News

Lennox Aldred – Jamaica Star – January 24, 2023

The Kingston Jerk Centre was jam-packed with domino enthusiasts on Sunday, as over 100 participants turned up to vie for over $150,000 in cash prizes, as title sponsors Supreme Ventures rolled out a one-day pilot domino tournament to kick-start the upcoming all-island masters competition.

Starting in March, the Supreme Domino Masters Tournament will make 17 islandwide stops to determine the best player in the country. Those events will culminate with three big national events at the National Arena in Kingston in September.

On Sunday, Gavin Simpson came out victorious in the ‘cutthroat’ format after getting by challengers Stephen Walker, Orlando Fraser and Steven Brown in the final to claim the $60,000 first prize.

Simpson, who hails from Montego Bay but is no stranger to Kingston, had to dig deep to secure the victory, as he had to come from behind to seal a four-way tie at nine-all, with the first player to 10 walking away with the bigger piece of the pie.

“I am always confident about a domino game. They had one of these tournaments similar to this in December, and I made it to the final as well, but to me, domino is like poker; sometimes you have to play your opponent more than the dominoes you draw,” said Simpson.

The overwhelming response for the one-day tournament has Dwayne Tulloch, senior vice-president of retail and operations at Supreme Ventures, tizzy at the prospects of the nationwide event slated to pose off in a couple of months.

“I am very excited and encouraged about what is to come, because we are doing this to reach back out to our communities to bring back the old Jamaica, where we kick back on a Sunday evening and play some dominos and have a good time,” Tulloch said.

The overall masters champion at the end of the tournament in September is set to walk away with $1.5 million in cash.

Source: http://w.jamaica-star.com/article/sports/20230124/big-support-supreme-domino-masters-tournament

Wednesday January 4, 2023 – A long time Lotto player from Manchester will be starting the New Year $190 Million richer! The newest Supreme Ventures Lotto millionaire is basking in excitement and joy after hitting the jackpot with numbers he saw in a dream. The winning numbers were 05, 15, 16, 22, 23 and 24.

“I saw the numbers in a dream over three months ago and I started to buy them every week. I used to play a different set of numbers before but ever since I got the dream, I changed them”, said the lucky player, A. Lewis.

His first plans for the money are to complete the construction of his home. “I have an unfinished house and this money will help me to finish and then I can look to expand my business. I also want to make sure I put some things in place for my children to help them when they’re older. I’m always working hard, and I’ll still work, but this money will help me to ease up a little bit,” Lewis said.

Xesus Johnston, CEO of Supreme Ventures Gaming expressed his pleasure with the most recent jackpot win.

“At Supreme Ventures we are always thrilled to transform the lives of Jamaicans by making them into millionaires. We’re happy to help another person to achieve their goals and dreams as well as continue on our mission to make winners every day.”

Lewis hit the $190 Million jackpot, the largest Lotto jackpot in 2022, on Wednesday December 7.

It took 100 applications, complete with videos, for the premier staging of the Jamaica Observer Christmas Bake-Off Challenge to declare Pamela Bunting the winner. The challenge, conceptualised by Novia McDonald-Whyte, senior associate editor, lifestyle and social content, seeks to showcase generations of bakers using decades-old recipes to create sensational Jamaican cakes that remain as integral to the Christmas table as sorrel, gungo rice and peas, ham and curried goat.

Partnering with the Observer on this initiative were Supreme Ventures, Frigidaire, Wray & Nephew and Gas Pro.

Prior to being declared the winner Bunting, along with Jovan Walker, Latoya Newell-Irving, Sandra Samuels and Trevanne Donegal-Porter, convened inside the pavillion of the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel where they presented their cakes for judging to Professor Lloyd Waller, Yanique “Curvy Diva” Barrett, Matthew Hogarth, Winnie Veronica Allen, and McDonald-Whyte.

Flavour, presentation, texture, aroma and overall taste dominated the deliberations. When the scores were tabulated by chartered accountant Patricia Henry, Pamela Bunting emerged the clear winner.

Thursday Food introduces you to the five finalists.

As a child I helped my mother bake traditional English plum pudding from which our Jamaican Christmas cake evolved. In my teens I did some baking but my baking adventure really began after the birth of my daughter in the 70s.

For Janella’s first birthday I baked a fabulous cake, but to my horror it flopped! The cake was lopsided and the frosting slid off. I was determined that by her second birthday I would conquer the art of baking and produce a masterpiece. And I did! That was the beginning of years of baking birthday cakes.

Every Christmas I was asked to bake cakes which I didn’t like, as most that I tried were usually bitter and full of mixed peel. So I challenged myself to bake a Christmas cake that I would enjoy. After nuff experimenting I baked a cake I loved, and to my surprise so did my family and friends. From baking birthday cakes I now went on to baking Christmas and wedding cakes for clients.

I continued baking until retirement when I decided to focus on Christmas cakes as I was going to be spending summers in London and winters in Jamaica.

My baking experience began with me helping my mom and now I have passed on my recipe and secrets to my daughter and my sister-in-law. I hope they keep up the tradition of baking delicious Jamaican Christmas cakes and in the future pass my recipe on to their children.

Source: https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/food/and-the-jol-xmas-bake-off-winner-is-pamela-bunting/

The Supreme Ventures Foundation (SVF) brought early Christmas cheer to 100 children in State care during a ‘North Pole Supreme’ themed Christmas treat filled with games, activities, and gifts at the Hope Zoo last Friday.

In its long-standing partnership with the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA), the SVF continues to seek ways to make a positive impact on the lives of children who are in State care.

Children from the Glenhope, City of Refuge, Strathmore Gardens, and the Nest children’s homes were engaged in activities ranging from Christmas cookie decoration to art and craft sessions, to being able to pet and interact with the animals at the zoo as SVF left no stones unturned to ensure the children had nothing less than an amazing day.

Director of the SVF Heather Goldson stated that this initiative was very important for the foundation.

“It is always a rewarding feeling to see the smiles and pure joy emanating from the children year after year, and knowing that we were able to play a part in their happiness is very heart warming. There is a strong sense of volunteerism here at the foundation and so we utilise it by helping to contribute to the development and mental well-being of these children,” said Goldson.

She noted that the SVF has championed numerous benevolent initiatives in partnership with the CPFSA throughout the years, and so, in addition to having an existing flagship fire safety partnership with a number of children’s homes, and added that the ability to provide the children with a Christmas treat of this measure helped to cement its commitment to the well-being of children in State care.

“Throughout the duration of the [novel coronavirus] pandemic, the Supreme Ventures Foundation hosted smaller treats, however, thought it apt to organise a grand experience this year by engaging the children in a fun, open-air environment where they were able to enjoy full-scale Christmas festivities,” said Goldson, who added that while the aim of this initiative was for the wards to have fun and relax, the foundation desires to ignite a spirit of gratitude and celebration in them.

“The children were well deserving of this treat. I am pleased that the foundation was able to execute this initiative as it will no doubt leave a positive impact on the children and start their Christmas celebrations on a good note. We have to make it our priority to invest in our children because they are our future, they are the nation-builders of tomorrow,” continued Goldson.

In addition to the cookie decorations and the art and craft sessions, the children indulged in cotton candy, popcorn, and snow cone treats while petting the animals. Feeding the camels and budgie birds were some of the treats they also enjoyed.

The icing on the cake for the children was being able to take a photo with Santa and his elves, while ensuring Santa knew the very minute details of their Christmas wish lists. The house mothers were not excluded from the festivities of the day.

The foundation expressed its gratitude to the house mothers by gifting them with tokens of appreciation for their hard work and dedication to caring for these vulnerable children.

Thursday December 8, 2022 – This Christmas will be extra special for one lucky Supreme Ventures Lotto player who hit the $190 Million jackpot on Wednesday December 7, 2022. This is the largest jackpot so far this year.

The winning numbers were 5, 15, 16, 22, 23, 24 and the winning ticket was bought in Manchester.

To begin the process of collecting their jackpot, the winner must present the winning ticket with their signature affixed and valid national ID at the Supreme Ventures Flagship Store located in Twin Gates Plaza, 25 Constant Spring Road in Half Way Tree.

Earlier this year, the first 2022 Lotto winner walked away with $61 million in February and another lucky player bagged the $53 Million jackpot in April.