Page 16 - April 2006 • Southern California Gaming Guide

Cash, Cars & Much More!
Spectacular Casino Promotions!
by Maya Winkler
Mercedes, Lexus, Corvettes, Harleys, trucks, SUVs, RVs, boats, diamonds, bags of cash, and even a four-year college tuition are just some of the spectacular giveaways Southern California casinos o ered their players in the last six months! Fun giveaways are part of a long tradition of casino business, and are thrilling and impressive in Southern California casinos.
Of course casinos o er high-ticket, sensational prizes to attract casino players and reward loyal player’s club players with additional casino fun. It’s part of promoting a casino. All businesses market and promote their products and services to get new customers and retain the ones they have. In casinos, the name of the marketing game is to create promotions that are fun, that players will want to play, and that will bring them back again and again. So it’s not unusual for casinos to give
away highly desirable luxury vehicles,
boats, cruises and vacations, and
large amounts of cash. But the
innovative variety of Southern
California casino promotions is
sensational.
Casino promotions are always fun, we players love to play them, for it’s like going to a fabulous party where you know someone’s going
to go home with a big fantastic prize—and it may even be you!
included a 2005 Corvette, 2006 Chrysler 300, 2005 Jeep Wrangler and a chance at a $1 million!
A typical casino promotion culminates, after a period of one or two month’s player participation, in an exciting evening with drawings of large-ticket items. Polished and practiced emcees engage the audiences and hundreds of casino players are always
in attendance, since almost all promotionsrequirewinners
to be present in order to drive, tow, or take home a coveted
prize. Some casino
promotion
events are even created
on the scale of a theatrical production: casino hosts in
costumes, music, fanfare— all happening, usually right
on the casino oor. Casino promotions
vary in scope substance. There
popular variations
“hot seat” cash giveaways,
money machine booths and cubes, double or even triple point days or
times, player’s club card swipe & wins, scratch cards, Superbowl-
themed giveaways, and holiday promos that can
culminate in big cash prizes! A popular promo- tion we’re currently seeing in
several casinos is gas card giveaways (see page 19). With the cost of fuel at one of the highest points in U.S. history, it’s no wonder casino patrons would
love to receive a prize of gas!
Promotions are open to all casino player’s club members. And player’s club membership at all casinos is always free,
and important to join if you go to a casino more than a few times a year. Like frequent yer clubs, player’s clubs reward players for loyal play with comps that range from discounted or free meals to cash back based on play, plus
hotel stays or lots of other freebies, depending on the casino. During casino promotions,
player’s club members also can often receive extra promotion entries in casino newsletters! It pays to get player’s club cards at all the
casinos you visit. e odds of winning big casino promotions are based on the number of player entries, and for much-desired prizes like a Mercedes or Lexus, it may be a long shot to
win, but certainly worth the try!
Be sure to enter the free promotions, enjoy your casino
playduringthepromotionperiods,havefunandhaveno expectations. And you just may be one of the lucky winners! Promotion winners are responsible for all taxes and any state fees (such as vehicle tax and registration) associated with their prizes. And they can sometimes even take the prize value of the item in cash if the casino agrees.
Many casino promo- tions change each month, although some may span
several months like Soboba Casino’s amazing
Golden Opportunity College Tuition give- away. Each casino promotion has its own rules of play, so be sure you understand the game. Many casinos have brochures, yers and rules on their web sites explaining how a speci c promotion works. Below we highlight some of the last six month’s most exciting and popular
Casino promotions
vary from vehicle give-
aways—we Southern
California casino play-
ers love high-end cars,
trucks, motorcycles
and vehicles — to fun
that can result in large cash and prize accumulation, and even to game show enactments, like casino player’s favor- ite Barona Valley Ranch Resort and Casino’s thrilling Keys To Your Dreams, that ran in 2005 from late
August to early October. Monty Hall emceed the nale in a fun and raucous
“Let’s Make a Deal” format, and prizes
and are on
games
Page 16 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE April 2006