Station Casinos marked its 50th anniversary on September 9 by announcing a stock award worth more than $70 million for nearly 10,000 full- and part-time employees, according to Casino.org and CDC Gaming.
Workers will receive $1,000 in Red Rock Resorts Inc. (NASDAQ: RRR) Class A common stock for every year of service, with distribution set to begin September 14. Both outlets report the award covers employees on the payroll as of September 9.
The announcement came during a ceremony at Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa in Summerlin, Nevada, CDC Gaming reports. Red Rock Resorts Chairman and CEO Frank Fertitta III and Vice Chairman Lorenzo Fertitta presented the grants.
Fertitta III said the company’s founding principles centered on serving the local community and taking care of team members, adding that the award reflects those values. Lorenzo Fertitta called the payout an investment in the company’s workforce, both outlets report.
Longest-tenured employees see largest payouts
Ida Johnson, who joined the company in 1977 when it operated as Bingo Palace, is set to receive $49,000 in stock, according to both Casino.org and CDC Gaming. Seven other employees who started at Bingo Palace in the 1970s will each receive more than $45,000 in equity.
The Fertitta family retains control of Red Rock Resorts through Class B super-voting shares, which carry 10 votes apiece and give the brothers roughly 90% of total voting power, Casino.org reports. The employee award is being issued entirely in Class A common stock, which carries one vote per share.
Supreme Court declines Culinary Union appeal
The stock grant comes days after the U.S. Supreme Court denied an emergency appeal from Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa, leaving in place an order requiring the property’s management to recognize and bargain with Culinary Workers Union Local 226, according to Casino.org. The National Labor Relations Board ruled in 2022 that Station Casinos unlawfully interfered with a unionization vote by raising wages and benefits shortly before employees cast ballots. Station has denied the allegations.
With the high court declining to intervene, Red Rock management is now required to begin good-faith contract negotiations with Culinary, which represents about 60,000 hospitality workers across Las Vegas and Reno, Casino.org reports.
CDC Gaming notes the anniversary celebration began July 1 at Palace Station with a fireworks display and the debut of a new company brand campaign, and that the September 9 event also paid tribute to company founder Frank Fertitta Jr.
