Rodney Castro could not believe his luck when master of ceremony Jojo Camacho of Marpac called out ticket number 956 as the winner of the $15,000 grand prize.
“I’m very happy. Of course like everybody else I was hoping my tickets would win,” Castro told the Variety.
He said he bought two tickets for $200 to support the Red Cross.
Castro said he would use part of the money to pay off loans but as a gesture of gratitude, he donated $2,000 from his prize money back to the Red Cross.
Tina Duane Pangelinan, holder of ticket number 559, won the first prize of $10,000 while Domingo Gomez, holder of ticket number 1849, won $5,000 cash for the second prize.
The third prize winner got a round trip ticket for two to any U.S. destination from Delta/Northwest Airlines and a Blackberry Curve with six months free 300-minutes voice and data from IT&E.
Fourth prize winning ticket number 1874, N. Chong, won a one year membership at the His and Hers Club Elan at the Hyatt Regency, and a GSM Blackberry Gemini with six months free 600 minutes voice and data from DoCoMo.
The fifth prize went to ticket holder number 614, Nenita Marquez, who won a roundtrip ticket for two to Tokyo, Japan from Continental Airlines, a two-night stay at the Grand Hyatt Regency Tokyo and an IT&E USB Internet aircard with six months free service.
The Red Cross raffled a total of 39 prizes to lucky ticket holders during the event, consisting of cash prizes, hotel stays, Joeten Supermarket three-minute shopping sprees, gift certificates from sponsors, airline tickets, cellular phones and prepaid load, tour and lunch on the USNS Jack Lummus, dental treatments, and other attractive prizes.
Three lucky participants also went home $100 richer for winning in Best Hat, the Most Original Hat and the Best Homemade/Recycled Hat awards.
American Red Cross-NMI chapter executive director John Hirsh said that they sold over 1,100 tickets for the event.
“We had over 1,200 tickets sold last year. This year the attendance dipped very slightly but overall, this is a very good turnout,” Hirsh said.
“I can’t thank all the sponsors and supporters enough who had worked behind us to support all the programs of the Red Cross in the CNMI,” he said.
Providing entertainment for the event were Hawaii’s Willy K and four members of his band, and Saipan’s Burning Bush.
