At 10 p.m., each Friday through the end of May, Pechanga Resort Casino will select a contestant to receive a Grand Finale Lucky Key. On May 30, twenty finalists will compete for a chance to turn the final key to the dream home’s front door so they can win, and move in, resort spokesperson Ciara Green told Patch.

“That’s their ticket back to the final drawing, hosted by TV personality Ty Pennington, for the four-bedroom, three-bath, gated community house in the beautiful Temecula Valley,” she said. And, the prize package is just getting more valuable.”The home sits on a sizable corner lot, surrounded by the amenities of the Prado community,” a resort spokesperson explained. The detached, single-family home offers a spacious, open-concept floor plan, chef-inspired kitchen, energy-efficient features, all appliances, window coverings, and ample outdoor space. The community features a pool, clubhouse, BBQs, picnic shelters and parks. The Prado Community is located off Ynez Road near the Harveston community, across from the Promenade Temecula Mall.

According to Rocket.com, home prices in Temecula have gone up since March of 2024 by 6.2 percent.

In April 2024, Temecula made Money magazine’s list of “50 Best Places to Live in the U.S.” That list pointed to cities with thriving local economies that were affordable, diverse, and had a rich quality of life. For Temecula, it was “the perfect place to raise a glass (and a family),” according to the article. Redfin has named the Southwest Riverside County city “a hot home market,” adding that 26 percent of homes accept an offer within one week.

Pechanga guests say they are enthusiastic about the Home Sweet Home giveaway and are pleased with the casino/resort’s contribution to Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles alongside the promotion, according ot Sean Vasquez, President of the Pechanga Development Corporation.

“We’re very excited about our upcoming giveaway with the house, but in light of everything that’s happened to our friends and family in Los Angeles in the wildfires, we’d be remiss if we didn’t help by giving back in another way,” he said. “So we’re giving $50,000 to help our friends at Habitat LA enrich and help strengthen our communities so we can build back better.”

Vasquez said Pechanga also gave $500,000 to four charities to assist fire victims shortly after the January fires broke out.

“I’ve known for a long time about Pechanga’s generosity and their partnership with Habitat for Humanity in their local community,” said Erin Rank, President and CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Greater LA. “When I was contacted by my friend who works closely with Pechanga every year, she told me the company was interested in supporting Habitat LA after these wildfires raged through our community. I was very touched because I know there’s a lot of support for Pechanga from the Los Angeles community and to feel that coming back from Pechanga to the residents of Los Angeles was really meaningful.”

“They’re also giving back to the community that supports them and I think that’s the way it should always be,” said Ty Pennington, television personality and host of Pechanga’s Home Sweet Win house giveaway. “If they win, we win. You help your neighbor and Pechanga is exactly that kind of family to work with.”

Pennington will take the stage at Pechanga Resort Casino for the Home Sweet Win Grand Finale on Friday, May 30. Known for his roles on many television home improvement shows, including a new show debuting on April 14, and for his charitable work with Habitat for Humanity, Pechanga recognized him as an ideal spokesperson for the three-month promotion.

Guests can enter and have a chance to win the new up through Friday, May 30.

Entrants must be 21 or older and must be a Pechanga Club member. Signing up for The Club is free and easy. Simply stop by the Club desk inside Pechanga, and one is on his or her way to earning valuable perks.

Every time a Pechanga guest plays with the Club card inserted into a slot machine or at a table game, they automatically earn entries. To win, guests must come into Pechanga on Fridays to activate their entries by inserting the Club card into a slot machine, Green said. The weekly hosts announce one finalist, chosen at random, each week. There will even be finalists selected on the Grand Finale day.

For more information, visit Pechanga.com/homegiveaway or call 888-PECHANGA.

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Soboba Foundation President Dondi Silvas was one of many volunteers at the two events, held on Nov. 20 and Nov. 21. She was thankful for all the other volunteers that showed up to help make both days a huge success.

“For me personally, being able to hand out Thanksgiving dinners to families in our valley has truly been a humbling experience,” she said. “2020 has been crazy and everyone has experienced difficult times but seeing the gratitude on the faces of families receiving these Thanksgiving dinners was such a blessing. I want to give a special thank you to Soboba’s Sponsorship Coordinator Andrew Vallejos and the Food and Beverage team at the Soboba Casino Resort plus a huge shoutout to Sysco Foods for working diligently on our request to help make Soboba Foundation’s dream a reality.”

The meal box pickups began at 1 p.m. on Nov. 20 at the Hemet Unified School District office as previously identified families who were given vouchers lined up to drive through and receive their meal boxes that contained cans of yams, cranberry sauce, corn, green beans and gravy. Dinner rolls and bags of cornbread stuffing mix filled out the pre-packaged boxes. Frozen items were delivered to pallets as the event began so that each family also received a 22-pound turkey, a bag of seasoned mashed potatoes and a pumpkin pie.

Soboba Tribal Council Sergeant at arms Daniel Valdez stayed busy loading meal boxes into trunks and trucks for Hemet families during the four-hour giveaway.

“I love that Soboba gives back as much as it does – it’s great to help out the community,” he said.

Although Vince Record works at SJUSD, he volunteered to work traffic control during HUSD’s drive-thru event. He is the current chairman of Hemet San Jacinto Chamber of Commerce, which supports both districts and businesses within both cities. About five other chamber board members volunteered at both events.

“We appreciate the generosity of Soboba and we are happy to do what we can to help – it’s a worthy cause,” he said.

Miriam Ortiz, a Parent Engagement Specialist at HUSD, said most school sites have parent liaisons who were able to identify their neediest families. Despite distance learning being in place, staff has done what it can to stay in touch with students.

“For people in my type of role, it’s heartbreaking not to be able to connect families to resources,” she said. “That’s why today is so important. We have had to say ‘no’ so many times this year it’s exciting to be able to say ‘yes’ to something for them.”

Ortiz said more than 900 turkey meal boxes were prepared to give out to families with students at the Hemet-area schools and that HUSD’s nutrition services staff delivered 50 meal boxes to outlying schools in Idyllwild and Anza.

“We are extremely grateful for the generous donation that we received from the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians Foundation, our community partners that served as volunteers, and all of the HUSD staff that made this joyful event possible,” she said.

Working with local agencies, the Soboba Foundation was also able to donate meal boxes to needy families that don’t have children attending schools in either district. Churches and other nonprofits were able to identify people who are struggling and were grateful to be included. Valley Community Pantry Executive Director Jim Lineberger said he was surprised and excited to receive the complete meal boxes. He said that because of COVID his agency did not receive an expected 175 turkeys, so this donation was a real blessing. He said the 250 meals were primarily given to people whose businesses were affected by COVID, such as cooks, waitresses and waiters currently not able to work.

“Soboba has always been one of the largest supporters of our organization,” Lineberger said. “They always seem to come through when sometimes we feel nothing will happen this year. We love the long partnership and not just what they do for us, but for this entire valley.”

The following day, a drive-thru event was held at San Jacinto High School. Cars were greeted by SJUSD staff with festive signs as they drove in front of the Soboba Aquatic Center to redeem vouchers provided to the students’ families. The parking lot was set up in an assembly line fashion, starting with an empty box that was wheeled on a cart to each stop to have one of the “trimmings” added. About 150 volunteers turned out to assist in the process and greet families as they drove through the line while upbeat music played from loudspeakers.

Riverside County Sheriff’s Captain Leonard Purvis said he felt the giveaways were an excellent way for the communities to come together for something positive.

“I’m so happy to see all the smiles as the vehicles pull up,” he said. “This is the real deal. Soboba doesn’t just donate – they are not shy about getting in and digging deep with everyone chipping in. There are Tribal Council members here and some from the Soboba Foundation – it’s amazing.”

Soboba Tribal Council Chairman Isaiah Vivanco said last year only turkeys were given away.

“We had this idea that with everything going on this year, we wanted to make a bigger difference in the community and provide entire Thanksgiving meals,” he said. “We worked in partnership with the cities and school districts like we’ve done in the past – it’s just bigger than before. It’s awesome that we have all this support here.”

Tribal Council Secretary Monica Herrera said she was happy to help out for such a good cause and felt the logistics were well thought out, allowing hundreds of vehicles to move through the lines quickly and efficiently.

“Soboba is always there to help out the community – it’s great,” San Jacinto Deputy City Manager Tom Prill said as he added dinner rolls to the passing meal boxes.

A mom whose child attends an SJUSD school contacted school board member Jasmin Rubio to share her gratitude.

“I was so beyond touched by this act of kindness,” the young mother wrote. “I was in tears by the time they were loading up my car. I was truly blessed, as was my family. I felt so loved; it made my heart so glad. I can’t thank Soboba and the school district for everything they did. It truly meant the world to us. We all miss normal, but my heart was filled today.”

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