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Barona’s Players Have Spoken: More Chipless Games Please!

Posted in Blackjack, General Barona Info, Poker, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 9, 2010 by thebaronacasino

by Mike Patterson, Vice President of Table Games

When Barona Casino’s players speak…we listen. And overwhelmingly our players have told us they love our new chipless table games. So just a short time after introducing our first bank of chipless Rapid Baccarat, Barona Blackjack and Barona Roulette tables, I am excited to share that we’ve have responded to the request and have already added more of these games on the casino floor.

What do our players like about these games? First, they are easy to play. Second, they can place lower minimum bets compared to other games. Finally, these games offer multiple feature bets and even more ways to win. Easy. Low bets. More ways to win. And, more fun. What’s not to like?

For those of you unfamiliar with the chipless concept, it’s really pretty simple. You still play with live dealers and playing cards but there are no chips. Instead, players place bets on individual touch screen computer terminals. It’s as easy as making an ATM or credit card transaction but a lot more fun!

To show you how these games are played, we’ve even created a short video.

Barona is always on the cutting edge of innovation and was one of the first casinos in the country to offer these chipless games to our players. It’s another Barona technology “first” and we are incredibly proud of it.

Smartphones and iPads have forever changed the way we communicate and we believe chipless games will have a lasting impact on casinos — much the same way that the coinless slot machines Barona developed and introduced in 2000 revolutionized casino floors across the country.

Barona’s players are a very savvy bunch when it comes to new technology. And as long as they continue to be excited about it and embrace traditional games with electronic wagering, we will continue to create them.

I’d love to know what you think about our chipless games and new technologies of any kind. Please share your feedback. You never know…your idea might be the inspiration for a new game or service here at Barona.

Manufacturer’s Best Slots Payouts

Posted in General Barona Info, Slots, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 13, 2010 by thebaronacasino

by Chuck Hickey, VP of Slots

Many companies offer quality assurance or price matching or price guarantees so that when you visit their store you can have some assurance that the price you pay for whatever it is you are shopping for is at least competitive and maybe the best in town.  Just like shopping for a new washing machine  – you know that Brand X machine might be offered a bunch of different prices – so are casino  slot machines.

Every slot player has a favorite slot machine.  Yours might be Rome & Egypt and your friend’s might be Red Rooster, while your brother’s may be Kitty Glitter and his wife’s is Silver Sword.  How in the heck do you figure out where to go to play them?  Each manufacturer sends to the casino a computer program for each style game when it is ordered from the factory.  In that program there are usually a variety of possible pay back percentages that the casino can choose from and that range of percentages can sometimes be quite wide ranging for example from 98% return to 85% return.  It is up to the casino to choose one of those percentages when they install the game.  Of course no machine pays back exactly what it is set at over a short period of time.  If they did; no one would ever play them.  You would have to be crazy to play a 98% machine if every time you put in a buck you got 98¢ back.  There are always going to be swings when the game pays back way more than your bet – and sometimes less.  Over a long period of time the game will end up paying back 98% of the money bet into it (assuming that was where it was set) and there will have been many happy players on the upside and many folks who “fed the kitty” so to speak.

Barona’s price guarantee – or Manufacturer’s Best Payback represents the BEST that this particular game can be.  Manufacturer's Best Casino Slots at BaronaIt will be the highest payback percentage available and you cannot find this game set in a looser configuration anywhere else.  You might find the same setting in some other casino – but you will never really know.  What you can absolutely count on is that Barona has set these games to be the best.  Who says so?  Well – we have worked with the major manufacturers that represent about 90% of all the games on our floor to work with us on this project.  WMS, IGT, Bally and Aristocrat have all agreed to monitor the settings of our games so that they can be assured that we are in fact putting their best feet forward – it’s certified!  They know that their games are being played at the best configuration that they designed.  And while they cannot pledge the settings at our competition – they can promise that no one can find a better setting anywhere.

Simply put – Manufacturer’s Best Payback is Barona Casino’s price guarantee that you can’t find this slot game set looser anywhere else – and not only do we say so…. But so do the people who built the machine in the first place.

Cinco de Mayo Tortilla Soup Recipe

Posted in Community, Events, General Barona Info, Restaurants, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , , , on May 5, 2010 by thebaronacasino

By Executive Chef Jim Phillips

Barona Casino’s Tortilla Soup has always been a winner with our guests.  The recipe has been on our menu since the beginning and we always get requests for it.  So, we thought Cinco de Mayo would be a great time to share it with everyone.  It’s easy to make and is a great recipe to have on hand.  It can be easily customized for your guests and made ahead of time so you can enjoy the fiesta while serving a great dish!

At Barona we love to celebrate Cinco de Mayo too.  This year, we’re serving a variety of Mexican food specials in our restaurants. You can get a family-style Puerto Nuevo Lobster Special with rice and beans for $19.50 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. at El Rancho Grande and The Plaza.  And, don’t forget we’ll be pouring refreshing margaritas and cervezas plus more than a dozen tequilas beginning at 5 p.m. at the El Rancho Grande.  Tortilla Soup

In honor of the holiday, we’re also offering a special price of $5.55 at the Seasons Fresh Buffet. The buffet will be available from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. for guests 18 and over and Club Barona discounts will apply.

All this on top of the great slots, blackjack, poker and more to cap off your celebration with a Barona moment of your own!

I hope you enjoy the Tortilla Soup recipe and also have a great Cinco de Mayo! And, if there’s a special dish at Barona that you’d like to make at home, please let us know and we’ll do our best to share the recipe on another blog post.

Salud!

Tortilla Soup recipe: 10 servings

Ingredients:

¼ Cup Olive Oil
½ Cup Chopped Onion
1  Jalapeño Pepper
2 Lbs  Chopped fresh Roma Tomatoes
3 Cloves  Chopped Garlic
1 Tsp  Ground Cumin
½ Gallon  Chicken Stock
½ Bunch  Cilantro
1 Tbsp  Chicken Base
Salt  To Taste
Pepper To Taste

Preparation:

In a medium sized soup pot, over medium heat add the olive oil, sauté onions, jalapeño pepper, cumin and garlic until slightly caramelized. Add tomatoes, chicken stock, chicken base and seasoning. Let it simmer for 35 minutes and then add the chopped cilantro and blend the soup until smooth.

Garnish the soup with fried tortilla strips, diced fresh avocado and shredded Monterey Jack cheese.

Every Day is Earth Day at Barona

Posted in Community, Environment, General Barona Info, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , on April 22, 2010 by thebaronacasino

by Jay Bart, Director of Safety, Health and Environment

Today, billions of people will commemorate Earth Day – the one day a year designated to inspire awareness and appreciation for the environment across the globe.  There are fairs, walks and observances of all kinds and the impact has been inspirational.  We’ve really taken the sustainable message to heart and are working hard to make every day Earth Day here at Barona Resort & Casino. Barona Resort & Casino

What, you may ask, does a casino resort known for its blackjack tables and slot machines know about the environment?  As it turns out…quite a bit!

Barona Resort & Casino and the Barona Band of Mission Indians have long been committed to the environment.

Several years ago, this commitment was formalized as the Barona Valley Environmental Sustainability Program. The program includes a state-of-the-art water reclamation plant, innovative water recovery program, landscaping and wildlife preservation, golf course turf reduction, an environmental scholarship program, resort conservation efforts – carpooling, recycling and energy efficient practices – and community outreach to increase awareness of eco-friendly events and awards.

Of course, it’s all well and good for us to talk about how great these programs are but other organizations that we respect and admire talk about them too.  And, we’ve even received awards for our environmental programs from the following groups: Audubon International; California Hotel & Lodging Association; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; SANDAG Diamond Award; San Diego Earth Works; Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) / Golf Digest; and Energy Star: 2009 Energy Star for Superior Energy Efficiency by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

And just last week, we announced that Barona Resort & Casino achieved Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) through their Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Existing Buildings (LEED™-EB) rating system. Barona is the first Tribal resort in the nation to earn the internationally recognized certification for the design and operation of high performance green buildings.     Barona Garden

Adding to the accolades, the new government building, the site where all government-to-government relations are conducted by elected members of the Barona Tribe, was also just awarded LEED™-NC Silver level certification by the USGBC.

Coming back full circle, we are very proud of our environmental achievements here at Barona and hope to continue to lead the gaming industry in this area.

I’ll be back soon to share details about some of these key programs.   In the meantime, I’d like to know how you celebrate Earth Day or what you do to live green.  Maybe you’ll have even more ideas for us!

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