Station Casinos has been recognized as the first Review-Journal Business Spotlight Award winner for its consistent high finishes as one of the Top Workplaces in Nevada.
Station continues to rank No. 1 among Nevada’s casino operators. Top Workplaces are decided by a survey of employees, and Station Casinos team members continue to rate their experiences highly. The company is known for its benefit packages and its philanthropy not only at the corporate level but among its employees, who give back to the community.
Stephen Cootey, executive vice president and chief financial officer for Red Rock Resorts, spoke about the company in that regard during its third quarter earnings call with Wall Street analysts.
“We want to take a moment to sincerely thank all of our team members for their continued hard work and dedication,” Cootey said. “Our success begins with them. They are the driving force behind the exceptional guest experience that keeps our guests coming back time and again. Thanks to their efforts, we are proud to have been recognized with multiple accolades, including being voted top casino employer in the Las Vegas Valley for five consecutive years, certified as a great place to work for four years running, and named one of America’s best in-state employers by Forbes for the second year in a row. We are also honored as a top place to work by USA Today and recently recognized by Newsweek as one of America’s greatest workplaces in Nevada.”
Chris Smith, senior vice president of human resources, said in an interview, that the company is proud to be a finalist for five consecutive years for the Review-Journal Top Workplaces. He said it’s four things that distinguish Station Casinos that make it a Top Workplace.
* First, he said it’s their family culture. The company does two surveys a year and the No. 1 comment they hear is how people enjoy working for the company because of the family feel.
“I think that goes back to the founding of the company 50 years ago and goes to how we built our culture throughout the years through relationships,” Smith said. “A lot of our team members have been here for 10-plus years. They started at Palace Station and moved around the company.”
* Second, Smith said the company has done a great job of investing in team members, especially through their benefits program and competitive pay program. For any team member who earns under $110,000 a year, their medical benefits are free, and that includes them and their families.
With those benefits, they have medical centers located in Las Vegas run by Intermountain Health that team members and their dependents have exclusive access. In most cases, they can get in to see a doctor within 48 hours if not sooner. These centers offer free generic prescriptions and free lab work.
“We offer one of the best benefit plans and health plans in the whole state,” Smith said.
The company offers dental and vision plans for free for those who make $41,600 or less.
Station Casinos also has paid parental leave for any team member that has a child or parent and gets up to six months of paid leave. It was implemented in 2024.
As part of its benefits, Station Casinos offers a unique 401(k) program. The company provides a 50 percent match on a pre-tax or Roth contribution up to 4 percent of pay.
Station Casinos also provides a contribution in addition to the traditional plan. It contributes $0.50 per hour to the team member plan based on every hour worked after one year of employment through 24 years of service. After that, it contributes $1 per hour worked until retirement.
“No other gaming company in our field is doing this,” Smith said.
Station Casinos pays 100 percent of the cost associated with gaining citizenship for its team members. Over the last three years, nearly 200 team members have obtained their citizenship.
* Third, Station Casinos has done a lot of great work around training and developing team members, Smith said. That includes leadership training and how people are brought into the company.
“One of the highest scores we receive in our survey is how we welcome people into our organization,” Smith said. “From a leadership perspective, what we’ve seen over the last four years is a great increase in how team members feel about their leaders and their boss. A lot of that ties back into the training we have done. We have an environment that’s continuous learning and training to be successful in their jobs.”
* Fourth is a commitment to the community, Smith said. Station Casinos has made a concerted effort to get team members involved in the community. Each property will host a volunteerism month and team members have done a variety of things around the community such as volunteering at Three Square.
“One of our properties was heavily involved with the Ronald McDonald House,” Smith said. “What it has led to has led to a great increase in volunteer hours for our company. We think it will go higher this year because we have a lot of events planned for the back half of the year with the holidays. What we have seen is that our team members have noticed that and appreciate what we are doing in the community. It’s a reason why people come to work for us because they see all of that work we are doing. It’s a big part of our culture.”
As part of that effort, Station Casinos offers paid time off that can be used in two-hour increments.
Station Casinos recently donated $120,000 to the Public Education Foundation and has 11 partner schools in the valley for various programs. It also donated $100,000 to Three Square.
