S moke S ignals
JULY 1, 2015
5
Casino raffling off ‘Sons of Anarchy’ motorcycle
By Brent Merrill
Smoke Signals staff writer
Spirit Mountain Casino is one
of only two casinos in the United
States that will be giving away a
limited edition “Sons of Anarchy”
tribute motorcycle this summer.
One of the motorcycles will be
given away on the West Coast in
Grand Ronde and the other will
be given away on the East Coast.
These are the only two motorcycles
of their kind ever made and each is
valued at $21,995.
The matte black custom roadster
with engraved “Sons of Anarchy”
logos designed into it and a custom
Redwoods Original leather seat is
currently on display next to the
entrance of the casino’s Mountain
View Sports Bar. When “Sons of
Anarchy” slot machines arrive, they
will become part of a large display
near the north entrance across from
the sports bar.
Interim Gaming Director Mike
Colton said the casino found out
about the opportunity to host the
“Sons of Anarchy” slot machines and
give away the Bartels’ custom-de-
signed promotional motorcycle
while attending last year’s Global
Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, Nev.
G2E is a private, annual gam-
ing conference and trade show in
Las Vegas at the Sands Expo and
Convention Center. The confer-
ence is traditionally where the slot
machine industry unveils its new
games and products every year to
casino operators. The conference
features more than 480 individual
vendor exhibitor sites and attracts
crowds of almost 17,000 people.
“They (Aristocrat Technologies)
are doing a promotion for their new
games that are coming out,” said
Colton. “This is huge for us.”
Spirit Mountain will be the first
casino in the country to host “Sons
of Anarchy” multi-site progressive
slot machines. Players will have a
chance to win a more than $500,000
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Spirit Mountain Casino will be giving away this limited edition “Sons of
Anarchy” tribute motorcycle on Saturday, Aug. 22. Spirit Mountain is one of
only two casinos in the United States giving away a tribute motorcycle.
progressive jackpot playing the
machines.
Colton, who is an avid fan of the
show, said there were two custom
“Sons of Anarchy” motorcycles on
display at G2E and that Spirit
Mountain secured the opportunity
by meeting an entry deadline. He
said the odds of getting the cycle
were long.
“We were fortunate enough to
be one of the sites selected for this
promotion,” said Colton. “ ‘Sons
of Anarchy’ has a cult following
and the show is flat-out addictive.
The show is widely popular with
everybody, not just bikers, but just
everybody.”
Colton said that popularity cre-
ates a following. The more of a
following, the more revenue it
translates into for the game.
“The show and the characters are
so recognizable that it will get peo-
ple to play the game,” said Colton.
Casino guests can earn entries in
the motorcycle drawing by playing
any slot machine, table game or keno
and bingo in the casino, but guests
earn double entries between now and
the giveaway when they play “Sons
of Anarchy” slot machines.
The “Anarchy” slot machines
feature high-definition graphics,
3-D panoramic adjustable sound
and an advanced ergonomic design.
The show’s production team filmed
scenes especially created for the
slot machine action sequences.
Game designers added content
from the show to the slots.
“It’s huge and it’s flattering,”
Marketing Director Shawna Ridge-
bear said. “To be one of only two
casinos in the country and the only
West Coast property to be giving
away one of these motorcycles is
exciting. When you see the bike
you will understand my excitement.
This is an impressive machine.”
Ridgebear said the casino is doing
a marketing campaign revolving
around the “Sons of Anarchy” pro-
motion and that outdoor billboards
have already generated a response.
“We are already getting calls
asking for details, asking when the
giveaway is,” said Ridgebear.
Colton said the promotion, which
started on Monday, June 1, will
culminate in the motorcycle being
given away at the casino’s “Rally
in the Valley” event on Saturday,
Aug. 22, during an 8 p.m. drawing.
“Rally in the Valley” features live
music, food, vendors and motorcy-
cles. Admission is free and runs
from 9 a.m. through 5 p.m. in the
casino’s parking lot.
“The giveaway will be at the con-
clusion of a very exciting weekend
with the ‘Rally in the Valley’ and
the bike giveaway will be the grand
finale,” said Ridgebear.
“Sons of Anarchy” aired on the
FX network from September 2008
through December 2014. It is the
story of the Teller-Morrow motorcy-
cle gang family of Charming, Calif.,
and turned out to be one of the high-
est viewed shows on television for
seven seasons. Characters, like gang
leader Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam)
and his interesting mother, the most
cold-hearted woman in the history
of television, Gemma Teller-Morrow
(Katey Sagal), kept viewers watch-
ing with record ratings.
“The FX series was a record
breaker for the network,” said
Ridgebear, who is fan of the Golden
Globe-winning show. “It had such
a huge, very loyal following behind
the series. We had a party just to
watch the series finale.”
Ridgebear said she thinks now
is the perfect time for Aristocrat to
release its “Sons of Anarchy” slot
machines.
“It (the release) caused such a
buzz in the gaming community at
G2E because it had such a great
demographic following,” said Ridge-
bear. “But for us to be putting a
large bank of the games out on the
floor and then to pair it with the
motorcycle that will be right next
to it, well that’s just a really unique
opportunity for us." n
Ballots will be mailed July 29
NOMINEES continued
from front page
Ballots will be mailed to vot-
ers with verified signatures on
Wednesday, July 29. Tribal mem-
bers may create a verified signature
card at any time up to and includ-
ing Election Day.
Starting Monday, July 27,
through Thursday, Sept. 3, the
Election Office in the Community
Center will be open from 10 a.m.
to 3:30 p.m. with a half-hour lunch
from noon to 12:30 p.m. Monday
through Thursday. The office can
be reached at 503-879-2271.
Candidate statements are due
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Wednesday, July 8, and will be fea-
tured in the next edition of Tilixam
Wawa, scheduled to be mailed out
the following week.
Candidates are limited to 600-
word statements and candidates
are encouraged to submit their
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Candidate statements run “as is,”
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Candidates also should contact
Tribal photographer Michelle Alai-
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alaimo@grandronde.org to sched-
ule a time to have their portrait
taken for Tilixam Wawa, or candi-
dates can submit their own photo.
Deadline for photos also is 5 p.m.
Wednesday, July 8.
A Candidates Forum is scheduled
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in the Tribal Community Center.
Questions for Tribal Council candi-
dates may be e-mailed to candidate-
question@grandronde.org. Please
include your name and roll number.
Ballots will be counted at the
Community Center on Saturday,
Sept. 12, and election results will be
posted that evening on the Commu-
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