Silverton to restore part of employees’ slashed pay

Silverton Casino employees received more than just a motivational pep talk from Zappos.com top executive Tony Hsieh and a copy of his new book.

A large portion of the hotel-casino's 900 workers will see an increase in their paychecks.

During a mass employee meeting Friday afternoon, Silverton President Craig Cavileer said the 600 to 700 employees who saw their pay slashed between 5 percent and 15 percent in October will get half of the reduction back starting Aug. 9.

If the 300-room Silverton continues to perform above expectations, employees could see their pay checks fully restored to the October 2009 levels by January, along with the return of other slashed benefits, such as employer matching contributions to their 401(k) retirement accounts.

"We've had so much bad news in the gaming industry, we thought this was something finally positive," Cavileer said. "We think we might be the first casino around here to do something like this."

Like much of the gaming industry, the Silverton needed to cut costs in the wake of the lousy economy over the past two years.

The privately held Silverton, best known for its outdoor-themed "Livin' Lodge" advertising campaign, its 117,000 gallon aquarium and its adjacent 165,000-square-foot Bass Pro Shops' flagship store, saw gaming revenues zapped as consumers cut back on discretionary spending.

Slowly, Cavileer said, the Silverton's customer base has returned.

As part of some $10 million targeted for monthly cost cuts, the Silverton, which had already laid off several hundred employees, cut the pay rates of most hourly and salaried workers last October.

Cavileer said cost reductions have held steady and the Silverton, which has a 90,000-square-foot casino, has been able to regain some financial footing.

He wanted to pass along some of the good news to employees.

"We decided to have a town-hall style meeting with our employees and thank everyone for their contributions," Cavileer said.

That's where Hsieh became part of the equation.

He's the chief executive officer of Las Vegas-based online retailer Zappos.com, ranked last year as the best company to work for in Southern Nevada by the Review-Journal and Business Press, and is well-known for the relaxed employee culture at Zappos, along with pushing the company toward $1 billion in annual sales. Zappos.com was acquired by Amazon.com for $1.2 billion in November 2009.

Hsieh came to the attention of Silverton creative director Alison Gramenos. She read his recently published book, "Delivering Happiness," and met with Hsieh to see if the Zappos.com culture could be adopted by the Silverton.

Hsieh agreed to give Silverton workers an hour-long motivational session and sign copies of his book. The Silverton purchased 900 copies of the book for all the employees.

Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3871.