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STEVE MARCUS / LAS VEGAS SUN FILE
The Fertitta brothers, Lorenzo, left, and Frank attend the groundbreaking for Aliante Station last year. Now, as their company flounders with a recession deepening, they are running out of options as they try to stave off a bankruptcy filing.
Friday, Dec. 26, 2008 | 2 a.m.
Sun Archives
- Station, Harrah’s to bondholders: Help us refinance (12-9-2008)
- Denny’s makes inroads at Station properties (12-5-2008)
- Station debt to take bite of workers’ benefit (12-2-2008)
Beyond the Sun
Station Casinos is hoping business will be strong in the coming weeks and that customers use some of the company’s coupons and offers flooding airwaves and mailboxes.
The company’s viability depends on it.
Executives aren’t saying much these days. Yet recent financial disclosures are speaking volumes about the company’s declining health and indicate that the company is running out of options as it fends off a bankruptcy filing.
Last month, analysts were hopeful that holders of Station Casinos bonds would help the company ride out the recession by allowing the company to refinance the bonds at discounted rates, thus saving the company millions of dollars in interest costs.
Bondholders, many represented by lawyers, dashed such hopes when they rejected the offer about three weeks later.
Squeezed by a prolonged consumer recession that is hurting the company’s ability to pay down more than $5 billion in debt accumulated during the credit boom, Station Casinos is burning through cash needed to run the company.
Last week Station drew down on its last chunk of cash, a $257 million revolving line of credit.
Many companies are choosing to borrow available funding now on fears that banks, struggling to fix their own cash crunch, won’t lend the money when needed.
Station’s move was expected. By having too much debt on its balance sheet, the company is expected to violate the terms of a $900 million bank loan before the end of the year, which would allow lenders to cut off access to the money. Getting the cash now, analysts say, could give the company more leverage in a bankruptcy restructuring.
Standard & Poor’s cut Station Casinos’ secured debt rating to “CCC” from “B-” after bondholders rejected the exchange offer last week. S&P also put the company’s “CC” bond credit rating on CreditWatch with negative implications.
By comparison, S&P had a “CCC” credit rating, one notch higher than Station’s “CC” rating, on Herbst Gaming until May, when Herbst missed an interest payment and became insolvent.
Station will violate the terms of its bank loans this quarter unless it can amend them, S&P said. Violating such terms could trigger a bankruptcy.
The company, which declined to comment, is negotiating with its lenders.
“We are skeptical that any amendment to the credit facility that does not include a significant equity infusion will allow Station to meet debt service requirements over the intermediate term,” S&P analyst Ben Bubeck said.
Whether Station will become the largest local victim of the global downturn might come down to whether the Fertitta family, which founded the company and owns about 24 percent of it today, is willing to write a big check, as Las Vegas Sands Chief Executive Sheldon Adelson did last month to keep his company afloat.
Adelson’s $1 billion cash infusion prevented the company from defaulting on its bank loans.
The amount of cash Station’s Fertitta family, or their investment partners, Colony Capital, might offer under such a scenario is an open question, especially because Colony is facing problems with countless other real estate investments that have been pummeled in this economy. Those include its Resorts Atlantic City casino, which recently missed an interest payment.
(Station Casinos’ Aliante Station and Green Valley Ranch casinos are joint ventures between the company and the Greenspun family, which owns the Las Vegas Sun.)
Some analysts think the Fertittas will do whatever they can to prop up the company they helped to build. It’s unknown how much of the Fertittas’ cash isn’t tied up in other investments, such as their Ultimate Fighting Championship franchise.
Such equity could become worthless in a bankruptcy.
One option available to casino companies such as MGM Mirage, which is selling Treasure Island to raise cash, doesn’t make sense for more highly-leveraged companies like Station.
Like many homeowners whose mortgages are higher than the value of their homes, Station’s properties are worth less than their value relative to the company’s debt. Selling properties wouldn’t make much of dent in that debt and would reduce the earnings the properties generate. In any case, few buyers have the cash or the ability to get licensed.
As of Sept. 30, Station said it was paying about a dollar in interest for every $2 in earnings, leaving very little to spare on operations. According to terms with bank lenders, that ratio can’t fall below a dollar of interest for every $1.75 in earnings through the end of this year.
Starting March 31, the company will be required to make more money relative to its interest payments.
Also, those terms state that Station can’t have more than $8 in debt to every dollar of earnings through the end of this year, with that maximum falling next year. As of Sept. 30, the company had $7.40 in debt to every earnings dollar.
Meeting such requirements will be difficult, if not impossible, if the recession continues until at least mid-2009 or 2010, as experts predict. As business has tanked, so has the cost of doing business.
Station has cut the cost of comps for gamblers, trimmed staff, reduced restaurant hours and closed company-owned restaurants that have been replaced by tenants. From January through Sept. 30, the company has slashed casino expenses by 5 percent and food and beverage costs by 10 percent. (Room expenses went up 10 percent on a 2 percent decline in room revenue.)
Overall, expenses rose slightly on a 7 percent decline in revenue over those nine months.
The company with the most to gain from the once-stunning growth of the Las Vegas market is now the one with the most to lose, relative to competitors.
Station has become the casino equivalent of well-meaning homeowners who took on debt with the hope that they could refinance their mortgages and make more money in the future.
Homes aren’t supposed to be money-making investments. Yet the leveraged buyout of Station Casinos was envied as a seemingly no-lose proposition that could make its owners fabulously wealthy by using borrowed money, paying that down relatively quickly and taking the company public again years later.
This was the cutting edge of financial engineering and a new era for private equity funds such as Colony Capital that are known for making opportunistic takeovers of distressed companies.
Unlike some of Colony’s targets, Station wasn’t a company in decline. Those who bought Station stock during its formative years as a small casino company made lots of money when it sold for $90 per share. Yet it seemed a relatively small price to pay at the time for a company generating consistently strong earnings with an unrivaled pipeline of future casinos.
Colony and the Fertittas — two entities thought to be among the most knowledgeable about their respective industries — were taken by surprise.
So were bondholders, who commonly seek legal representation when they smell trouble and are now in the driver’s seat.
I respect the Sun for having the guts to do this story, mainly because the Greenspuns own half (or some lesser portion) of Alliante and Green Valley Stations.
This doesn't bode well for Stations as a whole.
Let's say you're a slot machine/video poker player. Armed with the knowledge that Stations is hurting badly for cash, you're probably not likely to put much money in their machines. Players will assume they're not going to have a ghost of a chance of winning against a company that needs every penny for its very survival.
It's like buying a GM car if you're afraid the company is going belly-up. Customers will run to your competitors at top speed, whether it's Toyota, Honda, Sam's Town or Boyd Gaming. Although who knows what's going on with Boyd because Encore is stuck on the eighth floor, perhaps for years.
Yes, it's getting scary in Las Vegas, folks.
Per above, I meant Echelon with regard to Boyd, not Encore (Wynn). Got my E's mixed up.
I have a friend who has the top players card at Stations, with millions of points. Due to the changes in comp policy, as well as a noticeable losing streak at the machines, she has decided to take her business elsewhere, and use up her Stations points at the restaurants and such. Thank you for my birthday dinner, Dottie. Sadly, it takes more than Saturday's Chinese junk giveaways to keep your best customers...
The Emperors start to wear pretty thin garments when they need the money worse than the players.
The total take and room stay in Las Vegas is down and declining. Coupons will not bring in visitors that are broke and laid off in New York and other cities. The sooner some of these go broke, the better for those that will survive. That what the market is about. Making companies become lean and competitive and the strong will survive. Thanks harry Reid, you have made a mess of our nation and our city.
They have treated their customers and employees like crap for years. Bad Karma.
Thanks, George W. Bush. You have made a mess of our nation and our city. Thank God we have Harry in power. Hope its not too late...
I think you have been smoking too much of you know what if you do think that Harry and his Democratic friends did not have a signficiant hand in creating this mess.
neiman1,Once again your complete ignorance shines. Bush, McCain and his buddy Phil Gramm deregulated the banking industry and failed to have any oversight of the thieves on Wall Street,not Harry. The Fertittas borrowed themselves right into bankruptcy as did Adelson. Harry was not in the meetings when these high rollers high rolled themselves right out of their fortunes.
By the way with gas now at $1.66 a gallon not $4.75 a gallon where are your ridiculous posts about drilling and it is all Harry's fault? You need to get some help for yourself. Are you impaired or under a spell?
jfnance32, The Republicans controlled both houses for six of the eight years and the other two years the Democrats did not have enough votes to override the idiot's veto and it is the Democrats who had a significant hand in what? You are another one who needs to come out of your comma and study the facts. Bush's one time most loyal supportes and enablers are now putting the blame where it has been all along, at his feet. Nothing like a sore loser who can't tell the truth.
Homer, when did Bush degregulate the banking industry????????
I think you got your presidents confused.
It was Clinton that signed into the law the last finanical degegulation bill which had strong support from Republicans and Democrats including Harry Reid and Biden.
I guess you are not aware that Clinton, Bush, Harry, Biden and a whole host of Democrats were pushing hard on banks and Fannie Fae and Freddie Mac to lower lending standards so that minorities could get into homes.
Also, you have had your head buried in the sand if you think that high gas prices this pass year did not contributed to the economic slowdown. Why do you think the FRB continue to raise interest rates during that period? They were worried about inflation. Also, those high energy prices caused businesses to cut back and do layoffs. Where you asleep when airlines cut-off about 20% of their flights into McCarren (have not been restored)? Where you asleep when the number customers driving to Las Vegas nose-dived due to high gas prices?
Lastly, you mention about Bush's oversight of the thieves on Wall Street. One of Bush's key regulatory dudes had oversight over banking and financial transactions in the NY area including Wall Street. That dude did so well that Obama has appointed him as team leader of his economic team and sec. of treasury. I guess you have some beefs with Obama now, too.
Stations is a non-union operation, who's work force is almost all steady extras or part time, who pay little or no benifits or extras. Looks like the owners are getting what they deserve.
Running a casino is just like any other business from the local pizza shop to the dry cleaners. Let us not forget that the owners in larger businesses are also accountable to the investors and stockholders. The Fertitta brothers are just like you and I, they want to make money and keep their business in this rotten economy. Union or no union, if things don't pick up soon, quite a few people will be unemployed. I am a strong supporter of unions, but if the place you work at tanks, it will not matter if you are a member or not; you will still be on the unemployment line. BTW - I don't think that Obama is the answer either.
After eliminating most of the competition, tightening up the machines, paying below standard wages and benefits and gouging the player, Stations has the audacity of asking players to help them keep afloat? The owners made hundreds of millions in a very short period of time. Their greed is what put the company in financial distress. I agree, employees will be hurt but Stations has a history of not being employee friendly. Hence their anti-union stance. How much more money did Stations make by paying lower wages, IN ADDITION to having tight machines and an abysmal comp policy? If Stations wants to keep its head above financial ruin, let the owners 'reimburse' the company for the huge amounts extracted from the inflated buyout.
HAHAHA!
FINALLY I GET TO LAUGH A LTTLE! AND I PRAY TO "GOD" THAT I GET TO READ ABOUT THE FALL OF STATION CASINOS.
FOR NOW THAT I AM FAR AWAY FROM THE THE TRAP OF THEIR DRAW...I KNOW CAN THINK AND SEE CLEARLY AND SEE WHAT THEY WERE TRULY DOING TO THIER CUSTOMERS AND HOW THEY DID NOT CARE ABOUT THEM. AND OF COURSE WITH THE ADDICTION TO GAMBLING, I WAS BLINDED TO IT ALL AT THE TIME, BE I AM FREE AT LAST, THANK "GOD" I AM FREE AT LAST!
NOW FOR WHAT I KNOW FOR SURE, AND FOR MY COMMENT AND PRESENTING THE OBVIOUS AS OTHERS HAVE STATED AND I HAVE STATED IN THE PAST.
1. LET THE MACHINES FLOW MORE FREELY-OR AT LEAST
PEOPLE FEEL LIKE THEY ARE WINNING MORE OFTEN.
YOU MAY NOT BE WINNING MORE, BUT AT LEAST
GOING TO THE BONUS ROUNDS MORE OFTEN-AND
WINNING WHEN YOU GET THERE. BY "BELIEVING"
THAT I AM WINNING, I KNOW THAT I PLAYED MORE
AND THAT I PLAYED LONGER AND MORE OFTEN!
MY SECOND YEAR IN VEGAS (NOT BRAGGING) JUST
VEGAS ALONE, WITH OR WITHOUT MY CARDS, I
SPENT/LOST WELL OVER 20K. THE LONGER I PLAYED
THE MORE I PLAYED THE MORE "I" PLAYED BECAUSE
I WAS HAVING FUN AND BEING "ENTERTAINED".
SEE HOW US ADDICTED PEOPLE (JUST NORMAL
PEOPLE) WILL LOSE MONEY FOR THE "ENTERTAINMENT
AND THE "CHANCE" OR "THRILL" TO WIN.
I NOW SEE AND KNOW THATS WHAT VEGAS WAS BUILT ON.
AND I KNOW THAT WAS HOW WAS LURED THERE AND I KNOW THAT IS STILL A SMALL REASON THAT I WANT TO COME BACK. BUT I ALSO KNOW NOW THAT I WILL KNOW THE STUPIDITY OF IT ALL!
2.TAKE CARE OF YOUR REGULARS-USE "REAL" REWARDS
3. BRING BACK REAL CUSTOMER SERVICE
4. TREAT YOUR EMPLOYEES LIKE REAL EMPLOYEES-MAKE
THEM FEEL APPRECIATED! IT REALLY DOESN'T TO HAVE
COST AS MUCH AS YOU GET BACK IN RETURNS.
BUT STATIONS YOU GOT TO DO THIS IF YOU WANT TO SURVIVE IF NOT, JUST LET ALL THE EMPLOYEES GO, TURN OUT THE LIGHTS AND LOCK THE DOORS.
AND STATIONS, IF YOU NEED HELP: I AM STILL AVAILABLE FOR A JOB IN VEGAS AND LETS SEE IF WE CAN STILL SAVE STATIONS OR AT LEAST PUT THE PATIENT OUT OF IT MISERY.
DAVE IN DC
The arrogance of the Fertitas are unbelievable! Let them put their money in when their bonds become due. Small point Stations owns the Fiestas but has never linked their points.If you want to eat in one of the Stations restaurants other than Fiesta you have to go to the individual Station Rewards to get a Comp. My point is wouldn't it be easier to link them, unless they are going to be sold?
Stations Casino is hoping business the next few weeks will be strong. Business at Stations will be about as strong as the Titanic was after it hit the iceberg. Get ready for bankruptcy.
A few years ago, before Fiesta was part of Station Casinos, it was called, "The Royal Flush Capital of the World." People who studied video poker--and Bob Dancer taught there--would come to the casino in the morning and be willing to spend up to $1000 to win a jackpot. There were Royal Flushes going on all day. In a progressive, when it went up, you could not even get a seat to play--and players would feed the machines $100 bills.
Then Station took it over, and attendance fell off and nobody could win much. It got to where "High Limit" machines were often for $1 or $2. (Today people want to play nickels.) Station then retaliated by expanding the place and putting in movie shows, more restaurants, and went along as if making a palace out of the place would restore customers, but I don't think that happened.
Station, like other casinos,I might add, has had the long practice of getting away from paying out cash from the machines. Their progress has been sickening. They decided upon "Play Back," which mean you had win all over again, to get at cash and as this progressed, it just became "Comps." Now it has gone a step further to drawings.
The idea of taking money away from players and coming up with drawings and other games, where payouts are postponed again and again is the latest example of how the casinos want at all costs to avoid paying cash to successful players!
So what happened, all over Vegas since the days of calling and treating winners at Black Jack as "cheats," is that they drove out the gambling segment. So that the old adage that it is always a good time to gambler--even in depressions, suddenly collapsed in this city.
That fact is that the gamblers saw that casinos did not want to pay them. Casinos opposed skill, but then they took the next step and actually opposed even luck! Everything was to be comps and playback, or now drawings unrelated to the game at hand. THEY KILLED THE GOOSE THAT LAID THE GOLDEN EGG.
"So were bondholders, who commonly seek legal representation when they smell trouble and are now in the driver's seat."
That's a good one. Sure, they are in the driver's seat. But they are in the same driver's seat as the Fertitta's - the driver's seat of a train heading for a knocked out bridge. They are all going off the cliff.
not if the bondholders bought when the bonds were deeply discounted.
for example, if they were bought at 10 cents on the dollar, you hope they go bankrupt and at some point in the future can sell all their assets at 20 cents on the dollar, you have make 100% on your money.
jfnance32, Clinton had a direct hand in Fannie and Freddie. The whole world is aware of Clintons role in this Fannie and Freddie mess along with eight years of no oversight by the Bush administration.Bush was a supporter while McCain and his pal Phil Gramm deregulated the banking industry which encompassed brokerage houses,a different argument than Fannie and Freddie.. McCain claimed victory for this feat by saying he was a deregulater and was going to deregulate the health industry next. Phil Gramms wife (a lobbyist) wrote the Enron loophole bill.The FRB has consistantly dropped interest rates to help with inflation.I don't know where you keep your money but savings accounts are now paying less than 1% and money markets are less than 1 and 1/2 %. The reason people are not visiting Las Vegas is they are unemployed or expecting to be unemployed so they are saving their money,thanks to your hero Bush and Mccain who two months ago said the economy was fundamentally strong.
Do some research and see who appointed Cox Chairman of the SEC, once again your hero Bush. The chief dude of oversight as you put it. I don't think he is involved with Obama and his team.
I remember you posting and warning people McCain was going to win.Ok!
You sir are a student of spin and lies.Get your facts straight. You come on with what appears to be gospel but is really spin and bs. Democrats have contributed to this mess, but the last eight years belong to right wing nut jobs who support the most hated and failed president in the history of America. Even his own kind have turned on him. If McCain would have been the MCain of past he may have won. Now go fill up your automobile with $1.63 gas and hope you don't get laid off or fired, meanwhile if you have any money in savings or money markets tell me how much the interest payments have dropped in the last three years. Maybe you have your money in South America where there is not an FDIC, that is if you have any money or a job or an automobile.
"Bush was a supporter while McCain and his pal Phil Gramm deregulated the banking industry"
Bush was not President when the law was passed to deregulated the finanical sector. Clinton was President and strongly supported the bill and signed it into law. Reid and Biden supported the bill, too.
"eight years of no oversight by the Bush administration"
One of Bush's main men who job was to oversee financial markets and banking in the NY area has been appointed by Obama to be the leader of his economic team and sec. of treasury.
WOW....I guess Obama wants to continue that oversight leadership.
Bush has consistantly supported deregulation of everything and oversight of nothing. Do you know who one of bush's major contributors was? The banking industry. He did nothing to stop the looting of Wall Street.Once again you you fail to recognise the difference in Fannie,Freddie and the deregulation of the banking industry. The village idiot knows Bush was not President when Mccain and Gramm wrote the legislation to deregulate the banking industry. Once agin I will tell you there is a difference in banking(including brokerage houses) and The FHA( Fannie and Freddie). Do you get it.
You must be brain dead to not know there has not been any oversight of the banking industry(including brokrage houses)in the past eight years. Do you know who the Chairman of the SEC is and who appointed him? Cox =Bush. No oversight trillions lost. The FRB has lowered interest rates to one of the lowest rates in history if not the lowest in history to stall recession and stimulate the economy. It is obvious you are on another planet if you don't undersatnd that.
Who cares who Obama puts in his cabinet or on his team? That is his right. Has not Obama said he is going to stop the corruption on Wall Street? We will see.
You right wingers made a deal about who Obamas advisors were during the election and who cared? You made a deal out of it and said he would lose the election. Who Cared ?Obama has appointed a Republican to his cabinet.Once again who cares? Does this make Bush and the Republican goons who supported him right? I think not.
How do I know what obama is really going to do he has not taken the oath of office or made decision as President yet. I know what he said but I will see what he does. So WOW, I gues you know what he will continue to do regarding oversight before he takes office.That does not surprise me.
Since I have been reading your posts you leave nothing to the imagination about your supposed knowledge or intellect but in reality you are spin master who lacks facts and knowledge who reminds one of Billo,Hannity, and Rush.
Now go fill your scooter up with $1.66 a gallon gas, put your allowance in a savings account(at 1/2 of 1 per cent and tell me some more about one more of'Bush's main men'. Bush's the scum of the earth and so goes the few remaining idiots who support him.
"Bush has consistantly supported deregulation of everything and oversight of nothing"
Can you quote one newspaper source where Bush has even proposed a deregulation bill?
There were zero deregulation bills passed during Bush's term. In fact, there were new tighter regulation bills pasted during Bush's term. You have heard of the insane regulation Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Also, Bush tried to get tighter regulation passed for Mannie Fae and Freddie Mac but was blocked by Senate Democratics.
Put down the koolaid and go do some research before cutting and pasting DailyKos crap.
Oversight is a different issue. You can argue that. One can also argue that Congress, including the last 2 years of Democratic control, fail to conduct proper oversight. Obama has picked one of Bush's key regulatory enforcers in the New York/Wall Street area to be his sec. of treasury. I guess Obama wants weak oversight, too.
It is a myth that deregulation was pushed under Bush's term. You can not pin out one news article from a legitmate source that lays out any deregulation under Bush.
Eight years of no oversight and it is all under Bush's watch. Now who is responsible? Do you just blame Democrats or are you intelligent enough to know who was the President the last eight years and what party was in control? Or are you just dumb? Who is responsible for the last eight years? Quit your doubletalking and answer the question.
I don't cut and paste and I quote names not Bush's 'main men'.If your going to make a point get the damn name right or shut up. Can you read ? It is Obamas business who he choses for his cabinet,like I have said before. Does that absolve Bush,Cheney, and the rest of the scum? Obama should have pick Hagel, a fine Republican from Nebraska for his cabinet but he did not.
Yeah the Democrats were in control the last two years but once again anyone who knows anything about our form of government knows they did not have the votes to override a veto thus making them lame.
Do you ever listen or research a position or just keep up your ignorant rants? You were doing the same thing previous to the election and just made a fool of yourself.
Do you understand that Bush and a Republican Congress or a Democratic Congress under a Republican President that can not override a veto passes legislation regardless who sponsors it? Please explain who was in charge of this country the last eight years? Do you know or are impaired?
Everyone knows Clinton wanted loans for the disinfranchised thus the Fannie and Freddie mess and it was where McCains campaign manager came from.Got it?
The banking deregulation came as a result of McCain and Phil Gramm. Iy is simple. Quit trying to bs your failed position.
I don't drink cool aide. You really need to think before you post. Bush will ignore,lie,enable,and prosper from those who break laws and steal from others. He is a failed scumbag who will never be revered but hated and mocked by anyone who knows the truth and has a conscious.
Now get a job,go to school,volunteer somewhere,grow up do something with yourself other than make a fool of yourself like you have for months with your juvenile posts.
Do you know what a pass book savings account pays at bank, or what a money market pays? Do you know what T Bills pay?I have all of them and for years now the FRB has been lowering interest rates. It was a real give away to your ignorance.
jfnance32 For your information Obama kept Gates as Secretary Of defense. Another one of Bush's 'main men' as you put it. The name is important 'main men' does not get it. Now one more time did the FRB lower or raise interest rates?
Yes Bush is respondible for failing to do oversight.
"The banking deregulation came as a result of McCain and Phil Gramm"
It does not remove the FACT that Clinton supported the bill and signed into law and that Reid and Biden voted for it and supported it.
Gramm was an evil master who tricked Clinton to support the bill and to sign it into law. He must have sent a hooker to Clinton to get him to sign the bill. He also tricked Reid and Biden to support the bill too. That damn evil Gramm.....
At least you dropped your idiot statement that Bush deregulated anything.
For the last 2 years, the Democrats even did not try to do any oversight. They held no hearings (they can do that without Bush). They even did not try to pass any new regulations. I guess they are mice in stature. They even did not try.
Obama is giving high praise to Bush's oversight because he is picking one of Bush's key players in that oversight machinery.
Here is your answer on FRB:
The FRB can only influence the market interest rates. The FRB places downward pressures on market interest rates to fight unemployment and the FRB places upward pressures on market interest rates to combat inflation.
From 2001 to 2005, they generally placed downward pressures on market interest rates. From 2005 to late 2007, they generally placed upward pressures on market interest rates. From 2007 to now, they have generally placed downward pressures on market interest rates.
They placed downward pressures on interest rates in 2001 to deal with the recession that started in the last quarter of Clinton's term and the terrible effects that 9/11 had on the economy.
The President does not control the FRB but can only appoint members to the board once another member term is up. He can not fire a FRB board member.
Do not get mad at Bill Clinton but........When the FRB stated to placed downward pressure on market interest rates in 2001/2002/2003, almost the entire board were made up of Clinton appointees. So I guess you are pissed off at Clinton for appointing those people who lowered interest rates.
I have to agree with most that the Station Casino's have been mismanaged when it comes to treating customers right. I saw the change from the time Sunset Station opened to the present. Not much fun from a slot players point of view at all. Can't say I feel sorry for the Fertitta clan. I do feel for some of the fine people who work for the company especially one host in particular who has treated me right over the years. Best of luck to you.
A big BOO for Station Casinos! Apparently they have changed the rules for their Rewards Card holders as to what comps they get for points. From what I was told by the Rewards Representative, the Corporate bigwigs have decided that the points earned by their customers are not enough. Now they tell me that how much you play and what machines you play are what counts in getting the Calendar sent during the month. When asked about the points, they shrugged and said they don't know what the $$ figure is. Their website still is using the point system, such as the Gold Card=500 points in three months. My husband earned over 500 points and got nothing. I earned 518 points and got something. Frankly, I also could do without their "Made in China" gifts. The people at the Rewards Center couldn't care less. Personally, I think they are making a major mistake by doing this and if they have changed their "Rules" why don't they bother telling their customers? Isn't this fraudulent to still keep advertising about the points and then not giving the customer what they earned?
A few years back they tried to send my husband from Sunset over to GVR to pick up a cheapo coffee mug because he apparently spent more money at GVR than Sunset during a set time period and they just up and changed his 'home' casino from Sunset to GVR - when I asked the Stupervisor at the Rewards Center if it made sense to make a husband and wife run around to different casino's (all while the price of gas was at about $3 gal.) to pick up a cheap 'make in China' coffee cup and I got no cooperation at all. She insisted that's the way it had to be done. When I called back a couple days later the casino host agree with me that in the name of good customer service she could very easily have explained the procedure for FUTURE reference and then just gone ahead and given us the lousy coffee mug. Instead I gave her our two player cards along with MY cheapo coffee mug and we haven't been back since. Perhaps Stations needs to reevaluate who they hire to be 'in charge' - perhaps the stupervisor needed more training - who knows - all I know is that there are way better places in town than Stations Casino's.
They may be able to restructure their financial picture, but what does it take to turn around a reputation for quality gaming, service and a genuine caring for your customer?