Gaming industry’s most creative marketers honored with prestigious Romero Awards

LAS VEGAS (July 27, 2010) – The sixth annual Romero Awards were announced July 21 on the final day of the Casino Marketing Conference at Paris Las Vegas by Raving Consulting Company and BNP Media Gaming Group. The prestigious awards, which recognize excellence in casino marketing, were presented in a special ceremony hosted by noted sportscaster, boxing analyst and performer Al Bernstein.

Named after casino marketing pioneer and author John Romero, the Romero Awards honor those gaming operators who best fulfill the spirit of John’s decades-long crusade for effective, measurable and accountable casino marketing expenditures. Since the awards focus on results more than creativity, this year’s winners deserve extra accolades for their achievements at a time when every last dollar in the budget is scrutinized.

The four casino marketing professionals serving as judges had over 100 years combined experience in their fields. Judges were: Jackie Brett, freelance writer specializing in the Las Vegas entertainment and travel scene; Don Kennedy, Marketing Director for Fort Sill Apache Casino; Amy J. Price-Fanter, Marketing Writer with Odds On Promotions; and Jack Breslin, Senior Vice President of Marketing for G.A. Wright Marketing, Inc.

They faced the daunting task of evaluating a record number of entries, 141, submitted by 33 different casinos in six categories. A total of 19 different casinos received the highest honors, either Diamond, Gold or Silver Romero Awards, indicating the depth of quality entrants this year.

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 included in the September edition of Casino Journal magazine.

DIRECT MAIL—LARGE CASINO

Diamond Award:
Newsletter Campaigns — Barona Resort & Casino, Lakeside, Calif.

Gold Award:
Local Inactive Recovery Offer — Barona Resort & Casino, Lakeside, Calif.

Silver Award:
New Member Conversion — Seminole Casino Coconut Creek, Coconut Creek, Fla.

DIRECT MAIL—SMALL TO MID-SIZE CASINO

Diamond Award:
Looking For Some New Friends — Lake of the Torches Resort Casino, Lac du Flambeau, Wisc.

Gold Award:
Money Talks (Show Me the Money!) — Lake of the Torches Resort Casino, Lac du Flambeau, Wisc.

Silver Award:
Scratch the Blarney Stone — Oaklawn Racing & Gaming, Hot Springs, Ark.

PUBLIC RELATIONS CAMPAIGN—LARGE CASINO

Diamond Award:
Light Up Your Holidays Giving Program — Black Oak Casino, Tuolumne, Calif.

Gold Award:
2009 ABATE Tulsa Toy Run — River Spirit Casino, Tulsa, Okla.

Silver Award:
Canada Line Opening Day August 17, 2009 — River Rock Casino Resort, Richmond, B.C.

PUBLIC RELATIONS CAMPAIGN—SMALL TO MID-SIZE CASINO

Diamond Award:
Mill-Luck Salmon Celebration — The Mill Casino-Hotel & RV Park, North Bend, Ore.

Gold Award:
Santa Cash — Cherokee Casino Will Rogers Downs, Claremore, Okla.

Silver Award:
Spa Blast — Oaklawn Racing & Gaming, Hot Springs, Ark.

CASINO FLOOR PROMOTION—LARGE CASINO

Diamond Award:
Reno Casino — Casino de Montreal, Montreal, Quebec

Gold Award:
Cherokee Sweepstakes — Hard Rock Casino Tulsa, Tulsa, Okla.

Silver Award:
Dashing Through the Dough — River Spirit Casino, Tulsa, Okla.

CASINO FLOOR PROMOTION—SMALL TO MID-SIZE CASINO

Diamond Award:
Trucks and Bucks — Lake of the Torches Resort Casino, Lac du Flambeau, Wisc.

Gold Award:
$40,000 Payday Derby — Prairie Meadows Racetrack & Casino, Altoona, Iowa

Silver Awards:
Bank on Your Neighbor — 7th Street Casino, Kansas City, Kan.
Christmas Lights and Cash — Lake of the Torches Resort Casino, Lac du Flambeau, Wisc.

VIP PROMOTION—LARGE CASINO

Diamond Award:
Cocktails at Tiffany’s — Seminole Casino Coconut Creek, Coconut Creek, Fla.

Gold Award:
Anchors Away! — Casino du Lac-Leamy, Gatineau, Quebec

Silver Awards:
$125,000 Blackjack Tournament — Barona Resort & Casino, Lakeside, Calif.
Treasures of the World Slot Tournament Series — Barona Resort & Casino, Lakeside, Calif.

VIP PROMOTION—SMALL TO MID-SIZE CASINO

Diamond Award:
VIP Points Challenge — Cliff Castle Casino-Hotel, Camp Verde, Ariz.

Gold Award:
Mexican Fiesta Premier Players Party — Lake of the Torches Resort Casino, Lac du Flambeau, Wisc.

Silver Award:
Souper Sundays — Lake of the Torches Resort Casino, Lac du Flambeau, Wisc.

E-MAIL MARKETING CAMPAIGN—LARGE CASINOS

Diamond Award:
E-Mail Exclusive Cash Offer — Barona Resort & Casino, Lakeside, Calif.

Gold Award:
Movie Premiere — Circus Circus Reno, Reno, Nev.

Silver Award:
Club Barona Cash & Hotel Offer — Barona Resort & Casino, Lakeside, Calif.

E-MAIL MARKETING CAMPAIGN—SMALL TO MID-SIZE CASINOS

Diamond Award:
12 Days of Christmas — Oaklawn Racing & Gaming, Hot Springs, Ark.

Gold Award:
Wink Atachick’s Game Show Spectacular! — Prairie Meadows Racetrack & Casino, Altoona, Iowa

Silver Award:
$5 Free Play (1st Qtr Newsletter) — Lucky 7 Casino, Smith River, Calif.

WEBSITE MARKETING CAMPAIGN—LARGE CASINOS

Diamond Award:
Luck Be a Lady – PURL — Black Oak Casino, Tuolumne, Calif.

Gold Award:
Q4 2009 Website Redesign — Peppermill Resort Casino, Reno, Nev.

Silver Award:
Buy One Get One Buffet (BOGO) — Mystic Lake Casino Hotel, Prior Lake, Minn.

WEBSITE MARKETING CAMPAIGN—SMALL TO MID-SIZE CASINOS

Gold Award:
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Online Ticket Sales — Lake of the Torches Resort Casino, Lac du Flambeau, Wisc.

Silver Award:
Website / Social Media — The Mill Casino-Hotel & RV Park, North Bend, Ore.

In addition to these top award winners, a number of other casinos received Honorable Mention for their submissions. They include: Aseneskak Casino, Boulevard Casino, Casinos Regina and Moose Jaw, Great Canadian Casinos – View Royal, Oneida Casino, Santa Ana Star Casino, Sol Casinos, Southland Park Gaming & Racing and Trump Marina Hotel Casino.