Jason Warrior was the winner of Wind Creek Chicago Southland’s Sing Your Way to $100 K vocal competition. The Grand Finale was the dramatic conclusion to this inaugural event marking the 10th month of operation for the casino, resort, dining and entertainment center.
Wind Creek is the area’s newest and brightest entertainment attraction with its casino of over 700,000 square feet of space for the ultimate gaming experience. The destination is complete with a luxury hotel and spa and a boundless array of dining experiences. The gaming center and resort offers live entertainment to complete the experience. Highlighting local talent, the Wind Creek Sing Your Way to$100 K event brought out some stellar talent to the competition. The Grand Finale event, hosted by Wind Creek Executive VP and GM Roger Kuehn and Brent Pinkston COO, Wind Creek Hospitality, featured a celebrity panel of judges. including Vicky Aguilera of Univision Radio’s WPPN-FM 106.7 and WOJO-FM 105.1, and Jennifer Farina from Audacy’s WBMX-FM 104.3 JAMS.
Warrior, in accepting the prize, said “I was fortunate to have the “encouragement of my family, friends and supporters which motivated me to enter.”
“I wanted to share my journey and let my music reflect the power of faith, perseverance and love.”
As far as winning the competition, Warrior said, “What set me apart was my heart. My goal was for the audience to not just hear the music, but to truly feel the emotion and sincerity behind it.”
There were 12 semifinalists, all from across Chicago and the Southland who performed for a chance at a $100,000 grand prize. Five of the semifinalist will receive cash prizes ranging from $7,500 to $25,000.
The Judges set a particularly high bar. According to Aguilera, Warrior cleared it with inches to spare. “What stood out to me was the intensity of his tone and delivery. The winner didn’t hold back. He stepped off the stage and connected with the audience, which was a very important factor in my decision. His voice and singing style were spectacular. He showed me that he understood what it means to be on stage and that he felt this competition was serious and high-level.
And Farina, noted that Warrior stood out by making his performance his own. “He had a very unique quality that was infectious and energetic. His vocals were a 10 out of 10. He gave it everything he had and it showed.
Kuehn said he wanted to bring the Sing Your Way to $100K competition to Chicago Southland because of, in his words, “the incredible undiscovered talent in this area.” The response for the competition was overwhelming.
“After hosting a successful Sing Your Way to $100 K event at Wind Creek’s Florida property, Magic City Casino in Miami, we decided that the competition is a perfect way to engage the community by providing these talented individuals with a well-deserved platform. Not only did we provide some meaningful exposure to some seriously talented individuals, we provided our guests with a highly entertaining experience. Hopefully, after this competition and the notoriety, this will be just one of many future opportunities on their horizon.
“The voices of our competitors really captivated our guests on the casino floor. The Sing Your Way competition is just one of the avenues we’re exploring to raise the bar here at Wind Creek,” said Kuehn.
dwight@thetimesweekly.com
