News

Today, Supreme Ventures Limited (SVL) will kick off the third staging of its Junior Creators Camp at the Campion College campus. The camp, which will run for two weeks, will host 100 students, ages eight to 11 years, from various primary schools across the Corporate Area, and will introduce them to the world of robotic engineering.
The camp will be facilitated by Marvin Hall of Halls of Learning, and will focus on sparking an interest in STEM subjects and exposing the students to the fun side of science in a way that is not widely available in the primary -school system. They will be introduced to computer programming and how to use coding to automate robots and other practical applications of scientific theory. Based on their performance during the camp, each week, the top achieving boy and girl will be chosen to receive a cash scholarship of $50,000 in time for back to school, and a trophy for their efforts.
This year, SVL will be taking the camp offerings a step further by teaming up with RISE Life Management for a self-improvement component for the young people.
Simone Clarke-Cooper, assistant vice-president, corporate communications, said that the self-development sessions and scholarship were added to expand the programme and have a more lasting impact on the children who attend.
“The main aim of the camp is to expose children to the creative side of science, but having done this before, we realise that in the same way we can empower them to create, we can empower them to be better individuals overall. Based on what we observed over the years, we thought this year we could use a more comprehensive approach and inspire confidence in these young people to see how amazing they are, with the hope that they will carry that back with them not only into the new school year but into their communities as well. RISE has a programme in schools where they focus on this and other areas, so we partnered with them to connect with the children and to spark positive behaviour change that will stay with them,” she said.
She continued, “All the students who pass through our Junior Creators programme are winners for their effort and teamwork but this year, we decided to add the financial scholarship aspect to our top boy and top girl awards to make the award even more impactful.”
The camp, which is free of cost to all participants, will host students from St George’s Girls’ Primary & Infant School, St Aloysius Primary School, New Providence Primary School, Mountain View Primary School, Rousseau Primary School, Holy Rosary Primary, and Swallowfield Primary.
 
Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20180813/svl-robotics-camp-empower-100-primary-school-students

By Jason Cross
 
Before winning a huge portion of the J$301.5 million Super Lotto jackpot on May 11, N. Gray was swimming in debt.
However, today she is a multi-millionaire, after officially receiving a cheque for over J$180 million from Supreme Ventures Limited on Tuesday at the Spanish Court Hotel in St Andrew.
Gray walked away with the bonanza just a few months after she religiously started playing the Super Lotto game.
“God allowed this to happen. I am elated, because I was drowning in debt. I started buying Super Lotto in January, and I normally choose random numbers,” Gray, who wore a yellow wink emoji mask to collect the cheque, told The Gleaner.
“I am employed, but I am not necessarily going to leave my job. Now I’ve won, I want to clear my debt, invest, and I want to do some travelling. I would like to construct a community centre for the youths in my community, so they can engage in something productive; somewhere where they can do information technology.”
Gray is the second consecutive Jamaican winner in the Super Lotto game, which is a lottery played by other Caribbean nations.
The announcement was made by Supreme Ventures on Saturday, May 12, appealing to the holder of a Super Lotto ticket with the numbers 06, 11, 19, 26, 31, and super ball 10. She purchased her ticket from Medifair Pharmacy in Montego Bay, St James.
She could have gotten a much bigger prize had she purchased a $300 ticket, instead of a $200 ticket.
Considering that winners of lottery games in the past have gone broke shortly after receiving huge winnings, Supreme Ventures encouraged Gray to invest wisely.
 
 
Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20180607/no-more-debt-180-million-super-lotto-winner?qt-article_image_video=0

LUCK was on the side of a Trelawny-born woman, who, after less than six months she started buying tickets in the regional Super Lotto, won $180 million in the May 11 jackpot.
 
The delighted woman, identified only as N Gray and wearing a clown mask, was presented with her big prize during a press briefing staged by Supreme Ventures Limited (SVL) at the Spanish Court Hotel in New Kingston.
 
The Jamaica Observer sought to learn more about Gray’s background, but the information was limited to protect her identity as she shared the rich moment with the SVL staff and media representatives.
 
It could be ascertained, however, that Gray, who has a job and has children, lives in St James where she bought her ticket. She said that it was her son who confirmed the winning by checking the numbers on the SVL website after the draw.
 
Gray told the Observer that she bought two sets of numbers she had been “banking on”. She said that she had turned to playing the games in order to help meet her debts and bills, and was always confident she would eventually win the big prize.
 
“My friends always told me to keep buying and that I would win because I was always coming close, getting four numbers, so I felt confident that I would eventually find all six numbers.”
 
SVL said Gray is the second consecutive Super Lotto winner from Jamaica and, coincidentally, the second winner in a row with roots in Trelawny.
 
In June last year, a 76-year-old retired parish council worker from Trelawny took home a Super Lotto cheque for $117 million for winning a share of the June 16 jackpot.
 
That winner, identified as W Gordon from Falmouth, claimed that he was a devout Methodist. Gray was not allowed to say where exactly she is from or whether she was Christian, but she considered a herself a normal working woman, who was living a “comfy” life, but needed to deal with her debts.
 
“I have loans at the bank and now I can clear them off. I can clear off my credit card and make some little changes: I can’t be unhappy,” she said.
Gray has no intention of leaving her current employment, which was not revealed, but she plans to invest and enjoy a cruise around the Caribbean.
 
SVL, in a release, said that the company made a public announcement on May 12, asking that the Super Lotto winner holding the ticket with numbers # 6,11,19,26, 31, with Super Ball 10, which was purchased from the Medfair Pharmacy in Montego Bay, St James, to come forward.
 
Gray, who had randomly picked the numbers just three hours before the draw, decided to ask her son to check her two tickets right after the live draw on Saturday, May 11.
 
“I was watching TV and the ad came on that someone won the Super Lotto from Jamaica. So, I went for my ticket and told my son to go on the Supreme Ventures website and he started reading the numbers. He said six, and I said ‘yeah’, super ball 10 and I said, ‘yeah’, and he said ‘you win it!’,” Gray was quoted in a release issued by SVL.
 
Gray won $180 million of the total jackpot of $301 million because she had purchased a $200 ticket. Super Lotto full tickets are sold for $300 each.
 
Article Link: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/super-lotto-winner-will-keep-job-and-take-a-caribbean-cruise_135169?profile=1373

The Star – May 15, 2018
 
Gamblers from across the western region have converged at Medifair Pharmacy in Montego Bay to see if lady luck will be favourable to them. This comes after one lucky customer spent $200 dollars on a Super Lotto ticket and win $180.9 million last Friday.
 
Had the customer bought the $300 ticket, he would have won $301.5 million.
 
“From lotto come out, is here mi a buy. Is a lucky spot so mi not surprised,” said 68-year-old Ebeneezer White, as he waited his turn to purchase his numbers. “I buy Cash Pot and win here all the time, but now I going back to the Lotto.”
 
Another customer said that she used to buy at a location in her community in Norwood, but has decided to try and change her luck.
“I hear is the lucky spot long time but did not pay it any mind. But after Friday, if I can’t come, I will send somebody to buy here,” she said.
 
According to Errol Sheppy, managing director of Medifair Pharmacy, his company, which is in the heart of the Montego Bay business district on Market Street, has been selling Lotto tickets from the early days of the Jamaica Lottery Company, now Supreme Ventures.
 
However, it was the first time that a Super Lotto winning ticket was being sold at the location.
 
“Since then, we have seen a rapid increase in customers, rushing in to get their Lotto tickets for a chance to be in the winner’s circle,” he told WESTERN STAR.
 
“Everybody is ecstatic. Many people treat Medifair as family, and now they are happy that the family has brought home the beacon by selling the winning super lotto. New and retuning customers are purchasing regular and Super Lotto tickets, making sure they have an equal chance at the jackpot. This is not the first time we are selling winning Lotto tickets, but we have never had this kind of rush for tickets before. Sales have increased in our business the moment the announcement was made on Saturday,” he added.
 
Article Link: http://jamaica-star.com/article/news/20180515/gamblers-rush-lucky-lotto-spot
 

The Gleaner – May 9, 2018
 
Following a recent shake-up at the promoting company, Supreme Ventures Racing and Entertainment Limited’s (SVREL), Chairman Michael Bernard is confident that the new team they have put together will move the horse racing industry forward.
Main members of this team are recently employed Director of Marketing, Peter Green; Director of Racing Chris Armond; and General Manager of Racetrack Operations, Anthony Shoucair.
Bernard, who made his comments at yesterday’s launch of the 22nd running of the Lotto Classic for the Governor’s Cup at Spanish Court Hotel in New Kingston said the recent shake-up of personnel was necessary if they wanted to achieve the results desired by stakeholders and the racing public.
“We are still in the process of transforming the product and with transformation comes change. We have a vision of the future, and to get there we have to put strategies in place and make changes to the organisation. We have looked at the product and we are in the process of revamping, remodelling and redesigning to make it even better,” Bernard said.
He said that to plan, execute and implement a programme for development and transformation, they needed a good team, and he is confident that Armond, Green and Shoucair can take the sport in the direction they are aiming.
“I am very confident … this year there will be significant improvement to ensure we move along the path of the kind of change our stakeholders and the public are expecting,” he stated.
 
High-Profile Departures
There were two high-profile departures from SVREL recently. Chief Operating Officer Brando Hayden resigned, while the post of racing secretary, which was occupied by Denzil Miller Jr, was made redundant.
Meanwhile, the 22nd running of the annual Lotto Classic will take place on Saturday, May 26 at Caymanas Park. The raceday will feature three top class races. There will be the Lotto Juvenile Stakes, a maiden special-weight race for native-bred two-year-olds over 600 metres for a purse of $1 million. The secondary feature will be the Lotto Sprint trophy, a grade one handicap race for native-bred and imported three-year-olds and upward over 1100 metres for a purse of $1.75 million.
While the feature event, the Lotto Classic for the Governors Cup, in will feature native-bred three-year-olds over 2000 metres for a $3-million prize money.
The likely starters for the Lotto Classic include Oaks heroine FAYROUZ, MARQUESAS, WITHOUT EXCEPTION, EL PROFESOR, LIGHTNING MCQUEEN, DRUMMER BOY, OUTRAGEOUS TAJ, PEKING CRUZ and CONTRACTOR.
 
 
Article Link: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/sports/20180509/bernard-believes-supreme-team