A Las Vegas Casino Called 10,000 Employees To A Party To Celebrate Its 50th Anniversary. Then It Gave Them $70 Million
Station Casinos gathered nearly 10,000 employees at one of its Las Vegas resorts to celebrate the company's 50th anniversary, and nobody who showed up had any idea what was about to happen. Owners Frank Fertitta III and Lorenzo Fertitta, whose father Frank Jr. founded the company's flagship Bingo Palace in 1976, announced that every single employee would receive $1,000 in Red Rock Resorts company stock for each year they had worked at the company, totaling more than $70 million in gifts distributed across the workforce. An employee with one year of service received $1,000. An employee with ten years received $10,000. An employee with 47 years of service, like Paula Barrett, received $47,000. Barrett has worked for the company essentially her entire career, has had opportunities to go elsewhere, and did not. When asked why she stayed, she said: we're all comfortable. This is home for us. We love it here. We love our management here. She described receiving the bonus check as a complete honor. Frank Fertitta III said the company was founded on serving the local community, delivering great value, and most importantly taking care of team members, and that the $70 million award was not just a recognition of contributions but an investment in the nearly 10,000 people whose dedication and commitment the family is deeply thankful for.
Seven employees have been with the company for 45 years or more. Ida Johnson, who joined shortly after the Bingo Palace opened in 1977, received $49,000 worth of stock, which at the current dividend payout will generate an additional $886 every year for as long as she holds the shares. Red Rock Resorts Class A stock trades at approximately $54.49 per share. The moment the announcement was made, videos spread across social media showing employees in tears, employees hugging each other, and employees on their phones trying to reach family members to tell them what had just happened. The structure of the bonus, $1,000 per year of service rather than a flat amount, is a deliberate design choice: it rewards loyalty specifically, meaning the people who have given the most years get the most back, rather than distributing money equally regardless of tenure. For a housekeeper who started in 1995 or a dealer who joined in 2001, the math produces a number that changes something. The Fertitta family built Station Casinos over 50 years into one of the largest regional gaming companies in the United States. The anniversary party lasted one afternoon. The stock will keep paying dividends long after the party ends.
