A Cape Town-based lifetime punter has won the R2 million jackpot bonus in the popular free-to-enter Hollywoodbets Punters’ Challenge run on the Hollywoodbets Greyville polytrack racemeeting on Wednesday.
The challenge pits players against each other in the magical quest to find all the winners on a racecard.
A R10 000 must-be-won bonus is shared by the top 20 finishers on the day’s KZN Hollywoodbets Punters’ Challenge leaderboard, with points allocated to each selection based on the finishing position. And while some players have come perilously close in recent weeks, it was the thrilled Capetonian that found the eight winners!
The elated ‘Devo’, a 36 year old Personal Trainer from Mitchells Plain, has been a regular player in the Hollywoodbets Punters’ Challenge since inception and was ‘over the moon and overcome with glee’ when called by the Sporting Post after Priceless Ruler won the last under Winning Form-sponsored rider Keagan de Melo, to put the cherry on top of eight straight winners.
Priceless Ruler carried Devo’s dream on his back as he charged home to win the last under Keagan de Melo (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
The longest priced winner on the day was the 12-1 Double Espresso, a narrow victor in the seventh race.
“Wow. Thank you Hollywoodbets. Thank you. Thank you. What do I say? This is most definitely a lifechanger for me and my family. I watched that last race – I have never been so on edge,” he laughed.
Devo, who preferred to remain anonymous for professional reasons, said that his main focus was on Cape racing and on the big feature days in other centres.
“But the Hollywoodbets Punters’ Challenge is a free bet. So I play regularly – even if I focus my exotic betting mainly on the weekends. I am really happy!”
A single man, Devo looks after his parents. He says the R2 million windfall will set them up for life.
He has his Dad and Grandfather to thank for getting involved in racing.
“I was 6 years old when they took me out to Milnerton to watch the trackwork. A gentleman by the name of Garth Puller came up and chatted to us. He smiled and handed me his crop. That was a magical moment for me as I was in the presence of a champion. Since then I have hardly missed a weekend of racing. It’s great entertainment and it gives us plenty to chat about around the dinner table.”
The celebrations for Devo and his family will happen over the weekend, but there will be no wild spending!
“My brother is a smart man when it comes to finances. I will take some advice from him. It hasn’t sunk in yet, though,” he laughed.
The Hollywoodbets Punters’ Challenge is easy to understand and to play. It is available for a free entry on KZN and Cape racemeetings, as well as on Hong Kong and Singapore.
Players receive points depending on where their selection finishes in a race, and how many actual runners there are in that race.
Points are awarded in accordance with the horses’ finishing positions i.e. – in a 10-horse field, the winner will be awarded ten (10) points, 2nd place is nine (9) points and so on, with the last horse being awarded one (1) point.
Points are also awarded according to the price of the winner only. The winning selection receives a bonus of the Hollywoodbets starting price.
The Hollywoodbets Punters Challenge jackpot reverts to R1 million at the next KZN racemeeting – at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Wednesday 2 November.
Click here to find out more and make sure you are in the winner’s queue soon!
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