Station Casinos marked its 50th anniversary by giving nearly 10,000 employees more than $70 million in company stock.
The Las Vegas casino operator said eligible full- and part-time workers would receive $1,000 worth of Red Rock Resorts Class A stock for every year they had worked at the company.
Some longtime employees received tens of thousands of dollars in shares. Ida Johnson, who joined the company in 1977, received $49,000 in stock, while six other employees who began working there in the 1970s each received more than $45,000.
Station Casinos began in 1976 with a small Las Vegas property that had 100 slot machines, six table games and 90 employees. Today, the company operates 14 properties across the Las Vegas Valley.
Executives said the stock award was designed to recognize employee loyalty and give workers a direct ownership stake in the company they helped build.