Station Casinos’ more than 10,000 full- and part-time employees got a financial surprise Wednesday they’ll be talking about for years.
Top executives of parent company Red Rock Resorts said in a company gathering that every employee will receive $1,000 worth of company stock for every year they’ve worked for the company. It’s a $70 million corporate commitment to distribute the awards.
Red Rock Resorts stock closed at $55.02 a share Wednesday on the Nasdaq exchange.
The awards and the celebration were part of the culmination of the observance of the company’s 50-year anniversary, officially celebrated July 1.
Chairman and CEO Frank Fertitta III and Vice Chairman Lorenzo Fertitta, Frank’s brother, took the stage in a ballroom at Red Rock Resort and told about 700 ecstatic employees covered in confetti in the glow of a pyrotechnic finale that they were being thanked for their loyal service to their jobs and the millions of customers the company has served since 1976.
Employees had no idea they were receiving stock shares or any kind of reward. To them, they were just attending an end-of-celebration party.
“We had no idea this was going to happen,” said Paula Barrett, a beverage server at Palace Station. “No one knew anything in advance, even my supervisor. It was a well-kept secret.”
Barrett said she plans to take in what happened and be thankful “for working for this company. What an honor and a privilege it is.”
The Fertittas also saluted Somnuk “Nick” Kountapanya, who started at Bingo Palace in 1979 in food and beverage before transitioning to valet.
“This was a surprise,” he said. “I thought we were just going to come over and celebrate our 50 years. Now, I’m going to go home and tell my wife that I have a big, big surprise.”
At one point, the executives welcomed seven employees that worked for the company in the 1970s to the stage, including Ida Johnson, the longest tenured employee who began her career there in 1977.
In an exclusive interview with the Review-Journal after the event, the Fertitta brothers said the idea to make all employees shareholders was something that evolved as the two planned out the best way to reward loyal team members.
“We got together and we said, ‘Look, it’s the 50th anniversary. It’s a big deal. We want to celebrate the right way,’” Lorenzo Fertitta said.
“The team members are the reason that this company has been so successful in this city,” Frank Fertitta added. “And we wanted to do something incredibly special that would really make a difference in their lives for all the years of service that they’ve given the company.”
They said they initially thought about just saluting the longest-tenured company employees, but agreed that wouldn’t be fair to those who may have fallen one day short of the cutoff.
“Eventually, we just decided to recognize everybody, even if they’ve only been working for us for a day,” Lorenzo said.
Station President Scott Kreeger and the Fertittas, through videos and photos, told the gathering how the company started with one outlet, known as The Casino and Bingo Palace in its earliest days.
The company has now grown to seven neighborhood casinos and 16 more smaller outlets with the Wildfire brand and it’s now branching out with a new tavern model called Seventy Six Taverns.
A map showing the location of the company’s properties as well as six locations where the company owns land for future development was displayed. But the brothers said the day was going to be more about looking back at success and congratulating team members rather than predicting where the next Station Casino will be built.
The brothers also introduced their mother, Victoria, wife to patriarch Frank Fertitta Jr., and who attended the 45-minute gathering.
“Believe me, she was as much part of the success of where we are today as he was,” Frank Fertitta said.
“Our father built Station Casinos around taking care of people, and that has never changed,” added Lorenzo Fertitta. “Our team members have grown with us and helped shape who we are. We are proud to recognize them and give them the opportunity to share in the company’s future.”
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.
