Barona Casino Continues to Boom

Barona casino, located in Lakeside, California (northeastern San Diego County), continues to do great business even as other casinos across the country have stumbled through tough economic times. In fact, over the past year, Barona's business actually increased.

It doesn't hurt that the property has a beautiful, canyon location about 30 miles outside the city of San Diego, but the facilities have also been well managed over the years. According to General Manager Rick Salinas, a good deal of that success can be attributed to Troy Simpson's role as senior vice president of innovation.

In that role, Simpson was responsible for such things as the casino's "Sneak Preview" area where players have the chance to play new games not yet offered at any other casino. This past April 2010, Barona was the first casino in the country to have Magic Touch slot machines (manufactured by Incredible Technologies). The video slots allow players to choose their own game type: a low volatility game, designed to win often; a medium volatility game, designed to win steady; and a high volatility game, designed to win big.

In February 2010, Barona launched table games with electronic chipless gaming, as shown in the photo above. Each player has their own personalized screen and uses the electronic betting interface to access a range of betting options. Players have come to enjoy the new style of play, and games move quickly with perfect player tracking.

Like myself, Troy Simpson started his gaming career at Harrah's Entertainment, and also like myself, he holds a Bachelor of Business Administration with a focus in marketing, so he's probably a good guy. This week he was promoted to executive vice president/assistant general manager so he could help "keep Barona on the cutting edge of business practices." I'm sure he will.

For those of you visiting the Barona facilities, the property offers many restaurants, a 400-room hotel, and offers gaming to anyone over the legal age of 18. However, alcoholic beverages are not available on the casino floor, and according to leaders of Barona Casino, the winding and hilly nature of Wildcat Canyon Road, the main access route into Barona Indian Reservation, is a primary factor that led to this decision.