My first blog ever. Here goes nothing.

Hi there! One of my grandkids set this little blog up for me a few weeks ago. She told me, "Now Grandma... this is your special spot on the internet. You can use it to talk about anything you like. Anything at all!"

"Anything?" I thought. The idea of "anything" actually sounded pretty daunting. Since then I've been racking my brain about what I might like to blog to the world about. Our travels? My job? The kids? Then it hit me -- why not blog about one of my favorite places in the world?

The Santa Ana Star Casino!

PR CAMPAIGN: "You Have the Right to ________________ ."

A lot of casinos make a lot of promises and most of them they can't keep. You've probably heard them all. They tell us things like we can "Win Big" or how they have the "Hottest Slots." I don't know about you, but it's just a whole lot of noise to me. Then, Santa Ana Star Casino comes along and they're not making promises - they're telling us the things we DESERVE – they're telling us our RIGHTS as players. Their new billboards tell us things like: "You Have the Right to FREE Snacks" and "You Have the Right to Not Be Present to Win." It's so refreshing to hear a casino stop making empty promises and start telling us like it is.

Check out the funny TV commercials the Star made for the campaign!

PR CAMPAIGN - CALENDAR "Let Me Check MY Calendar."

Want to know what's going on in the community or at the Star? Then you need to pick up the latest Santa Ana Star Casino calendar. It's FREE and it also has coupons for tons of great deals at the Casino. I know computers are the wave of the future and everything, but I still like the good ol' fashioned printed calendar.

PR CAMPAIGN - CHARITY POKER "Giving Back Can Be Fun Too."

Today, I was reminded why Santa Ana Star Casino truly is MY Casino. Because they care about more than just money, they care about the people of this community too. Today, they hosted a poker tournament for charity. They collected donations in the form of jackets, toys and food all for families in need. Today, I wasn't just happy to be at MY Casino I was proud to be at it.

WEB SITE - MySantaAnaStar.com "Like MY Blog, You Should See MY Homepage."

I'm not a computer whiz by any stretch of the imagination. But I just made my own Homepage. That's because Santa Ana Star Casino has made starting YOUR own Homepage super easy. Just type in www.MySantaAnaStar.com into the address box at the top of the page to start YOUR own. Ooh! Now that I have MY own Homepage, I'm gonna go Google myself and see what comes up. Talk to you all later.

WEB SITE - BLOG "My Second Favorite Blog on the Web." ;)

Apparently I am not the only one on the web writing a blog about Santa Ana Star Casino. The Casino also has a blog! Their blog is called "Santa Ana Star 411." It gives all their members up to the minute information regarding entertainment, promotions and events at the Star. It also gives us players great "how to" tips on how to play our best at the tables.

WEB SITE - STAR TV "I'm Ready for my Close Up."

The other day I was at a concert at the Star and the woman next to me hit it BIG! Her slot machine was beeping, people were cheering - the whole place went nuts. When some of the casino's representatives came over to congratulate her - she almost FAINTED! She was so happy - it was really wonderful to see someone's life change right before your very eyes.

When I went home to tell my husband, I realized it wasn't as exciting unless you were actually there. That night I logged on to SantaAnaStar.com site and saw that they had posted the video of the woman's big win on their new "Star TV" feature on the site. It was great, because now my husband could see the whole thing too.

I was even able to grab the video and email it to my friends! I can upload videos of all the fun I have at the Star right there on their site.

VIP PROMOTION - HOLIDAY GIFT (DVD PLAYER) "Christmas Came Early."

The mailman came today bearing a Christmas gift. From who? A relative, maybe? My son who lives back east? Nope. It was from Santa Ana Star Casino. They sent me a DVD player thanking me for playing there. You believe that? I mean, I expected they'd send a card or maybe an email or something. But this just blew me away.

VIP PROMOTION - BALLOON RIDES & GLOW PARTY "Up Up and Away!!!"

Last night, I went to Santa Ana Star Casino's Balloon Glow VIP Party at the Balloon Fiesta. It was on the top floor of the Balloon Museum, so you really got an amazing view of all the brightly lit up balloons. And the food! Oh, the food was wonderful. Let me tell you, I ate more crab cakes than I care to admit. Yep, Santa Ana really rolled out the red carpet for us. And what did I pay for this extravagant affair? Absolutely nothing.

VIP PROMOTION - Santa Ana Star VISA Debit Cards "Put it on my Card."

Just about every casino these days offers a way for their players to earn "points" that can be redeemed for fun stuff. So it should be no surprise that the Star does this as well - but even BETTER. When I earn points at the Star, I am actually able to translate them to real dollars on my very own Santa Ana Star VISA Gift Card. The card is accepted everywhere VISA is accepted. Even more importantly, I can use my points to buy whatever I want!

Look out mall...here I come!

FLOOR PROMOTION "Winner Winner FREE Chicken (Buffet) Dinner!"

At one time or another, you've probably heard someone in the casino say, "Winner Winner Chicken Dinner." Well, this month Santa Ana is actually bringing that phrase to life. That's because this month at the Casino you can use your points to get a FREE dinner at the buffet. You know what, all this talk about food is making me a bit hungry. I think I'm gonna go get MY FREE Buffet right now. See you there.

FLOOR PROMOTION - FREE MULLIGAN "Mulligans aren't just for Golf Anymore."

I must admit that I'm more of a slot player than a table player. But when Santa Ana Star Casino started offering FREE Mulligans on Blackjack, I figured what do I have to lose. For anyone who doesn't know, a Mulligan is like a do-over. So if you don't like your hand, you can get one FREE do-over without losing your money. I won over $100 bucks thanks to that Mulligan.

FLOOR PROMOTION - BALLOON FIESTA "You Gotta Love the Balloon Fiesta."

I just got back from watching all the beautiful balloons fill the sky at the Balloon Fiesta. What a sight. The weather was a little chilly, though. It's a good thing I had on my Balloon Fiesta sweatshirt from Santa Ana Star Casino. I got it FREE, just for playing!

DIRECT MAIL - NEW YEARS INVITATION "Happy Noon Year!"

Just got back from Santa Ana Star Casino's Noon Year's Eve party. That's right, noon. We rang in the New Year a little early this year with a champagne toast. The invitation to the party even included a $5 dollar chip. So, I decided to play Craps for the first time ever. It may be 2009, but I think my new favorite numbers are seven and eleven.

DIRECT MAIL - XMAS CARD "Tis the Season to Get FREE Play."

Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la. Today, I feel like singing. That's because I just got a holiday card in the mail from my Casino with $50 in FREE Play inside. Every year I get a card. And every year they give me something back just for playing there.

DIRECT MAIL: RAIL RUNNER "All aboard the YOUR Casino Express."

For years now, I've been telling my girlfriend Angela who lives up in Santa Fe about Santa Ana Star Casino. I thought I'd never get her to the casino. That was until Santa Ana decided to run a shuttle back and forth from the Rail Runner train stop. Now, Angela can just ride the Rail Runner from Santa Fe to Bernalillo and take the free shuttle to the casino. This month, Santa Ana is even giving Rail Runner riders $5 in FREE play just for showing their train ticket.

EMAIL MARKETING - WINNERS ZONE "I'm a Winner, Are You?"

I just found out that I won a new hot tub at Santa Ana Star Casino. And I'm not even at the Casino, I'm at home in my pajamas. That's because all you need to do to see if you're one of the winners of Santa Ana's monthly promotions is to go to the Winners Zone on their website. They show all the winners and give you time to claim YOUR prize. So, what are you waiting for? Check to see if you won too.

EMAIL MARKETING - CLICK TO CHAT "Speaking to a Live Person Isn't Dead."

Today, I was online checking out all the new promotions going on at Santa Ana Star Casino. There, I noticed that the casino is giving away $5 in FREE play on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays in January. But I wasn't really sure how to get the $5 added to my card. So I just typed my question into the Live Chat box on their website and within seconds I got an answer from a real, live person. How cool is that?

EMAIL MARKETING - BEACHCOMBER HOT TUBS "I Love MY new Hot Tub."

I have ALWAYS wanted a hot tub. Finally I get my wish when as a Star Rewards Member I could redeem a Home Depot Gift Cards and be entered into a virtual drawing for a LA Spa San Juan Hot Tub! When I won - the casino was able to notify me via my email.