Page 7 - July 2002 • Southern California Gaming Guide

Barona Valley Ranch Resort TModel Room Now Open
o give guests a sneak preview of what is to come at the Barona Valley Ranch Resort and Casino, Barona Casino currently has a full-scale model room (pictured at right) available for public
viewing. A Barona staff member will be on hand to give tours and to answer any questions Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to midnight, Fridays from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m., Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to 2 a.m., and Sundays from 8:30 a.m. to midnight.
The Barona Valley Ranch Resort and Casino will open its doors soon and introduce a new resort experience to San Diego. The Barona Valley Ranch will be an amazing collection of classic, aged ranch structures. Encompassing nearly 650,000 square feet, the theme of the resort and casino is centered on the California ranch style of the 1930s.
One of the exciting new features of this $260,000 expansion project is the 400-room world-class resort hotel. The eight-story hotel will offer 35 deluxe suites, and four high-roller suites that feature up to 4,000 square feet of luxurious accommodation.
The Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino is designed by Bergman, Walls and Associates, acclaimed designers of the recently completed Paris Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, and other well-known projects including Ceasar’s Palace, the Mirage, and Treasure Island in Las Vegas; the Casino Moulin Rouge in Budapest, Hungary; and the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia.
New Pechanga Resort & Casino UOpened on June 24
p the I-15 over the San Diego County border in neighboring Temecula, big news was made when the new $262 million Pechanga Resort & Casino opened on June 24th. The 14-story,
522-room hotel/casino complex boasts an 85,000-square foot casino with 2,000 of the newest slots and 60 table games, seven restaurants and a 1,200-seat theater/showroom. A separate 17-table poker room and 700-seat High-Stakes Bingo Center complete the gaming.
The resort also has a 40,000-square foot meeting and convention space with 13 individual rooms for meetings, banquets and special events. There is also a gas station and mini-mart, a car wash and a 170-space recreational vehicle park next to the hotel. The Pechanga Resort & Casino, managed and operated by the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians, is the biggest tribal gaming facility in
California.
Big Father’s Day
Jackpots at Sycuan
and Valley View
This past Father’s Day, June 16, was particularly special for two California dads who each hit progressive jackpots at San Diego County casinos. Olioni Ngata played his favorite slot machine, The Addams FamilyTM, at Sycuan Casino and after playing $60, he hit the top jackpot for $1,173,095! Origi- nally from Auckland, New Zealand, Ngata now lives in Chula Vista where he works as a landscaper.
“I never expected to win like this!” said a thrilled Ngata. “I am very happy because this will make life better for my whole family. I can now afford a quality education for all of my ve children.”
Meanwhile, at Valley View Casino, Valodia Harutoonian, a construction worker from Glendale, California hit a MegaJackpotsTM award on the popular Wheel of Fortune® dollar slot machine. He plans to use his $579,314 winnings to buy a home.
Both lucky Father’s Day winners are pictured on Page 22.
This is the largest MegaJackpotsTM award ever won at Valley View Casino, which opened in April 2001. MegaJackpotsTM are the wide-area progressive systems of International Game Technology (IGT). Less than six weeks ago, Valley View Casino awarded a $1.3 million Thrillions® jackpot,partofBallyGaming’sMulti- Area Progressive System.
California OK’s
More Slot Machines
for Casinos
In a controversial decision announced on June 19th, California’s gambling commission raised the cap in Indian casino slot machines to 51,000 from the 45,206 slots previously authorized by Governor Gray Davis in the compacts negotiated in 2000, after Proposition 1A. This means that at least an additional 2,753 slot machines will be available to Indian casinos. How they will be apportioned is not clear.
Construction on the Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino continues at a rapid pace, as the early 2003 grand opening approaches.
THE SAN DIEGO GAMING GUIDE
July 2002 Page 7
San Diego Gaming News