All the aspects of a great Blackjack Tournament were present at the final: men in tuxedos and bow ties, ladies in sparkling evening gowns, an appetising dinner, glitz and glamour and of course the seven finalists competing for one million rand in prize money!Sun International’s Gaming Marketing Manager, Rob Dalton welcomed guests followed by local film producer and stand-up comedian, Kagiso who broke the tension with a stand up session. Once the formalities were out of the way the final got underway.

Some finalists looked relaxed and comfortable even cracking a joke – Meropa Casino’s finalists Jimmy Kourtombelides was heard saying: “It’s only money!” Other more serious finalists kept to themselves and did not say a word. After the house rules were explained, the first hand was dealt and play for the big prize began in earnest.

Bets were raised to increase chip counts and after the 20 rounds of Blackjack, Fernando Duraes from The Royal Swazi Sun boasted the highest chip count and walked away with the big one. He eliminated Elindi Ntangwe Malaika from Kalahari Sands and Rajan Ramdini from Sibaya Casino – who was the chip leader for most of the tournament.

Fernando Duraes is the first person to win the acclaimed Black Diamond Tournament twice. He walked away with the million rand in the 2009 tournament as well. When asked why he entered the Black Diamond Tournament again he simply said: “Because I love coming to Sun City, it’s our favourite casino and we always have a ball here!”

Original article available at http://www.citizen.co.za/citizen/content/en/citizen/citigaming?oid=449657&sn=Detail&pid=146826&Blackjack-tournament-a-success