Page 21 - February 2012 • Southern California Gaming Guide

February 2012 Gaming News (Continued)
$O250,000 Barona Golden Ticket Winner
ne lucky San Diegan’s life was changed forever on Friday, December 23rd with the drawing of Barona Resort & Casino’s largest, guaranteed grand nale prize in its history: the Golden Ticket Giveaway. Ending 2011 on an exciting note, Mary T. of San Diego
was thrilled to learn that her Golden Ticket was the winning ticket drawn out of 53 daily winners over the 53-day promotion.
When Mary headed out to Barona that Friday, she didn’t have a Golden Ticket, but she had high hopes her name would be drawn for the last Golden Ticket so she could be part of the historic $250,000 grand prize drawing. Mary’s wish came true.
During the promotion, which began on November 1, 2011, one player’s name was randomly drawn every day to be the daily Golden Ticket winner. As the promotion neared the end, players excitedly followed the countdown to the very last Golden Ticket drawing on December 23rd, only moments before the grand nale ceremony at 9 p.m.
“Since its launch, our Golden Ticket promotion has created so much fun and excitement, especially on December 23rd, as hundreds of Club Barona members were hoping to be selected as the last Golden Ticket holder to be entered into the grand prize drawing,” said Rick Salinas, General Manager of Barona Resort &
Casino. “Mary T. was one of those hopeful players. Out for the evening with her son, she was hoping to hear her name announced when the nal Golden Ticket was drawn, and she did.”
While players didn’t have to be present to win any of the 53 Golden Tickets or the $250,000 grand prize drawing, most of the Golden Ticket holders were at Barona for the grand nale. Barona’s Casino Managers described the energy as “Mardi Gras-like” as the Golden Ticket winners paraded through the casino and the electricity on the casino oor was at an all-time high.
“Mary was thrilled when her name was announced as the 53rd Golden Ticket holder, but she was ecstatic when her name was announced a few minutes later as the grand prize winner,” said Casino Manager Ray Juergens.“In a matter of 15 minutes, Mary T. went from
not even having a Golden Ticket to winning a quarter million dollars. It was just so exciting.”
In the spirit of the holiday season and in typical Barona fashion, General Manager Rick Salinas surprised the
52 remaining Golden Ticket holders with a $1,000 bonus. One of the surprised Golden Ticket holders said,
“Barona is the best. I thought I was the luckiest person imaginable to have a 1-in-53 chance to win a quarter of a million dollars. When I didn’t win the grand prize, Barona’s General Manager gave away another $52,000 as he surprised the rest of us with $1,000 each. Playing at
February 2012
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
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