Page 18 - January 2011 • Southern California Gaming Guide

by Maya Winkler
Feeling lucky? Is this the day you feel you’ll win the “Big One” at the casino? Southern California casino players have won record amounts in the last few months of 2010 at the
casinos. MegaJackpots®, casino progressives, stand-alone slot and video poker jackpots, and luxury and specialty car giveaways have all yielded record winnings. All it takes is luck—being at the right place at the right time. If you are like any one of the smiling people shown on these pages, you may follow your luck and be one of the next big casino winners. And these
are just a few of the jackpot and giveaway winners.
“A kiss on the hand may be quite continental,” but a $595,000 jackpot is a girl's best
friend. Club Barona member Maria S. from Carlsbad hit Barona Resort & Casino’s biggest jackpot of the December holiday season while playing the $1 Money MadnessTM
Marilyn Monroe® slot machine on Friday, December 17th. Manufactured by IGT, one of the world’s leading slot machine
makers, the MegaJackpot® game recalls the glamorous allure
of one of Tinseltown’s most enduring screen
legends.
“At Barona, we celebrate
jackpots every day, all day long, but this one was especially exciting because it was the largest jackpot to hit in holiday season,” said Rick Salinas, General
Manager of Barona
Resort & Casino. “ at was a pretty incredible
Christmas present for our big winner!”
In late September, the same kind of Marilyn Monroe slot at Valley View Casino & Hotel paid Margie N. of
Valley Center a whopping
jackpot. Margie needed a
break from the stresses of starting up her own jewelry business, so she made the short trip to
Valley View Casino & Hotel on the evening of Tuesday, September 28th, to have some fun. A Players Club regular at Valley View, Margie took a seat at her favorite slot machine, the diamond-themed $1 Money Madness Marilyn Monroe slot. After playing the maximum bet for a few spins, the Blonde Bombshell herself must have smiled down on Margie because
suddenly she hit the progressive jackpot and won $893,451!
"We were so happy that Margie hit it big," said Bruce Howard, General Manager of
Valley View Casino & Hotel. "She’s been a loyal guest for many years, and we can’t think of a nicer person to win this kind of life- changing cash!"
On Wednesday, December 1st, Casino Pauma Palm Club member, Pamela S. from Garden Grove couldn’t believe her luck when she won a $280,627 Island Cash Progressive.
Island Cash Progressive is a Casino Pauma in-house progressive on a bank of one-cent reel slots that starts at $900 and progresses as it is played. To win the progressive, players must play the maximum bet of 180 credits or $1.80. Playing the maximum bet of $1.80, this
PAGE 18
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
JANUARY 2011