Day 1 Boulder Station employees get throwback bonus for anniversary
Nanette Houston had one word to describe what the opening day of Boulder Station was like 30 years ago:
“Zoo,” the beverage server remembers succinctly.
Customers then were eager to see the new property, Station Casinos’ first venture outside of what is now Palace Station. Houston recalled lines out the front door and a full parking lot.
For staying with the property three decades, Houston and 38 other day-one employees of Boulder Station were surprised with $1,994 bonuses to acknowledge their dedication to the eastside hotel-casino that celebrates its 30th anniversary in business on Friday.
Boulder Station opened Aug. 23, 1994, kicking off years of expansion into the Las Vegas Valley for Station Casinos. But for Houston — who met her husband while working at the Boulder Highway casino — and other day-one employees, the property has always felt like home.
While the company has expanded through building or acquiring more than a dozen resort-casinos since 1994, valet supervisor Christopher Sanglay said his peers and customers are what have kept him at the same property three decades later.
“It’s not just the team members but also the guests – they become our family, too,” he said. “We know what’s going on with them, who had a baby, who’s got a birthday and is there to celebrate at the Broiler.”
Chris Gellner, Boulder Station’s general manager, said the workers’ attitude toward the environment made it a go-to locals place on the Las Vegas Valley’s east side.
Gellner said the bonuses were part of a larger promotional push for the anniversary. The property is also offering “throwback pricing” in the form of $1 margaritas and $1.99 shrimp cocktails.
“The Fertitta family, when they founded Station Casinos, they founded it based on what I’ve always referred to as a ‘Cheers’ environment,” Gellner said. “A place you can go where you know your bartender, you know your slot host, you know your table games dealer. When you think about 39 day-one team members here at Boulder specifically, I think it speaks volumes to what we do as a company in our culture.”
Contact McKenna Ross at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X.