Longtime Palace Station executive McNeill dies

Angela Soo

Wednesday, July 11, 2001 | 10:24 a.m.

Helping people is what Ernest McNeill did best throughout his life, his longtime friends say.

"He had a special knack for taking care of customers and handling people," Dick Favero, who worked with McNeill for 16 years, said.

McNeill worked at Palace Station for 21 years as a bingo manager first, and then as a marketing executive until his death Monday. He was 61.

Visitation will be today to 6:30 p.m. at Christ the King Catholic Church, 4925 Torrey Pines Drive. A rosary will follow at 7 p.m. Services will be 11 a.m. Thursday at the church.

Born March 20, 1940, in Galveston, Texas, McNeill spent his childhood playing football, baseball and basketball.

Longtime friend Eddie Maples remembered playing youth baseball with McNeill when they were 10 years old.

"We always played together, but never on the same team," Maples said. "I guess we were really playing against each other, but that never got in the way of us becoming friends."

In 1959 McNeill married his high school sweetheart, Linda Fertitta McNeill. Linda's brother, Frank Fertitta, founded the Palace Station and now is retired. Linda's nephew Frank Fertitta III today is chairman of the board of Station Casinos.

Early on, McNeill worked six days a week at Schrieber and Miller Furniture in Galveston to support his family. At the end of the day, he still found time to volunteer as an assistant football coach at his alma mater.

"If it weren't for him, Kirwin High School (Galveston, Texas) would have had difficulty financing its sports teams," Maples said, noting that McNeill ran nightly bingo games at the high school to raise money for various sports programs.

Life was good for a while, but McNeill wanted more for his kids, Maples said. So in 1980, he moved the family to Las Vegas for better opportunities.

"He moved out here to live a better life," Maples said, who flew from Texas to attend the funeral.

McNeill started working at the Palace Station the year he moved to Las Vegas.

Helping others came natural to McNeill, said Maples, who became a paraplegic 41 years ago after falling off a ladder.

"He's been an inspiration to me," Maples said. "Lots of times, friends will desert those who have had such an accident. But it was after my accident that we became closer friends."

McNeill is survived by his mother, Anne Fassetta NcNeill of Galveston, Texas; his wife, Linda Fertitta McNeill of Las Vegas; one daughter, Gwen McNeill Finch of Las Vegas; two sons, Ernie McNeill of Las Vegas and Frank McNeill of San Diego; and six grandchildren.