Those projects included installing the new signal, inclusive of the laying of cables; replacing an obsolete tote board as part of the broadcast operations; rehabilitating a malfunctioning well to provide water for refreshing horses, cleaning stables and preparing the track; buying several new water trucks for more efficient scheduling of track preparation to accommodate more races; as well as repairing roads leading to the park.

INCREASE IN PURSES

The chairman adds that over the period, race purses have been increased by 20 per cent, increasing operating losses.
“We are not daunted by the losses at Caymanas because we understand that once we have a path to profitability, it is just a matter of execution. And we believe we have a path to profitability,” he said.
Peart is proposing a forum for stakeholders to meet for full and frank discussions, at least once every three months, to work through what he said are multifaceted issues at the track.
Those issues, Peart notes, include the need for more horses to make races more competitive. The solution, he says, could see the gaming and betting company importing horses for resale to breeders, adding that tax policies and the high cost of airfreight have been discouraging importation by individuals.
But he is firm that losses at Caymanas Park, which are approaching $500 million, cannot continue be allowed to mushroom.
“There is no way I can take SVL’s money and put into SVREL and cannot demonstrate to my auditors that I can find a way to profitability. That would be like literally taking people’s hard-earned investment and throwing it into Kingston Harbour. SVL is the only publicly listed and traded company in the gaming sector in Jamaica. Every director has a fiduciary responsibility to ensure that they demonstrate to their shareholders that they are creating value,” he said.

ENORMOUS GROWTH POTENTIAL

To achieve shareholder value, the SVL chairman wants to see the doubling of the business from the Caribbean and global expansion, leveraging the investments already made in Caymanas Park, and capitalising on what he sees as enormous growth potential in sports betting.
“One of the fastest-growing segments in international gaming is sports betting. It is one of the things that drove our decision to acquire 51 per cent of AnyBet,” he said.
The purchase by SVL of a 51 per cent stake in Post to Post Betting Limited, which trades as AnyBet, was a $572.2-million deal. SVL has an option to buy another 29 per cent of AnyBet, and Peart says negotiation are under way to close that transaction at a price yet to be determined. Post to Post principal Damian Chin-You now sits on the SVL board.
The acquisition is part of efforts for SVL to get a foothold in a segment of the local betting market it does not now serve.
The SVL chairman says he is open to talks with other competitors for similar transactions to grow the company’s share of the legal betting market, of which JustBet and AnyBet control between 80 per cent and 95 per cent. He says a big chunk of the overall market is held by unregistered and illegal bet takers in Jamaica and by foreign online betting platforms like the United Kingdom-based Bet 365, which accepts wagers on horse racing and several other sports, from anywhere around the world, including from gamblers in Jamaica.
 
Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/business/20191206/svl-banking-export-betting-grow-business-chairman-wants-dialogue-caymanas
 
Additional News:
Jamaica Gleaner
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/business/20191213/supreme-shake-peart-aiming-entrepreneurial-infusion-svl

It’s going to be a very merry Christmas for Supreme Ventures’ Money Time players who have won over $443 Million in four weeks during the Winnin’ Season promotion.

Supreme Ventures Limited President and CEO Ann-Dawn Young Sang recently took a team of her executives out of the boardroom and to the Courtyard by Marriott Kingston hotel for a lunch date with 10 Wolmer’s Preparatory School students.
The students, many of whom are being prepped for the Primary Exit Profile (PEP), welcomed the Jamaica Observer Applaud It! luncheon which allowed them the opportunity to break bread with executives and pick their brains while they were at it. And this they did, as the enquiring minds certainly held their own while engaging the executives in between a fabulous lunch courtesy of the Courtyard Marriott’s Executive Chef David Wellington.
Wellington welcomed the students with a well-appreciated ‘amuse bouche’ cups of hot chocolate topped with whipped cream and sprinkles. This not only warmed them up but put them in relaxed mode for the fish croquette first course and the start of their etiquette lesson led by Jamaica Observer Senior Associate Editor – Lifestyle & Social Content and Applaud It! conceptualiser Novia McDonald-Whyte, the students got hands-on help with napkin placement, knife and fork use and general table manners. The activity was made fun as the Supreme Ventures team joined in to help the students seated next to them.
As the watermelon and feta salad was served, the youngsters began to share their career choices much to the amazement of the adults at the table. Tonique Rusell said she had her sights set on being a Stem Specialist while Jamaican junior swimmer Xavier Mardner intends to pursue a career in engineering. Wolmer’s Preparatory School Head Girl Rohanna Stanberry shared her dreams of becoming a doctor. “I know I can’t help everyone in the world, but if I can help one person it would mean the world to them,” she explained. In response to the children’s goals and aspirations, Supreme Ventures Vice President – Marketing, Communications and Sponsorship Gail Abrahams encouraged them to choose wisely. “When choosing your career, or a particular job, you need to look at who you are, what gives you that drive and what exactly it is you are passionate about, and then you can align yourself accordingly. If you want to be a doctor, but you don’t like to talk to people, that is definitely not the right job for you. Always try to say ‘this is my personality, this is what I love to do’, and then you choose a career that fits with your personality. You’re going to spend a lot of time at work, so you have to have that passion and drive for it.”
By the time the entrée made its way to the table, the students were fully engaged in more conversation about careers. Future veterinarian Jordan Samuels, when quizzed about his ability to care for pets, shared his experience with his only pet, a goldfish. As he recounted the story of the fish dying, he got into a friendly exchange with McDonald-Whyte which ended in laughter amongst everyone.
Chef David Wellington joined the group for an interactive dessert-making session with the students. In his introduction, the chef revealed that he was one of the youngest executive chefs in Jamaica to rounds of applause from the youngsters. “I started my journey at the age of 17. I left high school and went to the HEART Academy… after about six months in school, I started to work with a chef by the name of Oji Jaja, who instilled a lot of good principles in me,” shared Wellington. The chef, who once worked at Susie’s Bakery and the Knutsford Court Hotel, and was certified overseas at the Culinary Institute of America, finally found a home at the Courtyard by Marriott Kingston, where he started as a sous-chef and quickly moved up the ranks. Students Sameya Parkes and Xavier Mardner filled in as Wellington’s assistants as he prepared the luncheon’s signature dessert, the Sweet Trio, miniature red velvet parfait, traditional bread pudding and white chocolate cheesecake.
As the experience wrapped, Supreme Ventures Co-CEO – Gaming Operations Xesus Johnston said he was impressed by the young men at the table. “On average the graduates from The University of the West Indies, Mona have been 75 – 80% women. So when you think about the odds, chances are at least one or two of the young men here, even if they have dreams of going to university, may not get there or may not graduate… In Jamaica, in particular, our young men are at risk, and we’re at risk for a number of reasons, one, is not having the focus, not knowing what we want to do, not trusting our instincts, not having role models,” he said. “Young men here today, I am proud of you, because each of you had an ideal or a profession and you expressed yourself well, and I hope you achieve your goals. Young men, keep your backs straight, be polite… and be the best that you can be.”
Young-Sang meanwhile charged the young ladies at the table to be fearless in the pursuit of their dreams. “As females, you typically have to fight for what you want and you cannot be afraid,” she pronounced. “Anything is possible, once you set your mind to it…It does not matter where you start in life, you can be anything you want, my area started in finance and accounts, then led to me having IT responsibility. Before coming to Supreme Ventures, I was pursued, aggressively. I came because of the possibility of what I thought the company could do.” Young-Sang concluded, “These are the things that we do in terms of community-level type programmes… I’m giving you an open invitation, at the end of this, come and have a talk with us, I think that it is something that we need to do more and more. It is very self-fulfilling and very enriching.”
 
Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/thursday-life-food/applaud-it-supreme-ventures_180453?profile=1237

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Supreme Ventures says its Lotto jackpot of $45 million was won last evening.
The winning numbers are 06, 10, 11, 12, 21 and 33. The bonus ball was 13.
Supreme Ventures said the lucky ticket was purchased at JJ Mobile Phone & Company in Spanish Town, St Catherine.
This is the second Lotto jackpot hit in seven weeks. The previous winner copped $277 million on October 12, the second largest jackpot in two years.
The winner will have 90 days to come forward with the winning ticket in order to begin the process to claim their multimillion-dollar jackpot.
 
Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/Spanish_Town_player_wins_$45-m_Lotto_jackpot_
Other Mentions
Source: http://jamaica-star.com/article/20191121/lucky-ticket-holder-hits-lotto-jackpot