'Before the Barona Big Top, San Diego players had to travel to Las Vegas to experience a major casino,' remembered Edwin 'Thorpe' Romero, Chairman of the Barona Band of Mission Indians. 'To pay tribute to Barona as the first Native American casino with a theme, it'll be a circus all month long,' added Salinas, describing the festive atmosphere and three-ring entertainment that he expects will draw thousands of first-time gamers and long-time patrons to the high-flying casino celebration.įrom wandering magicians and stilt walkers to caricaturists and carnival barkers at the weekly prize drawings, Salinas says the Barona Big Top promotion will be a throwback to simpler times when folks had fun just clowning around in a carnival setting.

When Barona unveiled the 39,000 square-foot Big Top Casino in a sprung structure tent in 1994 with its turn-of-the-century circus theme, the gaming area featured wooden replicas of acrobats overhead and small acts such as jugglers in the center ring. 'Those exciting, early days of the Barona Big Top really set the stage for where we are today,' said Rick Salinas, general manager of Barona Resort & Casino. 'And, on occasion our guests reminisce about their favorite things from those days. So, we thought we would bring back some of those memories while creating new ones at the same time.'

SAN DIEGO, CA-(Marketwire - March 25, 2010) - Barona Resort & Casino will take a nostalgic look back to the days before table games with electronic betting terminals to remember some of Barona's earliest moments as the first Tribe in San Diego to open a major casino with Las Vegas style gaming action.įrom March 26 to April 24, Barona will celebrate its past and look to the future with a month-long Back to the Big Top Celebration, which will feature weekly drawings, special meal deals and chances to win on such big top-inspired promotions as the Crazy Wheel, Big Top Blinko and Big Bang Balloon.

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