Eureka Casino Resorts in Mesquite, Nevada, is selling its interest in the Eureka Casino Resort its workers via an employee stock ownership plan.
Eureka CEO Greg Lee announced the plan on October 29, which must be approved by the Nevada Gaming Commission.
“We think this is the next logical step for the culture of our organization looking out 10 to 20 years,” Eureka COO Andre Carrier told the Mesquite Local News. “An employee stock ownership plan is a retirement plan under federal law that allows employees to gain retirement benefits that are tied to a beneficial ownership and equity of the company without any personal financial investment.”
The Eureka casino has a 214-room hotel, 1,000 slot machines, a poker room, and a spa. It generally attracts an older clientele from nearby Utah and Arizona as well as Nevada locals and other visitors. But its relatively diminutive size prevents it from competing with larger resorts and gaming operations 90 miles to the south in Las Vegas.
The casino currently employs about 550 workers, making it one of the largest employers in Mesquite, and it owns the Eureka Casino on Sahara Avenue in Las Vegas.
The move should help workers solidify their retirement benefits while helping to ensure the casino remains in operation and profitable for many more years, Lee said.
This transaction helps create a retirement benefit for employees and creates a ‘stickiness’ for the management team,” Lee told the Local News.
The move also helps the casino to invest more money into its operations without taking a larger federal tax hit, Lee said.
Although the company would be employee-owned, Lee and Carrier would remain CEO and COO, respectively.
“My family will remain just as deeply committed to the company and to Mesquite, because we continue to have a significant financial interest in the company and many investments in Mesquite,” Lee told the Local News. “The Lees sold 100 percent of their stock but not all of their interest.”
