The TV and online marketing campaign currently advertises “Funner, California” as the location of the Harrah’s Resort Southern California.
It was there that the Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians and the casino last week celebrated 15 years of gaming on the reservation.
The tribal chairman, Bo Mazzetti, in commemorating those years that brought the tribe prosperity and political clout, good-naturedly observed “Funner is gooder.”
Mazzetti gave kudos to past chairmen and the tribal council for making the casino resort a success. “It’s the council working together that got us to where we are today. If you are a good council member you learn from those who came before,” he said.
He described the early days of gaming for the tribe. “We had no idea what we were doing,” he told the audience. “The very first gaming lawsuit in California was Rincon versus San Diego County in 1971—and we lost it! But we were the first.”
Also present was the “mayor” of Funner, David Hasselhoff, who is used in all of the marketing for Funner, which is described as a “place” rather than a word.
Hasselhoff, the star of TV’s Knight Rider and Bay Watch, which were must watch TV in the 1990s, said it wasn’t the money that persuaded him to become the spokesman for the tribe.
Hasselhoff spoke briefly; “The thing is that one man can make a difference. You guys are making a difference in peoples’ lives. That’s what Knight Rider was about and that is what you are about.”
Harrah’s General Manager Darrell Pilant also spoke to welcome the celebrates and to observe, “I hope you enjoy this event in Funner, California, the newest city in California.”
