As she determinedly set out to do, Rorisang Thandekiso wiped out the notorious Deal or No Deal banker for a worthy cause in a goosebump-inducing episode of Deal or No Deal Celebrity. The R250 000 jackpot, made possible by the show’s proud sponsor, LottoStar, will be donated to Paediatric Care Africa, an NGO providing general and specialist medical care to children countrywide, including secluded areas with no or limited access to doctors and hospitals.

With her Deal or No Deal Celebrity siege against the banker, Rori yet again rewrote local television history. Earlier this month, the effervescent radio and television host, actress and singer became the world’s first-ever female anchor of the legendary game show Wheel of Fortune. Now, she is also the first Mzansi A-lister to win the elusive R250 000 in Deal or No Deal South Africa’s glitzy weekly spin-off on SABC 1.

However, that’s not Rori’s only unprecedented Deal or No Deal achievement. It has never happened before that a South African contestant, including the daily Deal or No Deal South Africa, ended up with the last three remaining unopened briefcases representing the highest three amounts on the show’s Money Ladder – R100 000, R150 000 and R250 000. But Rori did it! Then, our new “First Lady” of local television smashed her own record, knocking off the R100 000.

That meant the R250 000 was either in the briefcase she chose at the start of the game as her bargaining chip in battling the banker or the last unopened briefcase.

To reach this favourable and extremely rare stronghold against the bean counter, Rori’s perfect gameplay was driven by incredible faith, positive energy and unusual strategies.

It all started when she had to pick the briefcase with which to battle the banker from the 20 held by Deal or No Deal Celebrity’s Money Models. Rori tossed up between two dates: November 2, International Children’s Day, and her birthday coinciding with Women’s Day on August 9. Her unwavering support for Paediatric Care Africa resulted in going with briefcase number 2.

From there, Rori’s quirky strategy for opening the first round’s six cases was to lift her soul by eliminating all the numbers of ex-boyfriends’ birth dates. It worked like a charm, landing her a higher-than-average banker’s offer to buy her briefcase.

Once Rori ran out of former beaus, she fortunately didn’t run out of luck. Her new strategy entailed trusting her intuition and remaining to play with a desire to “create greater good”. So, more and more fantastic offers from the banker followed until she rejected the final offer and literally jumped for joy, finding the R250 000 blessing for Paediatric Care Africa in her briefcase.

Rori expressed on the show that this quarter of a million rands will give the amazing medical professionals at Paediatric Care “more wings to do more”.

“You guys could feel entitled to be in the most comfortable hospitals because of your degrees and accolades, but you keep giving back to a world that is forgotten. Thank you to every nurse, every doctor, every specialist, psychologist, occupational psychologist. Thank you for loving those kids in a way we can’t reach to love them,” Rori said.

About Rori’s heartfelt win, Maria Pavli, Head of Marketing, said: “At Lottostar, we consider it a privilege to be able to sponsor Deal or No Deal Celebrity and the incredible charities it champions. Making a difference in our society is at the heart of what we do. We are thrilled with Rorisang Thandekiso’s winning moment. It reminds us of the profound impact charity has on our communities. Together, we look forward to changing lives and spreading positivity throughout South Africa because, at LottoStar, charity is our privilege, not an obligation”.

While Deal or No Deal Celebrity contribute to worthy causes with the help of famous stars, Deal or No Deal South Africa continues to transform the lives of ordinary South Africans.

The weekly Deal or No Deal Celebrity is broadcast on Saturdays at 18:00, with a rebroadcast on S3 on Sundays at 12:00 and SABC 1 on Tuesdays at 22:00. 

You can also catch Deal or No Deal South Africa Mondays to Fridays on SABC2 at 19:30, repeated on SABC2 at 11:00 and on S3 at 17:30.

LottoStar is Licensed by the Mpumalanga Economic Regulator. No U18. National Responsible Gambling Programme 0800 006 008. Ts & Cs apply. All games are fixed-odds betting events.

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