Many acts of kindness

By Liz Benston (contact)

Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2006 | 7:14 a.m.

Las Vegas resident Laura Baker had never heard of Ameristar Casinos or Craig Neilsen when she received roughly $10,000 to lower her bathroom sink and remodel her shower to accommodate her wheelchair - a change that allowed Baker to more easily bathe and groom herself.

Baker is among hundreds of people around the country with spinal c ord injuries who have benefited from the quiet largesse of Neilsen - a shy, unassuming executive in an industry known for both monumental buildings and egos.

Neilsen, who died unexpectedly on Sunday at age 65, will be known in the gaming industry as a driven entrepreneur who leveraged his family's stake in two rural Nevada casinos to create one of the nation's largest and best-performing casino companies.

But it is his work outside of the casino industry - a philanthropic crusade stemming from an injury he rarely spoke of or acknowledged in public - that perhaps will be his most remembered legacy.

A car accident on a snowy road trip from his casinos in Jackpot to an office in Idaho left Neilsen a quadriplegic in 1985. He was just beginning to embark on a long-term plan to create a major casino enterprise. After a year of rehabilitation, he was back on the job running the Cactus Petes and Horseshu casinos and a separate real estate investment company in Idaho.

In 1987 Neilsen bought out the remaining casino shareholders and took Ameristar Casinos public in 1993.

Being confined to a wheelchair didn't get in the way of Neilsen expanding his business. Under his hands-on management, the company opened its first non-Nevada casino in Mississippi in 1994 and now owns seven casinos in five states. Technology enabled Neilsen to keep in constant contact with managers and other employees from his home office.

It's the kind of inspiring story that could make for an engaging book or in-depth article. But Neilsen, who didn't give interviews, was not one to discuss his accomplishments.

His greatest praise often came from competitors, who acknowledged that the company's investment in high-quality restaurants, entertainment and high-tech slot machines often yielded more profitable casinos.

"He was very energetic (and) a consummate planner in everything he did," said John Boushy, a 27-year veteran of Harrah's Entertainment who joined Ameristar as president in August and succeeds Neilsen as chief executive. "Despite his condition he accomplished what a lot of people would have loved to accomplish, under any circumstances."

Neilsen began a succession plan years ago to ensure that people who shared his goals carry on the company's growth plans. His controlling interest in the company's stock will be transferred to the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation. Neilsen's son, Ray Neilsen, and Ameristar Executive Vice President and Co-Chairman Gordon R. Kanofsky will serve as successor co-trustees of the foundation.

While many large companies have foundations, rarely has a company been able to make such a significant contribution toward a single cause.

Neilsen formed the nonprofit foundation in 2002 to direct money to research and treatment of spinal c ord injuries. The foundation has distributed about $7.5 million in grants to centers such as the Mayo Clinic and its study of nerve regeneration as well as rehabilitation efforts such as those at Denver's Craig Hospital, which has created creative activities for paraplegics including bowling and scuba diving. The money came at a critical time, advocates say, because of government cutbacks in medical research.

"Twenty years ago you'd pass people in wheelchairs and say, 'That's too bad.' Now there's so much hope out there," foundation Director Beth Goldsmith said.

Neilsen's commitment to philanthropy extended to the rank and file, resulting in one of the highest donation rates for a company of its size. Ameristar employees and matching corporate funds raised $9 million last year for nonprofit organizations of all stripes. The company's annual golf tournament - a way to encourage giving in the casino industry - raised more than $1 million for the Miami Project, the world's largest paralysis research center.

Donations from the foundation supported the National Spinal C ord Injury Association's inaugural summit last year, gathering thousands of families, patients and health care professionals nationwide.

Executive Director Marcie Roth calls Neilsen a "strong role model" for personal and financial success.

"At first I wasn't aware that he had a spinal c ord injury - I was stunned," Roth said.

In his home state, Neilsen's foundation has allowed hundreds with spinal injuries to receive therapy and home modifications that aren't covered by insurance or formerly required a two-year wait for state aid.

One of the primary recipients is Rebuilding All Goals Efficiently , a Las Vegas nonprofit organization that has received about $300,000 since 2004 and has served as a last resort for more than 60 Nevada residents over that period.

"It's had a major impact," its founder and Executive Director Reggie Bennett said.