John I. Tagabuel told the Variety that he never expected to win the grand prize during the raffle draw at the Hard Rock Café Saipan on Saturday night.
“I dropped 24 entry coupons from the 12-pack beers during the promo duration, but one of the coupons I dropped from the three buckets of beer I bought during the draw on Saturday was the lucky entry,” Tagabuel said.
He said it was just pure luck on his part because his entry was the second one picked for the grand prize.
The owner of the first coupon picked for the grand prize was not present, and Tagabuel’s entry was the next one.
“You have to be present to win, and the first winner was not there,” he said.
Tagabuel plans to bring his buggy home to show it to his family.
“Maybe I’ll ride it around for a few weeks to get the feel of the buggy,” Tagabuel said.
Although he had not actually driven the buggy yet, he has already been briefed with its mechanisms.
Being custom-built, it’s not as easy to manage as it looks from the outside, he said.
Tagabuel said it was his first time to win a big prize in a raffle draw.
Marianas Pacific Distributors Inc. ran its King Off the Road Budweiser promo from April 12 to July 5.
Marpac marketing manager Joseph “Jojo” Camacho said this is the second year for the King Off the Road Promo.
Last year, the winner got a motorcycle.
The construction of the buggy was initialized in September last year, but the construction started a couple of months later at the J.Q. Fabrication on Guam.
It was finished after six to eight months.
The buggy, which is powered by a 4-cylinder Toyota motor and axles, arrived on Saipan on June 18.
Other winners also brought home minor prizes from the sponsors which included Hard Rock Café Saipan, Docomo Pacific, Hertz, Boarderline, Power 99, Chalan Kanoa Beach Hotel, Sauza and Saipan Shipping Company.
