THE Courts Vault Promotion, now in its third year, got off to an exciting start yesterday when Courts (Guyana) Inc. chose to make the local media an integral part of the occasion.
At the competition at Courts Main Street Branch, the media operatives competed for up to $100,000 in cash prizes.
Managing Director Clyde de Haas said the purpose of the competition is to shop and have a life-changing experience and a chance to win some “cold hard cash”. He noted that the competition was at a time when the Christmas season is being ushered in. Encouraging those present to have a good time, he reiterated the competition’s tag line;  “Many will try, but only one holds the key”.
Hostess Ms. Teneshia Harding said the theme of the competition is based on that of Las Vegas competitions, featuring a host and hostesses and beautiful vault girls – and put on an impressive show they did. Reminiscent of the American game show, Deal or No Deal, glamorous young women made a dramatic appearance, amidst fog and disco lighting and upbeat music which added to the excitement.
Host Casual Armstrong, 98.1 Hot FM Radio DJ, selected a media operative to start the ball rolling. Selected for her “beautiful smile”, according to Armstrong, the media operative was asked to select an entry from a bag. Her hopes of pulling a corresponding vault to her chit number 2 were dashed and she pulled number 3 which corresponded to a chit held by another media operative, National  Communication Network (NCN) Technical Operator Mr. Trevor Persaud.
An excited Persaud stubbornly held on to his number, refusing to exchange it for any other vault. Persons gathered held their breath as each of the five vaults numbers were   revealed, cheering as smaller amounts of 20, 40, 60 and 80 thousand dollars were revealed and the grand prize of $100,000 remained on the board until it was the final prize.
Amidst cheers, applause, congratulatory hugs and handshakes and a shower of confetti, a beaming Persaud collected his symbolic cheque from De Haas. The winner said that the money would come in handy since he and his wife are expecting a baby.
The competition will run until December 30, 2010. Courts customers are eligible to compete for prizes after a purchase of $5,000 and up.