Gregory Lee
Silver State Award
Gregory Lee is the executive chairman of RMC Inc., which owns the Eureka Casino Resort in Mesquite, Nevada, and the Brook Casino in Seabrook, New Hampshire. He is also the owner of The Familee Company, a private real estate and investment business.
Lee began working with his parents, Ted and Doris Lee, in their family’s real estate company after graduating from Harvard College. He moved to Las Vegas in 1988 to help usher his family into the casino business through the original Eureka Casino located on Sahara Avenue.
Lee attended law school at the University of Southern California, then relocated to New York City to practice law. He returned to the family business in 1995 to build the Eureka Casino Resort in Mesquite, which opened in 1997. Over the years, the property has grown to become a market leader.
It wasn’t until after the global financial crisis that decimated Las Vegas, Mesquite, and the entire nation in the late 2000s that Lee experienced his “light-bulb” moment — one that became transformative for his family’s company.
Like most business owners, Lee was looking for a way to get the most out of his employees while bolstering loyalty. So he tapped into the innovative side of his brain, devising a plan to give each Eureka employee a unique benefit: ownership in the company.
For Lee, converting his family-owned business into Nevada’s first — and now the nation’s only — employee-owned casino was the next logical growth step. He believed that by offering employees a stake in the company, they would be wholly invested in the company’s overall success and would develop a stronger connection to the future of the Mesquite community. That, in turn, would help everyone achieve financial security — both inside the company’s walls and throughout the entire Mesquite community.
Needless to say, Lee’s plan has worked. Since becoming employee-owned in 2016, the Eureka has flourished from a business standpoint while at the same time cultivating a “We’re all family” culture. It’s a big reason why the Eureka has been recognized multiple times by Fortune Magazine as one of the nation’s 100 Best Medium Companies to Work For.
Lee’s bold new business plan attracted a new generation of leadership that allowed the company to expand its operations to Seabrook, New Hampshire, where in 2019 it opened The Brook, a 75-acre casino entertainment development located near the New Hampshire-Massachusetts border. Formerly known as Seabrook Park, The Brook is home to the largest race and sports book in New England and the largest casino in New Hampshire..
The company was attracted to New Hampshire in large part because operators contribute 35 percent of all gaming revenue directly to local nonprofit organizations that support public services. In fact, The Brook is now the largest charitable casino in America, having donated more than $11 million to hundreds of charities since opening four years ago.
Beyond the family business, Lee also has been an active member of the Las Vegas community. He has served on the boards of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the UNLV Foundation, the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, Bank of America’s Charitable Foundation, the Nevada Chapter of the Young Presidents Organization, and the Harvard Club of Nevada.
Additionally, Lee and his wife, Dana, have sat on several philanthropic boards, including The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, Nevada Ballet Theatre, The Problem Gambling Center, and Nevada Women’s Philanthropy.
The Lee family’s numerous charitable activities focus on improving the lives of all people, especially the underserved, by supporting education, the arts, the environment, health care, international understanding, and social justice. But it has been Lee’s focus on leveraging his company’s talent that has created the most impact.
Eureka Casino Resort has donated $1 million in benefits to the Mesquite community, but more importantly has partnered with local entities on community-based initiatives. This includes Mesquite Reads, a special five-week summer school that supports children from kindergarten through third grade who are not reading at grade level.
The Eureka also has stepped forward in times when the greater Mesquite community was in need. For instance, when the city could no longer afford to stage a Fourth of July fireworks show in 2010 at the height of the Great Recession, the company stepped forward and covered the costs. Later, the company added the Nevada Pops orchestra to perform during the fireworks celebration.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Lee and the Eureka family sprung into action. The company set up food pantries to assist all employees in Mesquite and New Hampshire. And when the COVID-19 vaccine was rolled out and Mesquite initially had limited access to supplies, the Eureka set up a vaccination clinic designed to get as many shots in arms as possible. In just 28 days and with the help of volunteers who combined to work 4,600 hours, more than 7,000 Mesquite residents were vaccinated.
And, of course, the Lee family’s generosity has extended to UNLV over the past quarter century. A small sampling of the family’s university-specific philanthropy includes:
- A generous gift by his parents, Ted and Doris Lee, that funded faculty endowments and student scholarships, resulting in the UNLV College of Business being renamed the Lee Business School in 2011
- Funding a scholarship for the inaugural class of students attending the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV
- Bringing high school students from Mesquite to tour the Lee Business School and get a glimpse of the college experience
Creating the $1 million Lee Prize for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Creating the Lee Prize might be the best example of the family’s vision for UNLV and how the university can support the greater Las Vegas community. Utilizing funds from the Ted and Doris Lee Family Foundation, the Lee Prize was established during the pandemic to invigorate the struggling hospitality industry through innovative technologies and solutions. The ultimate goal was to make the hospitality and travel industries safer for employees and guests.
“UNLV is both a beacon and a bridge for the Las Vegas community,” Gregory Lee says. “Our family truly believes its knowledge base can provide the spark that reignites our community — a community that’s still feeling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our ongoing support of UNLV is tied to our unwavering confidence that the university’s brilliant students and dedicated and passionate faculty will help build the bridge to a future that’s safer and more sustainable for all. And we look forward to crossing that bridge together — sooner rather than later.
“The Las Vegas community, including its hospitality industry, recovered more quickly and more fully than almost any in the world. UNLV certainly assisted with that recovery, and we know the university will continue to be an important community partner.”
Credit:Source link
