The original 2013 report
Original reporting follows. Offers, event dates, product details and opinions are historical. Old outbound links are shown as text.
All casinos belonging to Sun International organize the Black Diamond Tournament annually, and the finalists of this event get the opportunity to play blackjack in Sun City Casino. This year, the finals of the annual Blackjack Diamond Tournament were held on June 28, challenging the seven finalists to win a grand prize of one million rand.
Rob Dalton, gaming marketing manager for Sun International, welcomed the guests, and this was followed by a stand-up session from Kagiso, a local comedian and film producer. When the formalities were over, the finals of the annual blackjack event began.
While some of the finalists took the event lightly, some appeared tense and serious. The house rules were first explained, after which the game began. The finalists raised bets to increase their chip stacks, and after 20 rounds were played, Fernando Duraes of The Royal Swazi Sun claimed that he had the biggest stack.
Fernando Duraes had won the annual blackjack event in 2009 too. When journalists asked him why he took part in the Black Diamond Tournament for the second time, he said that he did so because he loves visiting Sun City Casino as it is his favorite casino and he always has a good time there.
Read a little deeper
Look at how the competition worked
Tournament reports become more useful when you separate entry costs, scoring and prizes. Some competitions rank chip totals; others use points from qualifying play. The original report below records its own event format. A tournament from this archive is not an open registration or a current schedule.
- Entry
- Identify the fee, invitation or qualifying play described.
- Scoring
- Check whether rank depended on chips, points, survival or another measure.
- Prize structure
- Distinguish the whole prize pool from the amount paid to one winner.
Is a prize pool the same as the first-place prize?
No. A prize pool can be divided across several finishing places. Read the reported payout structure and scoring method together before comparing events.
More from this era
Archive presentation refreshed 26 October 2026. The original report and publication date are retained; this is not a new offer, event listing or product review.