Santa Ana Star Casino

Casino Ranked Seventh among New Mexico Companies in Business Survey, Only Casino Honored at Event

The Pueblo of Santa Ana - December 3, 2009 - Santa Ana Star Casino, one of New Mexico's leading Native American gaming casinos, was recognized as one of the "Best Places to Work in New Mexico" by the New Mexico Business Weekly, the state's weekly business publication. The award recognizes the company's achievements in creating a positive work environment that attracts and retains team members.

Santa Ana Star Casino was ranked seventh out of hundreds of organizations nominated in the large company category, and is the only casino to be named a finalist in the state-wide survey for its fourth consecutive year. "Santa Ana Star Casino is honored to be considered one of the best places to work in New Mexico, as our team members are our greatest asset," said Scott Eldredge, general manager for Santa Ana Star Casino. "In a troubled economy, it is more important than ever to create the best possible workplace and maintain a positive work environment. Receiving this award four years in a row is a testament to our management team and team members."

According to Eldredge, Santa Ana Star Casino follows several philosophies that helped make the casino one of the best places to work during the current economic downturn.

* Reassure Company Stability
As the country is still in a tough economic period, it is important to be honest with your team members and communicate the company's financial stability. Effective communication eliminates uncertainty about their jobs and reduces stress in the work place.

* Listen to and Discuss New Ideas
Some of the best new ideas come from a company's team members even though many of them are not implemented. Communicate to them and explain the reasoning behind the decision. Communication encourages them to keep submitting ideas and lets them know they are valued team members.

* Management Style
Each team member's work ethic, culture, and upbringing needs to be factored into your management style. The better understanding you have of the make-up of your team, the better you can motivate it.

* Create Career Opportunities Not Just Jobs
Providing team members with knowledge enriching opportunities, you will allow them to improve themselves and their skills. This makes the job more than just a job. It becomes a path for growth and advancement.

* Cultivating an Open and Sincere Work Environment
An open environment is when team members feel like any and every individual within the organization is approachable. Sincere surroundings are created when organizations do what they say. It's important to take the time and give your team honest answers to questions. In addition, a personalized note from the head of the company or department thanking a team member for going the extra mile makes an incredible impression and encourages continued behavior.

* Competitive Wages and Benefits
It is important to develop creative benefit offerings while tying them to the individual interests of each team member. A benefit that has little to no value to someone is not a benefit at all. It may be helpful to work with your business and community partners to create desirable benefit programs.

New Mexico companies were nominated by their team members who went online to take an anonymous survey. The surveys were scored by Quantum Market Research, an independent market research firm, and presented to the New Mexico Business Weekly. A total of 30 finalists from the Small Business, Medium Business and Large Business categories were honored at an event on December 3, 2009.

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About Santa Ana
The Pueblo of Santa Ana, located just minutes north of both Albuquerque and Rio Rancho, is home to many wonderful amenities; the Santa Ana Star Casino, featuring over 1,400 slot and video poker games, 26 tables games, live poker, Star Light Lanes Bowling Center, Smoke and Gift Shop, Feast Buffet, Cosmic Grill, Midnight Star Express, Snack Shack, and All Star Bar and Grill, over 30,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space, a 3,000 seat arena and three lounges. The Pueblo also offers one of the finest resort experiences in the Southwest; the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa, a four diamond resort recently named one of the top 75 hotels in America. Twin Warrior Golf Club and Santa Ana Golf Club, both located on the Pueblo, offer 45 holes of championship golf between them along with some the most spectacular views the city has to offer, The Prairie Star Restaurant is fine dining at its best and has been among the top restaurants in New Mexico for nearly 20 years. The Garden Center and Warrior Plaza Phillips 66 Fuel Travel Center round out the Pueblo's one of a kind offerings. For more information, please call (505) 867-0000 or visit www.SantaAnaStar.com.

For more information contact: Chris Chavez at (505) 797-6687 or cchavez@jameskorenchen.com