LAST SATURDAY MARKED the launch of our Stations Socials – periodic events designed for us connect with our online fans and followers for some shop-talk, drinks and laughs. Judging from the feedback we are receiving on twitter and facebook, we’re onto something pretty cool.

If you’ve never been to a meet-up (or, for our twitter users, a “tweetup”), you should know that it’s sometimes kind of awkward at first. Many fans & followers know one another by online nicknames, tiny pictures or even logos, but this is the first time they meet IRL (In Real Life). Others are old friends from previous get-togethers. Each is a representative & spokesperson for their beloved followers, be it five or 50,000.

Our team received a tip that one of our guests, Chris (a.k.a @24k) had a birthday last weekend. Sunset Station‘s Marketing and Food & Beverage teams went above and beyond to build a delicious monster-sized birthday cake and helped us arrange a backstage meet & greet with Nawgahyde – Sunset Station’s most outrageous rock band. We were really lucky to have the ‘Nawg on board with this event. Nawgahyde plays a truly jaw-dropping show every Saturday in Club Madrid to a packed house, so it was an easy choice for the setting for our debut tweetup. (Check out my review of a past Nawgahyde show here).

These events are a great time, but they’re not all fun & games. The serious message we want to send is that Station Casinos realizes our social fans are not simply numbers. We always do our best to connect with you on a personal level and listen to what you have to say (trust us: the feedback we receive is not always pretty – but it’s never ignored). What we know for sure is this: our fans are really FANS!

Although social media is relatively fresh in the gaming industry, we’re lucky that we didn’t have to start our network from scratch. We kind of had a 33-year head start. Station Casinos has built a family of Las Vegas-area guests who love to stay and play with us week after week. This, in part, makes it easy for us to reward fans with good times and great deals. Moving forward, we assure you that we’re listening to where and how these rewards occur.

In the meantime, you should get connected, if you’re not already. Entertainment has rewards for any music lover – ask the winner of $200 Smokey Robinson tickets. Everybody loves a great steak – especially the 6 (and counting) steak-dinner-winners from the Charcoal Room from our Food & Beverage Department. Our rewards are not just for locals. Our facebook fans are booking offers “For Our Fans Only” all the time, courtesy of our Hotel Directors.

Please leave us comments and let us know where you would like to see a future social meetup. When you would like to attend, and what types of perks you’d like to enjoy while you’re there. We always have things in the works – so, again, stay connected with us on twitter and facebook so you don’t miss our next event, giveaway or hotel offer!