Woman wins $70K baccarat championship

FOR the first time in the history of the tournament, a female player has grabbed the grand prize of $70,000 in the second Baccarat Challenge hosted by the Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino over the weekend.

Imagawa Kayo, a 31-year-old office secretary from Osaka, Japan, bested 112 other players when she maximized her bet and ended with 21,200 chips in the final round on Saturday night.

Kayo hovered between  third and fourth places before placing second to January’s Baccarat champion and  tournament favorite Ozakazi Takao in the penultimate hand.

Coming in second with $23,000 prize was Hanazawa Osamu, followed by the eventual third place winner Takao who went home $10,000 richer. Takao bagged the $65,000 grand prize during the first Baccarat challenge in January.

He was in the lead throughout the recently held tournament but ended in third.

Fourth place winner Namura Tamio won $4,000. The fifth to the 10th place winners who received $1,000 prize each were Heo Ji Uk, Yamasaki Kumi, Hideaki Kobayashi, Mabuchi Jun, Cho Hyun Chan, and Onuma Ryo.

In an interview, Kayo said it was her fifth time to join major tournaments, but her first time to win. She is a regular at Tinian Dynasty.

“I am very happy to win the grand prize, and being the first female to win makes it all different,” she said.

When asked what she planned to do with her winnings, she said it is up to her husband to decide.

Kayo said she may be back here for the next tournament in June.

Casino manager Tim Blythe said he was very glad of the turnout despite the emergency brought about by the tsunami warning.

“Over 40 of our players were not able to come in because their flights were cancelled, but that was something beyond our control,” Blythe said.

Casino marketing and promotions manager Chell Funtanar said they expected over 170 players from Japan, Korea and other places but the number dipped due to the tsunami.

“It is sad but despite it all, the tournament was successful. We hope to see more players in the future tournaments,” she said.

Fifty-five of the 113 players made it to the semi-finals on Saturday evening, and 10 made it to the finals. Two of the 10 got eliminated from the game within an hour, two turned in all their chips while the last the six players fought to the end.

Bridge Capital still interested in La Fiesta Mall

BRIDGE Capital LLC says it remains committed to its goal of assisting the government to revitalize the abandoned La Fiesta Mall in San Roque.

Despite the government’s rejection of the company’s proposal in March 2009 to revitalize the mall and operate video lottery “in a bid to sustain tourism” on  island, Bridge Capital chief executive officer and managing member John K. Baldwin said in a statement that the company is “still fully committed to assisting the…government in revitalizing the La Fiesta Mall.”

“Bridge believes that sustainable tourism is an important key to reviving the economy of the CNMI, and that a revitalized mall can be an important element in increasing tourism and helping the economy to rebuild,” Baldwin said.

He said Bridge Capital remains interested in renovation and operation of the entire mall property and will participate in any new requests for proposals that might be issued.

Bridge Capital, an international investment banking, real estate, hospitality, and asset management company headquartered on Saipan, has interests and investments throughout Micronesia, the United States and Southeast Asia.

Baldwin earlier said that the company was willing to spend up to $5 million to renovate the abandoned mall and use it to attract more tourists.

“We need to bring back the tourists to the island, but we need to have something to attract them,” he added.

Bridge Capital was the only company that responded to the request for proposal to revitalize the La Fiesta Mall. (Published at the Marianas Variety)

NMI’s first urban boutique opens

THREE young men who want to create change and rouse Saipan from its economic lethargy opened the CNMI’s first urban boutique in Gualo Rai, Middle Road across from the Docomo office on Friday afternoon.

Young entrepreneurs Rob Travilla, Chris Santos, and Dustin Camacho, who all have regular jobs, planned to put up a store where they can introduce urban culture to the islands, develop their talents and skills in arts, and earn at the same time.

Their dreams came true on Friday afternoon when they officially opened Tha Trapp, a one-unit store whose walls are covered with colorful graffiti designed by a local artist. The store carries a wide variety of apparel, lifestyle and Swagg, a store that brings a customer to a different world where urban culture reigns.

“We feel that it’s time we introduce the ‘swaggers’ lifestyle and culture not only to the young people but to those who are young at heart,” Travilla said.

“All our t-shirts, stickers and accessories carry the I Love Sensi and the Affiliated Lifestyles brand but we also incorporate our own artwork with local island flavor into some of our stocks,” Travilla said.

They also carry the Salbaje Brand, NMI Chow It and Chokechain Athletics.

“Opening this store gives us a chance to keep the people of Saipan updated on the different flavors and scenes of urban culture and development,” Travilla said.

Santos said with the opening of Tha Trapp, the community will become more open to “things that other people always consider as taboo” such as tattoo, Mohawks, graffiti and more.

Tha Trapp sells T-shirts of all sizes and colors for male and female. T-shirts sale from $18 and up.

They also offer customized printing, so if a customer wants specific designs and graphics, they can do it.

Travilla said the three of them have always been interested and involved in arts for so many years.

Tha Trapp is open from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday to Friday, and from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. For more information, visit www.tha-trapp.com, check out the page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/trapp670, twitter.com/trapp670, myspace.com/ trapp670, or youtube.com/ trapp670.

(first published HERE)

Tinian company to launch locally made perfumes

BREAKWATER, the name of a locally made perfume, will soon make its way to the store shelves here and abroad as a local company gears up for the launching of its new line of products early in May.

Mary Susan Cruz, owner of Susan’s Creations on Tinian, said the new line of perfumes is ready for launching.

“We are only waiting to finalize the names, labeling and packaging but the products are ready,” Cruz told the Variety yesterday.

She said  the local perfumes they will be launching are manufactured using local products.

“The perfumes will initially be in 10 different ‘flavors’ and they are not only competitive with the leading brands but also affordable to the local market,” Cruz said.

Launching the new perfume lines, she added, will hopefully add more exposure to Tinian and the CNMI islands.

“We will be selling the perfumes to our international markets, to tourists and to online customers along with all our other products,” Cruz said.

“These perfumes will carry something of the CNMI islands in each bottle — from the name, the flavor and the packaging,” Cruz said.

With this new product line, they hope to tell the world where Tinian and the CNMI is.

“Tinian and the CNMI are only known for their roles in World War II.  We want to give the world something else to think about our beautiful islands,” Cruz said.

The new perfume line will be launched by the last week of April, and will be on the store shelves by the time Tinian celebrates its town fiesta during the first week of May.

(first published HERE)

Tinian Hot Pepper Festival more colorful despite economic crisis

TINIAN — Tinian’s Hot Pepper Festival turned out to be more colorful and livelier this year despite the economic crisis and the government’s austerity measures.

Marianas Visitors Authority representative Vida Borja from Tinian told the Variety that compared to the past years, more people showed up for the festival on Saturday and Sunday.

“We have more tourists this weekend, and more community involvement which is really our main target,” Borja said.

JC Café restaurant manager Lot G. Bunao said  business was good for the establishments that put up booths for the two-day event.

“The first day was good but I was a little worried that there will be fewer people on the second day. I was wrong because more people turned up on Sunday, especially at night,” Bunao said.

Businesswoman Susan Cruz said the austerity measures did not hinder residents and guests from enjoying all the contests and activities.

Children and adults had a great time at the different games and contests at the festival which was hosted by LJ Castro.

A cooking show highlighted Saturday’s events as participants prepared different dishes using Donni Sali, Tinian’s world famous hot pepper.

Even the slight drizzle on Saturday night did not deter the people who kept on dancing to the live beat of the band and musicians from Guam. (published HERE)

Hearts in One: A night of singing and dancing

SPECTATORS of the Hearts in One Musical Variety Show at the multi-purpose center in Susupe on Friday went home happy that they not only enjoyed the show but they also supported the 2011 World Youth Delegates from Saipan who will be going to Spain this year.

Organized by  Allen’s School of Dance and Performing Arts, the show featured a night of entertainment presented by some of the island’s talented singers and dancers.

The audience was treated to a variety of songs and dances performed by the students of Allen’s School of Dance and Performing Arts, Uncle Ben’s Music and Dance Studio, Saipan Music and Dance Studio, BodyMovers, Kid’z Legacy, Project Impact, local singers Rein Bacud and Ricky Custodio and the 2011 World Youth Delegates choir members.

It was a night of music: from contemporary to hiphop remix, folk, Latin, jazz and more.

The BodyMovers led by Allen Cuyugan sang and danced.

Show producer and director Cuyugan said it was their first time to put up a non-stop musical variety show and he was happy with the turnout.

“We would like to thank the people who supported us in the event, and we hope to do more shows in the future to entertain the people,” Cuyugan said.

Lucky ticket holders went home with gift certificates, free cellphone cards, gift packs, and a $100 cash prize courtesy of the show’s sponsors iConnect, Shenanigans Restaurant, Jacem, KFC, IT&E, Koi’s Restaurant & Bar, China House Restaurant and Marissa Nakajima.

Instructors and choreographers from the different dance studios who were part of the show are willing to teach individuals who want to become part of future shows, Cuyugan said.

Allen’s School of Dance and Performing Arts is located at the back of DFS Galleria in Garapan. For more information, call 233-LLEN (5536) or 989-1192. (published HERE)

Surviving shots

I WAS in a chair beside a stretcher where my buddy was writhing in pain in the CHC emergency room at 3 a.m. three days ago when a couple of nurses came in.  My buddy was suffering from gastro acidity and the “cocktail” the nurses gave him earlier did not lessen his pain.

“We’re going to give him fluids now,” one of the nurses addressed me, and I visibly paled. He started to roll up the left sleeve of my buddy’s jacket and got everything ready for the intravenous shot. I cringed and started to shake inwardly as I fought the weakness that started to crawl from my knees and to the rest of my body.

I always have this fear of needles, even if I’m just watching someone getting a shot. I gripped my buddy’s right elbow not to comfort him but to control my shaking as the needle went through his left hand and the nurses finally had the dextrose and another bag of liquid for gastro acidity in place. Weak-kneed, I watched the liquid trickling slowly from the bags and into my buddy’s arm and was able to breathe normally again only when his breathing finally became even and he started to snore softly.

But the worst was yet to come. A little boy was admitted in who would not not stop crying when nurses and hospital staff pinned him to the bed to give him a shot. I peered through the curtains but one of the nurses waved me away. Seeing my buddy having IV injections and hearing the boy wailing was an ordeal I had to endure for the next couple of hours.

“You were so pale I thought we had to administer the IV on you instead,” one of the nurses told me when we checked out that morning. They did not know that I nearly fainted from fighting my fear of needles.

I know I’m not alone. Thousands of other people all over the world would wish to disappear each time a doctor asks them to roll up their sleeves to get a shot. Thousands are suffering from fear of needles so that they would rather suffer and endure the pain and not see a doctor until they have to.

“We have patients who would rather suffer toothache instead of seeing the dentist because they are afraid of injections,” Dental Care resident dentist Fred Gogan said.

According to Dr. Ken Pierson of the Saipan Seventh Day Adventist Dental Clinic, “Sometimes, patients who have fear of needles try to endure the pain and wait until it’s too late for us to save their teeth.”

Both dentists said the fear of needles is something that can be conquered.

Tips to survive shots

Here are some tips from the www.kids.org website and other sources on how to survive shots or conquer your fear of needles.

•    Distract yourself while you're waiting for your shot. You can listen to music, answer puzzles, read a book or bring a movie player so you will be distracted from thinking about the shot.
•    Take slow, deep breaths all the way down into your belly to help you relax. Breathing exercises can help you relax.
•    Talking to a friend for support can also help you distract your attention. Talk about pleasant topics such as coming activities and plans.
•    Focus your full attention on something in the room. It can be a poster, a picture or a sign on the wall, or anything. Concentrate on the details. For example you are looking at a picture, study the colors, the setting or whatever it takes to take your mind off from the shot.
•    While taking a needle shot, don’t’ look at it. Turn your face toward the opposite direction or to a wall or anything away from your arm.
•    Relax. If you are tense, it will only make you feel more hurt. Don’t move your arms or make any sudden movements that will only make the experience more traumatic for you.
•    Don’t think of the needle before or after your shot because it will only add up to the anxiety and fear you have of the needle.
•    Do not hesitate to tell your doctor or nurse that you are afraid of needles. They deal with people like you every day and can help you relax.
•    Condition your mind that the jab of a needle is just one tiny quick bite.
•    Remember that the shot can help you get well or for your own good.
•    If you feel faint or lightheaded after a shot, rest for a few minutes.

Getting shots is an experience that can be tough not only for parents and kids, but for a lot of adults too. It may help to know that your fear is not unique and you are not alone.

The tips to survive shots are easier said than done and it’s more tempting to skip the shots but the good news is you can challenge yourself to face the fear. (This article was first published HERE)