LAS VEGAS (August 7, 2007) –  The gaming industry’s leading marketers were honored July 19 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 and Ascend 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, director of marketing for Chinook Winds Casino Resort; Toby O’Brien, vice president, marketing and client services, Raving Consulting Company; and Jim Seagrave, vice president/advertising for Coast Casinos. They chose from among 93 entries.

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: Global Cash Access Winter 2006-2007 Prospecting DM Campaign — Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino, Lakeside, Calif.

Gold Award: The Pirate’s Booty — Feather Falls Casino, Oroville, Calif.

Silver Award: Club Barona Bi-Monthly ‘Newsletter’ DM Campaign — Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino, Lakeside, Calif.

DIRECT MAIL—SMALL TO MID-SIZE CASINO

Gold Award: Warm & Cozy Promotion — Sky City Casino Hotel, Acoma, N. M.

Silver Award: Mad Money Postcard — Oaklawn Jockey Club, Hot Springs, Ark.

PUBLIC RELATIONS CAMPAIGN—LARGE CASINO

Diamond Award: Women’s Poker Classic — British Columbia Lottery Corporation, Canada

Gold Award: ‘I Am’ Black Oak Casino — Black Oak Casino, Tuolumne, Calif.

Silver Award: First Annual Native Fall Music Fest — Creek Nation Casino, Tulsa, Okla.

PUBLIC RELATIONS CAMPAIGN—SMALL TO MID-SIZE CASINO

Diamond Award: Busted Bridge Bonus Bucks — Silver Reef Hotel Casino Spa, Ferndale, Wash.

Gold Award: Tenth Anniversary Gala & PR Campaign — Casino Regina, Regina, Sask.

CASINO FLOOR PROMOTION—LARGE CASINO

Diamond Award: $125,000 Ultimate Blackjack Tour Blackjack Hall of Fame Invitational — Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino, Lakeside, Calif.

Gold Award: 3-Day New Year’s Party — Feather Falls Casino, Oroville, Calif.

Silver Award: Fit In/The Cars and Cash Giveaway — Feather Falls Casino, Oroville, Calif.

CASINO FLOOR PROMOTION—SMALL TO MID-SIZE CASINO

Diamond Award: The Win’dicator Has Landed at the Fort — Fort McDowell Casino, Fountain Hills, Ariz.

Gold Award: Christmas Bonus Promotion — Casino Regina, Regina, Sask.

Silver Award: Winner’s Party — The Mill Casino Hotel, North Bend, Ore.

VIP PROMOTION—LARGE CASINO

Diamond Award: Barona’s The ‘Reel’ Thing VIP Slot Tournament — Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino, Lakeside, Calif.

Gold Award: Barona’s $125,000 Slot Tournament — Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino, Lakeside, Calif.

Silver Award: Picture Perfect Players Promotion — Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino, Lakeside, Calif.

VIP PROMOTION—SMALL TO MID-SIZE CASINO

Gold Award: Club 55 Champagne Brunch — Northlands Park, Edmonton, Alberta

Silver Award: VIP Special Dinners — Fort McDowell Casino, Fountain Hills, Ariz.

E-MAIL MARKETING CAMPAIGN—LARGE CASINO

Diamond Award: Club Barona Hotel Offer E-mail Reminder Campaign — Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino, Lakeside, Calif.

Gold Award: 2006 Tulsa State Fair—Swipe in to Win E-mail Extravaganza — Creek Nation Casino, Tulsa, Okla.

Silver Award: Jackpot Money Machine Casino Floor Promotion Support E-mail Campaign —Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino, Lakeside, Calif.

WEB MARKETING CAMPAIGN—LARGE CASINO

Diamond Award: Jackpot Money Machine Online Bonus Entry Game — Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino, Lakeside, Calif.

Gold Award: Star@Home — Santa Ana Star Casino, Bernalillo, N.M.

Silver Award: MySpace @ Midnight — Creek Nation Casino, Tulsa, Okla.

WEB MARKETING CAMPAIGN—SMALL TO MID-SIZE CASINO

Diamond Award: Shoot for the Stars — Mohican North Star Casino, Bowler, Wis.

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Ascend 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, websites, eNewsletters and targeted specialty publications serving the gaming industry worldwide. Raving Consulting is a Reno-based marketing company that has worked with more than 200 casino companies worldwide and trained more than 1,500 gaming executives in its insider-savvy gaming seminars.

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Media contact: Dennis Conrad, President and Chief Strategist, Raving Consulting, phone (775) 329-7864 or dennis@ravingconsulting.com.