Fortune list drops Station Casinos, adds Zappos.com

By Steve Green

Thursday, Jan. 22, 2009 | 9:06 a.m.

Station Casinos Inc.'s four-year run on Fortune magazine's prestigious 100 Best Places to Work list ended today when the Las Vegas company was not included in the 2009 list -- but another Southern Nevada company is ranked for the first time.

Zappos.com of Henderson, an entrepreneurial shoe seller that Fortune says has 1,655 U.S. employees and had 2007 revenue of $839 million, made its debut on the list at No. 23.

"This list newcomer offers free lunches, concierge services, and 100 percent coverage of health insurance premiums. After he cut 8 percent of the staff, the CEO received several glowing letters from departing employees," Fortune said.

Station ranked No. 18 and No. 33 on the list in 2007 and 2008, respectively. It didn't appear on the 2009 list after a difficult year financially for the locals' gaming operator. In 2008, Station said it planned to suspend matching contributions to employee retirement investment accounts and cut some staff -- though it did grow by opening the Aliante Station hotel-casino in North Las Vegas.

(The Greenspun family, publisher of the Las Vegas Sun and its sister publication, the Home News, is a partner with Station in several gaming operations including Aliante Station and Green Valley Ranch Resort.)

Fortune said that to choose its 100 best companies to work for, it and the Great Place to Work Institute analyzed surveys from more than 81,000 employees from 353 companies.

Two-thirds of a company's score is based on the survey, which Fortune said was sent to a minimum of 400 randomly selected employees. The remaining third is based on Fortune's "culture audit," which includes detailed questions about demographics, pay and benefits; and open-ended questions on philosophy, communication and similar factors.

Other companies with Las Vegas operations on the 2009 list include investment advisor Edward Jones (2), Recreational Equipment (12), Whole Foods Market (22), Starbucks (24), apartment owner Camden Property Trust (41), Nordstrom (72), Marriott International (78) and Four Seasons Hotels (92).

Steve Green can be reached at 702 990-7714 or [email protected].