Tissie Chan, Gleaner Writer

Tonoya Toyloy, Miss Jamaica World 2005, holds the winning entry in the Palace Amusement Terios Draw, at the Carib Cinema 5, on Friday. - Colin Hamilton/Freelance Photographer

There was a buzz of excitement in the air at Carib 5, on Friday.

The winners of the draw for the promotion, set up by Palace Amusement Company in conjunction with Toyota Jamaica, were to be announced. There were 24 prizes up for grabs.

However, it was the first prize that was winning everybody's attention, outshining all the others in terms of its value and paint job. The people who entered the promotion surely did not have as their first priority the other 23 possible prizes, which ranged from a three-month to a two-week movie pass for two. It must have instead been the promise of the stylish new 2007 Diahatsu Terious that demanded such attention.

The box containing the hopeful entries was literally spilling over. It took the glamorous Tonoya Toyloy, Miss Jamaica World 2005, a while to diligently rummage through the heap of paper in order to pull out the name of the first-prize winner, who would soon be in for a surprise.

Boost in ticket sales

Melanie Graham, speaking on behalf of Palace Amusement Company, agreed the promotion had seen a boost in ticket sales during the summer season. Anybody over 18 qualified for entry if they bought a ticket at any of the Place Amusement cinemas between June 8 and September 30.

The promotion was also beneficial for the sales of the brand-new SUV. Howard Foster, marketing manager for Toyota Jamaica, explained how they would frequently set up promotions along the lines of this one to help a new vehicle sell. He felt this particular promotion was a really good way to get Jamaica involved because "Jamaica loves movies!"

There was a relatively small crowd that stopped by for the drawing of the prizes, most were curious bystanders on their way to their film of choice. A few, when asked, admitted to having entered. But it was to no surprise, due to the sheer number of entries, that none of the 24 winners managed to make it there.

The lucky city seemed to be Montego Bay. Names of winners from the city were drawn again and again; this included the first prize recipient. However, it was not good fortune all round. There was an incredibly high number of disqualified entries picked for the prizes - their only fault being that they had not filled out their entry correctly. So close, yet so far away, these people should be kicking themselves.