There might have been 60,000 entries, but there could only be one winner of the Stonewood Homes ‘Win A Show Home’ competition, which was drawn at the Christchurch Casino last night, Thursday, 20 October 2016.
It was Christchurch resident Karen Cuttance, behind door number two, who took out the grand prize. The 56-year-old from Hoon Hay was lost for words when she emerged the winner of the to-be-built $585,000 Faringdon-based home in Rolleston.
An excited crowd gathered at the Casino from 7 pm, with the draws beginning at 8 pm and finishing at 10 pm with 10 finalists. Each finalist randomly picked a key, and then stood behind one of 10 doors, constructed specially for the night, to see if their key opened the door to win the grand prize. Karen Cuttance, who entered the draw twice at the Casino while there to have a meal, never expected to win.
“The thought of actually winning was so far beyond my imagination,” she said on the night. “It’s so surreal, I feel like I need to wake up.”
It was the original entry, placed in the barrel in August that proved to be lucky.
Cuttance’s husband of 33 years, Martin Cuttance, joined Karen on stage for the celebrations. The aircraft engineer for Air New Zealand, who had also entered, was just as shocked as his wife.
“I couldn’t believe it,” he said.
The couple has visited the new Faringdon subdivision and was quite impressed. “It’s really well set out,” Martin Cuttance says. “It’s like when we were kids and used to watch American shows – it’s more organised and has wide boulevards.”
“It’s really, really lovely,” Karen Cuttance added. “There’s lots of green space and it looks like it’s going to create a wonderful community.”
The Cuttances are spending most of the day after the big reveal helping Karen’s mother move house, but their moving day won’t be for a while yet. The house is due for completion in May 2017 and will be used as a show home for the first year. Karen Cuttance will receive more than $38,000 of annual rent once the home build is complete.
The prize means so much to the couple, who now feel more secure about their retirement. “It won’t change much at this stage … but it will relieve some concern about retirement and make things less of a worry,” Karen Cuttance says.
“I’d like to thank Stonewood Homes and Christchurch Casino for the opportunity. It’s a wonderful opportunity for anyone and I wasn’t expecting to win it.”
The couple’s adult sons were “thrilled” to hear the news, while Karen Cuttance was just getting used to telling people: “I did actually win it”.
The nine runners-up were gifted $1000 cash from the Christchurch Casino, a $5000 voucher to use on building a home with Stonewood Homes, and a hamper.
Christchurch Casino CEO Brett Anderson said he was overwhelmed by the response to the competition. “We really saw Cantabrians turn out in force for such a great prize. Our congratulations go to both Karen and Martin.”
The prize property is one of Stonewood Homes’ 205 square metre Omaha 205 Gable houses, featuring four bedrooms and two bathrooms. It is currently under construction in Rolleston’s Faringdon subdivision.
Stonewood Homes joined forces with Christchurch Casino to put up New Zealand’s highest-value, free-to-enter giveaway – a $585,000 new home and land package at Rolleston, a 30-minute drive from central Christchurch and, due to the property firstly being used as a show home, the winner will receive more than $38,000 of annual rent once the home build is complete.
Entries into the ‘Win A Show Home’ competition closed at 6 pm on Tuesday, 18 October.
Stonewood Homes CEO Warwick Isaacs said the promotion has proved to be a fantastic opportunity to remind Cantabrians that the new Stonewood Homes business is alive and well, with the company this year investing millions of dollars into new show home developments throughout New Zealand.
Additional competition information:
All entrants in the promotion had to be 20 years of age or older, and employees of both Christchurch Casinos and Stonewood Homes (Christchurch), plus related business partners, were not eligible for entry in the competition.
This has been a zero-investment competition. Entrants were not required to buy anything or promise anything. The competition was open to those visiting Christchurch as well as residents, however, all entrants had to commit to being present at Christchurch Casino at 10 pm on Thursday, 20 October.
Any enquiries relating to this release, please contact:
Daisy Seely, Account Manager, Convergence Communications & Marketing, ph 0221 211 928, [email protected]
