Lights, camera … casino

Published 5:03 pm Friday, June 3, 2011

A crew with the Lifetime show “Drop Dead Diva” films at the Wind Creek Casino & Hotel on Wednesday afternoon. The new season of the show premieres on Sunday, June 19.|Photo by Chandler Myers

Cameras were rolling and action called Wednesday at Wind Creek Casino & Hotel as the cast and crew from the Lifetime series “Drop Dead Diva” used the casino floor for the filming of an upcoming episode.

The show, which debuts its third season on Sunday, June 19, stars Brooke Elliott as attorney Jane Bingum, a woman who receives a second chance on life after her alter ego Deb played by Brooke D’Orsay died in a fatal automobile accident. According to the show’s official Web site, upon reaching Heaven, Deb convinces the gatekeeper to give her another chance except her second chance lands her in the body of the recently deceased Bingum.

Filming of the scenes took place directly on the gaming floor with customers still playing with only a small area cordoned for the show’s crew.

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Megan Young, public relations coordinator for Wind Creek Casino & Hotel, said the casino was contacted by the show about using the facility.

“Officials with ‘Drop Dead Diva,’ which is based out of Georgia, were looking for a casino to use for one of the episodes,’ she said. “They had called around to some area casinos and after speaking to us, things went from there.”

With extra security directing Wind Creek visitors to different areas of the game floor, wandering eyes were curious of what was taking place at the resort.

Things were kept tight-nit as not even security or the show’s crew would tell what TV show was using the casino for filming, but the secrecy only increased the excitement.

Young said having the show film at Wind Creek was something that no one expected to happen.

“It’s definitely surprising, but we did the best we could to accommodate them,” she said. “It’s an exciting thing to happen at Wind Creek because it’s not every day a TV show uses the casino to film an episode.”

The new season of “Drop Dead Diva” premieres at 8 p.m. on Sunday, June 19 on Lifetime.