LAS VEGAS (July 30, 2008) – The leading marketers in the gaming industry were honored July 24 with The Romero Awards - Recognizing Excellence In Casino Marketing. The awards were presented on the final day of the Casino Marketing Conference at Paris Las Vegas by Raving Consulting Company and BNP Media Gaming Group.

Named after casino marketing pioneer and author John Romero, the Romero Awards honor those gaming operators who best fulfill the spirit of John’s more than 45-year crusade for effective, measurable and accountable casino marketing expenditures.

The four casino marketing professionals serving as judges had over 100 years combined experience in their fields. Judges were: Jackie Brett, Director of Advertising and Public Relations for Imperial Palace Hotel & Casinos; Don Kennedy, a career marketing executive and most recently the Director of Marketing for Chinook Winds Casino Resort; Toby O’Brien, Vice President, Marketing and Client Services for Raving Consulting Company; and Jim Seagrave, Vice President/Advertising for Coast Casinos.

They chose from among 121 entries, a 30 percent increase over the number submitted in 2007 – a clear indicator of the value and prestige of the competition. The judging criteria include the marketing or promotion concept, strategic rationale and execution; casino revenue and any other measurable results; the competitive advantage provided to the casino; and the relationship of the promotion to the casino’s customers and employees and to the community.

Categories of nomination included six types of promotions: direct mail marketing (single or campaign), public relations campaign, casino floor promotion, VIP promotion, e-mail marketing and Web site marketing. Entries were also divided by casino size, to help ensure a fair playing field. Large casinos were defined as having 1,000 or more gaming positions, while small to mid-size casinos were to have less than 1,000 gaming positions.

All the winners will be featured in the September edition of Casino Journal magazine.

DIRECT MAIL—LARGE CASINO
Diamond Award:
Club Barona Newsletter DM Campaign — Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino, Lakeside, Calif.
Gold Award:
Global Cash Access Summer 2007 Prospecting — Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino, Lakeside, Calif.
Silver Award:
Easy Money Slot Rewards December 2007 DM Promotion — Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino, Lakeside, Calif.

DIRECT MAIL—SMALL TO MID-SIZE CASINO
Diamond Award:
Mystery Cash — Lake of the Torches Resort Casino, Lac du Flambeau, Wisc.
Gold Award:
Castle Club Monthly Promotions & Events Mailer Coupons — Cliff Castle Casino, Camp Verde, Ariz.
Silver Award (Tie):
Civil War Race for Points — Chinook Winds Casino Resort, Lincoln City, Ore.
RV Park Mailer — The Mill Casino Hotel, North Bend, Ore.

PUBLIC RELATIONS CAMPAIGN—LARGE CASINO
Diamond Award:
This is MY Casino — Santa Ana Star Casino, Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M.
Silver Award:
Performances at the Passage — Suquamish Clearwater Casino Resort, Suquamish, Wash.

PUBLIC RELATIONS CAMPAIGN—SMALL TO MID-SIZE CASINO
Diamond Award:
Thunder Valley Rally — Cliff Castle Casino, Camp Verde, Ariz.
Gold Award (Tie):
Fundraiser Program — Jackpot Junction Casino Hotel, Morton, Minn.
Boulevard 500 — Boulevard Casino, Coquitlam, B.C.
Silver Award:
Gathering of the Guides — Lake of the Torches Resort Casino, Lac du Flambeau, Wisc.

CASINO FLOOR PROMOTION—LARGE CASINO
Diamond Award:
$2 Million Dollar Mercedes-Benz Giveaway — Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino, Lakeside, Calif.
Gold Award:
Chinese New Year 2008 — Starlight Casino, New Westminster, B.C.
Silver Award (Tie):
Paradise Jackpots — Agua Caliente Casino, Rancho Mirage, Calif.
$1,000-A-Day Holiday Slot Tournament — Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino, Lakeside, Calif.
Richest Pastry Shop in Town — Creek Nation Casino, Tulsa, Okla.

CASINO FLOOR PROMOTION—SMALL TO MID-SIZE CASINO
Diamond Award:
My Big Fat Super Tuesday — Cliff Castle Casino, Camp Verde, Ariz.
Gold Award:
Winning Mood — Lake of the Torches Resort Casino, Lac du Flambeau, Wisc.
Silver Award:
Lucky Eleven Anniversary Event — Painted Hand Casino, Yorkton, Sask.

VIP PROMOTION—LARGE CASINO
Diamond Award:
$125,000 Slot Tournament — Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino, Lakeside, Calif.
Gold Award:
7/7/07 VIP Promotion — Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino, Lakeside, Calif.
Silver Award:
Road to Riches — Black Oak Casino, Tuolumne, Calif.

VIP PROMOTION—SMALL TO MID-SIZE CASINO
Diamond Award:
Birthday Blowout! VIP Party — The Lucky Eagle Casino, Rochester, Wash.
Gold Award:
Gold Club, Gold Cup Slot Tournament — The Mill Casino Hotel, North Bend, Ore.
Silver Award:
Murder at Capone’s Place: Mystery Dinner Theater — The Mill Casino Hotel, North Bend, Ore.

E-MAIL MARKETING CAMPAIGN—LARGE CASINOS
Diamond Award:
Barona's $2 Million Mercedes-Benz Giveaway Casino Floor Promotion Support E-mail Campaign — Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino, Lakeside, Calif.
Gold Award:
Take It or Leave It Casino Floor Promotion Support Email Campaign — Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino, Lakeside, Calif.
Silver Award:
Star Rewards Real-time Welcomes and Prize Notifications — Santa Ana Star Casino, Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M.

WEB MARKETING CAMPAIGN—LARGE CASINOS
Diamond Award:
Star @ Home — Santa Ana Star Casino, Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M.
Gold Award:
YOUR Say YOUR Way — Santa Ana Star Casino, Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M.
Silver Award:
Virtual Drawings — Santa Ana Star Casino, Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M.

WEB MARKETING CAMPAIGN—SMALL TO MID-SIZE CASINOS
Silver Award:
Fun at Flambeau Online Gaming — Lake of the Torches Resort Casino, Lac du Flambeau, Wisc.

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BNP Media Gaming Group is the world’s largest and most experienced gaming industry media resource and the leading producer of trade magazines, specialized conference and expos, Web sites, e-newsletters and targeted specialty publications serving the gaming industry worldwide. Raving Consulting Company is a Reno-based marketing services company that has worked with more than 200 casino companies worldwide and trained more than 1,500 gaming executives with its insider-savvy gaming seminars and hands-on, on-property training and consulting.

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Dennis Conrad, President and Chief Strategist, Raving Consulting, (775) 329-7864; dennis@ravingconsulting.com.