It's often easy to hate on C-Suite executives.
Whether it's because they often make hundreds of times more than their average employee does or because they get more vacation time or because they come late and leave early, the public has very little love lost for executives.
But every once in a while a half-decent executive emerges from the crowd that both employees and the public can get behind.
On May 12, Bill McBeath, the outgoing (of course) CEO of famed Las Vegas strip casino The Cosmopolitan, surprised employees with a generous gift that he dubbed as an "act of appreciation."
The Cosmopolitan will bequeath its 5,000 employees a surprise bonus of $5,000.
About 3,000 of those employees were present at The Chelsea, Cosmopolitan's theater venue, to hear the announcement live, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The announcement was reportedly met with "joyous celebrations, tears, and applause," according to local news reports.
The $27 million payout is being issued as MGM Resorts International (MGM) prepares to take over ownership of the hotel-casino later this year.
Earlier in May, MGM cleared a key regulatory hurdle when the Nevada Gaming Control Board voted unanimously to recommend the company's $1.6 billion purchase of the Cosmopolitan.
The approval moves MGM one step closer to taking over the facility. Next, the company is waiting for a ruling from the Nevada Gaming Commission for final approval on May 19.
MGM Taking Over The Strip
MGM Resorts has made a big move overseas, expanding operations in Macau, China, the world's largest gaming hub.
But the company also hasn't forgotten about its hometown in the desert.
If MGM is able to pull off the purchase, the company will control all of the gaming along a two-mile stretch of the west side of the Las Vegas Strip between Flamingo Road and Russel road, according to the Nevada Independent.
MGM operates seven resorts along the Strip's west side, and with the purchase of the Cosmopolitan, it will add more than 3,000 hotel rooms and suites and a 110,000 square-foot casino to its portfolio.
“It goes without saying that we are extremely excited by the acquisition. We've been interested in that site for some time," MGM CEO Bill Hornbuckle said, according to the Independent. "Obviously, now the marketplace has finally afforded us that opportunity. It is a great property.”
MGM did sell The Mirage to Hard Rock International in late 2021. Essentially, the casino operator traded (not literally) Mirage for Cosmopolitan.
The Future of the Las Vegas Strip
Las Vegas Strip casinos offer so much more than hotel rooms, casinos, restaurants, and shows. The massive properties owned by companies including MGM, Caesars Entertainment (CZR), Wynn Resorts (WYNN), and others need, and provide, more than just those things to attract customers.
Each casino resort needs to attract people who simply walk by, That has led these companies to build not only incredible facades but also world-class free attractions that almost force people to stop. Las Vegas has moved well past the days when a 99-cent shrimp cocktail brought people in off the streets.
The big casino companies have added impressive free shows and attractions like the fountains at Bellagio, the Eiffel Tower Lights Show at Caesars Paris Las Vegas, the free circus acts at Circus Circus, the flamingo habitat at Caesars Flamingo, and the Fall of Atlantis show inside Caesars Forum.
These attractions have set a very high bar in the effort to bring people into the various casinos. The Venetian, for example, has canals -- a kind of replica of the ones in Venice -- and while they're beautiful, they're also free to look at because they draw consumers into the property.
