Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino First in U.S. to Introduce Blackjack with Guaranteed Play(TM)

SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwire - August 21, 2008) - One of the world's most successful entrepreneurs, Jay Walker, believes that smart businesses are the ones that create new revenue opportunities when times are tough. And so Walker himself has created an innovative new way for the gaming industry to thrive during these challenging economic times. His innovation debuted at San Diego's Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino.

In Blackjack with Guaranteed Play™, for one low buy-in price, players have the opportunity to play at least 30 hands, while the sky is the limit for how much they can win, creating value for Blackjack players by stretching their dollar. Offering players more opportunities to win with less risk of losing is also enticing players who traditionally have opted for slot machines rather than table games to try their hand at Blackjack, which, according to Walker, is smart business.

"In a challenging economy, businesses that are creative and innovative can still succeed because they are willing to offer their customers products and services that others do not," said Walker, the founder of a number of successful startups that currently have more than 60 million customers.

In Blackjack with Guaranteed Play™, players can buy in at $20, and receive $150 worth of Guaranteed Play Chips to be wagered at a $5 table, assuring at least 30 hands of play. A $40 buy in gets a player $300 worth of $10 Guaranteed Play Chips. And a $60 buy in gets a player $450 worth of Guaranteed Play Chips to be wagered $15 a hand. Players can take home anything over their Guaranteed Play Chip amount.

And the guaranteed play concept won't end with Blackjack. Barona already has introduced Video Poker with Guaranteed Play™, where, like its Blackjack counterpart, players are assured dozens of hands at one low price.

"Barona has always been on the forefront of introducing new technologies and games to our casino customers," said Rick Salinas, Barona's General Manager. "Barona has been planning for a downturn in the economy since 2006 so we are ahead of the curve. In facing the reality of difficult economic times, we look at ways to create fun, as well as value for our customers that will make them want to come back and visit us again and that will help keep us at the top of our industry."

Walker has been named by BusinessWeek as one of the 25 Internet pioneers most responsible for "changing the competitive landscape of almost every industry in the world." Time magazine named him "one of America's 50 most influential business leaders in the digital age." He is one of a dozen or so living inventors worldwide to hold 200 patents in multiple fields. To date, he and his teams have invented over 600 proprietary business systems that solve problems in industries ranging from travel to defense to retail to restaurants to vending to publishing to gaming and entertainment.

Ranked highest in customer satisfaction in the J.D. Power and Associates' 2008 Southern California Indian Gaming Casino Satisfaction Study, Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino blends the best of San Diego's most elegant resorts with the gaming excitement of Las Vegas. Barona is San Diego's leading destination resort featuring 400 luxury guest rooms and suites, a 300,000 square foot casino, nine award-winning restaurants, the AmBience Day Spa, a full-service events center, and the 18-hole championship Barona Creek Golf Club, rated the 3rd best resort course in California by Golfweek magazine. For Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino reservations and information, visit www.barona.com or call toll free 888-7-BARONA (722-7662).

The J.D. Power and Associates SCIGC Study explores casino players' entire gaming experience, from arrival at the casino to cashing out their chips. The inaugural study provides a single measure to assess the levels of overall player satisfaction among casinos located throughout Southern California.

Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino received the highest numerical score among casinos with a minimum of 2,000 slot machines in the proprietary J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Southern California Indian Gaming Casino Satisfaction Study(SM). Study based on responses from 1,766 responses from gaming players who visited an Indian casino in Southern California between December 2007 and June 2008. Proprietary study results are based on experiences and perceptions of consumers surveyed in May-June 2008. Your experiences may vary. Visit jdpower.com.

Contact Information: Contact: Audrey Benedetto/Greg Block (619) 236-8397 audrey@benedettopr.com Kelly Jacobs Speer (619) 330-4013 or (619) 933-5013