Think you know guerilla marketing? Today’s corporations and influencers have nothing on Sam Boyd circa the 1970s, when he would load up a charter plane with Coors beer (not available west of California), fly to Hawaii, and gift precious cases to travel agents, pitching travel packages to his California Hotel and Casino in downtown Las Vegas. Having worked in bingo parlors in Honolulu and Hilo, he leveraged all his connections to make Vegas an easy vacation destination for Hawaiians. He would even send his chefs to Hawaii for months at a time to soak up the culture and deliver the cuisine his visitors wanted when they arrived. These early, ingenious moves made their mark on Las Vegas, too, kickstarting its evolution to Hawaii’s so-called ninth island.
Boyd Gaming was founded 50 years ago, when Boyd and his family formed the company to develop and operate The Cal. But the family’s casino roots run deep: 85 years ago, Boyd arrived in Las Vegas with his family, working his way up through virtually every casino job from dealer to GM of The Mint to owner of the Eldorado with his son, Bill, in 1962.
Today, Boyd Gaming continues to be run by Sam’s family—under the management of his granddaughter, Marianne Boyd-Johnson, who became executive chairman of the company when her father, Bill, was named Chairman Emeritus in 2023. It’s a billion-dollar, publicly traded company with 28 casinos in ten states—that still feels like a family-owned business. And they’re not stopping at 28. In fact, the very day we wrote this article, Boyd Gaming broke ground on its newest property: Cadence Crossing Casino, scheduled to open in mid-2026.
“Sam and Bill were always committed to being visible on property, engaging with customers and team members, and it sets the standard for the type of experience we’re trying to create,” says David Strow, Boyd Gaming’s Vice President of Corporate Communications. It might also explain why so many of the company’s team members become Boyd lifers. Strow, a veritable rookie with a tenure of “only” 18 years, says, “We have today over 16,000 team members across ten states, with an average of eight years with the company”—nearly an eternity in an industry recognized by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as having the highest turnover rates in the nation (79% in 2023).
Take Henry Jones, head chef at Redwood Steakhouse at The Cal, who started as a busboy in 1981 at Market Street Cafe, which still serves its iconic oxtail soup—ultimate comfort food for Hawaiian guests and late-night partiers alike— from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. He remembers a Hawaiian chef who would watch the soup boil for 30 minutes at a time. “At that time, it was weird to see a person watching a boiling pot, but he taught me that you can’t cook it too fast or too long, or it shrinks…How we’ve made it is the house secret, and it’s been working like that for the last 35 years.”
He recalls a day in the sports book when Bill Boyd came in. “You know, the owner comes in and everyone’s scurrying around,” he says. “I asked him how he was doing, and he was genuinely touched. ‘Everyone treats me like I have the plague,’ Boyd said, ‘and you asked me how I am.’” That egalitarian moment has stuck with Jones for his 44 years at The Cal.
These are the behind-the-scenes moments that haven’t just shaped Boyd’s culture and a hospitality standard around the Strip, but in many ways are responsible for the company’s growth. Boyd is currently doing a top to bottom renovation on the Suncoast, with a brand-new sports book, sleeper steakhouse hit William B.’s, and gorgeous décor and lighting you can already see around the property. (Strow assures me that my favorite movie theater in Las Vegas—think heated reclining seats!—isn’t going anywhere.) “We’re doing this in markets around the country: in our properties in St. Louis, another near Philadelphia, another in Biloxi. Our total renovation of the Orleans follows a reno at the Gold Coast and Main Street Station.” (Note to gourmands: the Chinese food at Gold Coast’s Ping Pang Pong is legendary.)
And while Boyd continues to grow, modernize and beautify, this family company isn’t forgetting its roots. Some of Strow’s favorite places are pure Boyd nostalgia. “Mystic Falls at Sam’s Town is old school [30 years old], an indoor park with a fountain show, animatronics, and a laser show. Families love it—it’s such a unique experience,” he says. Another favorite: The Golden Arm Club at The Cal (now 33), a tribute to “golden arms”—craps players who have rolled dice for over one hour without losing. “There’s also a little secret that people don’t know about the Stardust,” Strow says. The Boyd-owned casino may have been dramatically imploded in 2007, but it lives on at the Suncoast’s 90 Ninety restaurant, where some of its rescued neon stars twinkle just outside—just as you might have seen them 50 years ago.