Valentine’s Day comes early for Buyu after Sh8m Elitebet jackpot win

Elitebet jackpot Winner of Sh8,632 540 in the Elitebet Kenya Oxygen 8 gaming Atieno Buyu (with flowers) together with her husband Pascal Omondi and their child after she was unveiled as the the Elitebet Jackpot winner on Thursday. PHOTO: CORRESPONDENT

Due to the tough economic times, many Kenyans will not even want to think about Valentine's Day on Tuesday.

Many have several challenges after using most of their money during the festive period and on school fees.

But thanks to sports betting, Valentine's Day will surely be among the things that Kisumu’s Pauline Atieno Buyu will be thinking about.

Buyu now has the opportunity to take her heartthrob and husband Pascal Omondi out for his dream date thanks to Sh8.6 million Elitebet Jackpot win.

Buyu, who works at a supermarket in the Lakeside city, correctly predicted her bet on 12 selected football games having used only Sh50.

The mother of two said she will first keep her money in a fixed deposit account as she decides  on a wise investment venture, but of course she will be looking forward to a good day out with her husband.

“I will keep working as I decide on which business to take up since you have to be careful not to burn your fingers,” she said.

In addition to the cash prize, Elitebet will provide Buyu with a six-month financial and investment training.

Mary Maina, the Chief Finance Officer at Oxygen 8 Group said Elitebet Kenya which is one of the Oxygen8 associated brands seeks to provide advice to winners on prudent management of their prize money.

“We seek to ensure that winners have a bright future and not encounter ‘a riches to rags’ situation.

“Moreover, we have invested in a comprehensive support system for our players given the fact that, ours is a mass product geared towards rural areas with the aim of changing livelihoods for the better.”

The firm allows people to bet with no minimum bet amount on normal bets and the jackpot costs only Sh50 to play.

Buyu said she opened an account with Elitebet last November. She placed bets ranging from Sh10 to Sh50 for the last two months.

The biggest win she had prior to this was when she won Sh500.

On February 4, at 12:01pm, with only Sh60 in her account, Buyu placed her bet of Sh50 online. Her balance was Sh10 and on the morning of February 7 she received the life-changing SMS that read, “OMG! You won the jackpot!”

“I could not believe the message and I had to keep asking the person who made a follow-up call if they were sure I had won all that money or it was just a hoax,” she said.