Jackpot for CEOs, Pennies for Pit Bosses: Same 3 Gaming Giants Make ‘Low-Wage 100′ List

• Gambling
• 25 August 2025

Three casino behemoths—Las Vegas Sands, MGM Resorts, and Caesars Entertainment—have once again been listed among the "Low-Wage 100."  The 100 S&P companies with the lowest median worker compensation are highlighted in this dishonor roll.

Ever since the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) and its monitoring website, inequality.org, started releasing the Low-Wage 100 list in 2019, Caesars, MGM, and Las Vegas Sands have been included.  The list has never included any additional game companies.

Chief Executive Officers

The most excessive CEO-to-worker pay ratios within the Low-Wage 100 are revealed by IPS's larger "Executive Excess" list.  The gaming behemoths' rankings are as follows:

1. Las Vegas Sands (516:1): CEO Robert Goldstein made $21.9 million to the median wage worker’s $42,426
2. Caesars Entertainment (419:1): CEO Tom Reeg made $18.4 million to the median wage worker’s $43,880
3. MGM Resorts (332:1): CEO Bill Hornbuckle made $15.8 million to the median wage worker’s $47,607

In 2023, the ratios were even more lopsided:

1. Caesars led with a staggering 560:1
2. Las Vegas Sands followed at 532:1
3. MGM Resorts trailed with 374:1

Since 2019, the CEO salary at Caesars Entertainment has increased by 106.4% while the median worker salary has increased by 40.8%; the CEO salary at Las Vegas Sands has increased by 38.9% while the median worker salary has increased by 18.3%; and the CEO salary at MGM Resorts has increased by 20.3% while the median worker pay has increased by 22.2%.

Only the CEO-to-worker pay ratio for Las Vegas Sands has significantly decreased since 2019.  MGM Resorts saw a 1.5% decline, Caesars saw a 47% increase in the CEO-to-worker pay ratio, and it fell 11.8%.

Wynn Resorts, a major player in the gaming industry, is conspicuously absent from this discussion.  It has continuously made it onto Fortune's "Most Admired Companies" and Forbes' "Best Employers" lists, and it has never been on the Low Wage 100 list.

Outside of the S&P

The Nevada Current created its own list since the Low Wage 100 only featured the top 500 US firms.  The website discovered the following CEO-to-worker compensation ratios among gaming companies that were not included in the S&P 500 by looking through 2024 SEC filings:

1. Penn Entertainment (734:1): CEO Jay Snowden made $26.6 million to the median worker’s $36,322
2. Boyd Gaming (304:1): CEO Keith Smith made $11.5 million to the median worker’s $37,755
3. Golden Entertainment (155:1): CEO Blake Sartini made $5.4 million to the median worker’s $34,783
4. Red Rock Resorts (78:1): CEO Frank Fertitta made $3.3 million to the median worker’s $42,864
5. Bally’s Corp (54:1): CEO Robeson Reeves made $2.3 million to the median worker’s $41,912