Fund-raiser helps local rescue shelter organizations

Margaritaville Resort Casino proudly declares October “Paws in Paradise!” This is the Third Annual Paws In Paradise for the casino, and the month-long effort is designed to bring awareness and raise money for numerous animal rescue and shelter organizations in the area and offer a fun alternative for local pet adoption.

Giving back to the community is something that is close to both the leadership and the associates at Margaritaville Resort and Casino – especially this particular effort.

“Since the beginning, Margaritaville has fostered a culture of community giving – we all live and work here, and we want to help make it a wonderful place to live,” said Leslie Peck, advertising and publicity manager for Margaritaville Resort Casino. “Our employees donate their time and resources to the Northwest Louisiana Food Bank, the Veterans Home, American Cancer Society, and so many others. Paws In Paradise is important to us because so many of our coworkers are animal lovers, and the more we talked about helping local rescues, the more employees wanted to be a part of it. It started with our General Manager Barry Regula’s rescue dogs, and it has blossomed into a company-wide passion.”

Paws in Paradise offers a variety of interactive, pet-themed events throughout the month including the $20,000 Paws in Paradise Slot Tournament. The tournament is held every Thursday in October, and for a $10 buy-in donation that benefits the participating animal rescues, players will have a chance to win $5,000 bonus play.

Other events include a fund-raiser where paper “paws” are sold for $1 to players at retail and dining outlets, Players Club and the hotel front desk, a most photogenic contest, and an adoption event. Peck said the players at Margaritaville love the event and look forward to it year after year.

“We have amazing guests, and they greatly contribute to the fund-raising by playing in the weekly Paws slot tournaments, purchasing the paper paws sold at all Margaritaville outlets, and attending the adoption event. Plus, several gave rescue pets new homes, which is what the event is all about,” said Peck.

Margaritaville is bringing back the Most Photogenic Pet contest, where the public is invited to enter their pet’s photograph on the Margaritaville Facebook page to win a $250 gift card to PetSmart.

The Third Annual Paws in Paradise Adoption Event is from 2-6 p.m. Nov. 5 in Margaritaville’s Paradise Theater. This event is open to the public and will showcase area rescue pets available for adoption. Guests are welcome to bring their pets and enter them into the animal costume contest. There will also be low-cost microchipping, Faces Alive face painting, and food and drinks for purchase available. Net proceeds from these sales will be added to the slot tournament buy-in donations and distributed to the participating rescues.

According to Barry Regula, SVP and general manager for Margaritaville, “The culmination of our month-long ‘Paws in Paradise’ events is the Nov. 5 fund-raiser and adoption in Paradise Theater. We’ll have numerous local animal rescues and their adoptable pets in attendance, and this is the public’s chance to find the perfect pet for themselves and their family. There are so many animals in our area that need good homes. Giving the community a new way to adopt pets and raise money for the rescues is what Paws in Paradise are all about.”