An industry that once relegated women to mostly menial roles now has many women excelling in previously male-dominated roles, reports Vegas Inc.
Nevada Resort Association President Virginia Valentine says the gaming industry now recognizes the value of having women executives and employees and are investing in programs to develop more female executives through mentoring and leadership initiatives.
“Historically, there have always been women in gaming,” Valentine told VegasInc.
But their roles have changed significantly.
From the time when there were no women dealers to now, there are women in every conceivable corporate position, all the way to the boardroom,” Valentine said. “They’re not where they are because they’re women. They’re where they are because they are very, very good at what they do.”
By way of example, Lydia Mason once was a cocktail server many years ago in Nebraska and joined Station Casinos in 2012 as its vice president and assistant general manager at Boulder Station, and now is general manager of Texas Station. She became the casino’s general manager last year and is in charge of overseeing a costly renovation for 2016.
Other successful women at Station Casinos include Stacy Stagg, who joined the company in 1995 as a food server and now is the vice president and general manager of Fiesta Rancho.
About half the people employed at Station Casinos are women, and many of them, like Mason and Stagg, have gone on to high-placed management and executive roles.
Valentine anticipates many more success stories for women in the gaming industry at Station Casinos and other top gaming companies.
