Casino Enterprise Management

(Las Vegas, Nev.)--Frank Fertitta Jr., the founder of Station Casinos, Inc., passed away on Friday, August 21, 2009 at the age of 70.

Born October 30, 1938, in Beaumont, Texas, Mr. Fertitta is largely credited with the creation of the Las Vegas locals’ casino market.  At a time when most casinos were located on the Las Vegas Strip or in downtown Las Vegas, he believed that if you provided locals with a convenient location, value for their dollar, a friendly atmosphere, and great customer service you didn’t need to be on the Strip and in downtown Las Vegas to be successful.  His vision became a reality on July 1, 1976 with the opening of “The Casino,” a 5,000 square casino attached to the Mini-Price Motor Inn on west Sahara Avenue. The Casino quickly became a popular locals’ hangout and the Las Vegas locals’ market was born.

Fertitta arrived in Las Vegas with his wife Victoria (Vicki) in 1960 from Galveston, Texas. His first job was as a bellman at the Tropicana Hotel & Casino while he was learning to be a dealer.  From 1960-1976 he served as a dealer and held other gaming  positions including pit boss, baccarat manager and general manager at properties including the Stardust, the Tropicana, Circus Circus, the Sahara and the Fremont. 

As the popularity of The Casino grew, Fertitta added bingo, a popular game with locals, and in 1977 changed the name of The Casino to the Bingo Palace. Fertitta’s knowledge of his customer, his instinct for marketing and his focus on customer service made the Bingo Palace an overwhelming success, which led to an almost continuous series of expansions, including the addition of hotel rooms, more restaurants and other entertainment amenities.  In November 1983, Fertitta changed the name of the Bingo Palace to the Palace Station Hotel & Casino.  

Through more than a dozen expansions over the years, Palace Station continued to grow and Mr. Fertitta’s sons, Frank III and Lorenzo, had the opportunity to learn the gaming business from their father.  The Fertittas also studied how Las Vegas was developing and saw an opportunity to grow their business by replicating the experience guests enjoyed at Palace Station. Fertitta retired from Station Casinos in 1993 when his sons took the company public in what at that time was one of the largest initial public offerings in the gaming industry.

Although Fertitta retired from Station Casinos in 1993, he remained very active in other Fertitta family businesses as well as community and philanthropic affairs. Mr. Fertitta and his wife Vicki were deeply involved in and prided themselves on giving back to the Southern Nevada community.  Although their personal and financial contributions were wide-ranging and many, their focus was on improving education and the quality of life in Southern Nevada—especially for children.  They had significant involvement in the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV), Bishop Gorman High School, Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada, Nevada Cancer Institute, Opportunity Village and St. Judes Ranch to name just a few.