Stations casino executive Bob Finch poses at Green Valley Ranch in Henderson Thursday, Dec. 16, 2021. Finch helped open the resort on De. 18, 2001. Currently, Finch is executive vice president and COO at Red Rock Resorts.
Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021 | 2 a.m.
When cocktail waitress Sarah Hemphill learned that Station Casinos was opening a new resort over two decades ago, she was intrigued.
At the time, she worked at Palace Station, another Station property, but Green Valley Ranch, near the intersection of Green Valley Parkway and the 215 Beltway in Henderson, was under construction near her home.
Hemphill wasn’t sure at the time how everything would work out, but she put in for a transfer.
An employee at Green Valley Ranch since its opening day — 20 years ago Saturday — Hemphill said she made the right choice.
“When I found out I got the transfer, I remember coming here for the first time and thinking how pretty it was,” said Hemphill, who was standing in the resort’s recently refurbished Drop Bar.
“At the time, that was a huge leap for me, but it’s worked out so well. Working for Station Casinos, it’s kind of like a family, and that’s definitely what it’s like to work at (Green Valley Ranch),” she said.
Hemphill said she has made lasting friendships with other employees and customers.
One of her favorite stories is about a wedding she helped plan at the resort in 2019.
Two elderly customers met in the bingo room where Hemphill works and chose to have their wedding at the resort.
“I remember them asking if they could get married in the bingo room between sessions and my boss, Bob Finch, jumped on the idea,” Hemphill said. “I got on the phone and found a minister who could do it and we put it together. We did decorations and everything. That couple still comes in all the time.”
Finch, chief operating officer for Station Casinos and an employee with the company for over 40 years, is a familiar face at Green Valley Ranch.
He was on hand for the property’s opening in 2001 and later served as its general manager.
As he walked the property last week, he was greeted warmly by employees.
“It doesn’t seem like it’s been 20 years,” Finch said. “I remember opening and the fireworks at the party like it was yesterday. This was the first luxury resort in Henderson and the first one for the locals market. I think this is one of the best resorts we’ve done at Station Casinos. There’s a resort feel here, but it’s also an escape from Las Vegas.”
Green Valley Ranch was built at a cost of about $300 million and has been enhanced by multiple expansion projects since it opened, including a $115 million hotel buildout about 15 years ago.
The European-styled resort has just under 500 hotel rooms and sits next to The District, a popular dining and shopping mall complex.
“Anytime you break the paradigm of how it’s supposed to work, there are people who say it will never work,” Finch said. “Everybody followed what was done here because it was really the first deluxe locals market resort off the Strip. It filled a niche for people. A lot of people from out of town also come here because they don’t want to stay on the Strip.”
When plans for the resort were revealed, part of the design revolved around having a buffer between the property’s hotel and casino, Finch said.
Initially, Green Valley Ranch was billed as offering more of a “Santa Barbara” resort experience.
There have been changes along the way. What was once the Il Fornaio restaurant later became Terra Verde and eventually Bottiglia, which Finch said has served the property well.
“Green Valley Ranch has been good about reinventing itself over time,” Finch said. “This place hasn’t stayed static. It’s evolved to stay relevant over the years, both for locals and for those from out of town.”
To coincide with the anniversary, Green Valley Ranch recently unveiled its latest iteration of the Drop Bar on the casino floor. Surrounded in gold trim, the bar is light and inviting with an urban chic feel.
Live DJs play sets at the bar, which offers hand-crafted cocktails, some made by Finch’s nephew, a bartender there.
Marie Archuletta, who has been with Station Casinos since 1991, has been a cocktail waitress in Las Vegas for more than four decades.
She started her career as a cocktail waitress at the Peppermill on the Strip but has been at Green Valley Ranch since it opened.
“I knew this was going to be a fabulous property, which is why I wanted to come here,” Archuletta said. “You have relationships here that are long-term. I have really good friends here. We laugh and have fun here; this is a family.”
Finch marveled at how much the area around Green Valley Ranch has changed since 2001.
Over the past 20 years, new neighborhoods and businesses have opened, and nearby construction on Dollar Loan Center, future home to the Henderson Silver Knights minor league hockey team, is expected to be finished early next year.
At Green Valley Ranch, Finch hinted at more projects as the resort embarks on its next two decades.
“We have great plans for this property,” Finch said. “We’re already working on those pieces. These past 20 years went fast and I’m sure the next 20 will go fast, too.
