It's hard to believe the company behind the plush Red Rock Resort had its roots in a smoky little 5,000-square-foot casino few people can name. That was how Station Casinos began 30 years ago, with one property called, simply, The Casino.

The property went through a couple name changes (remember the Bingo Palace, anyone?) and now the expanded Palace Station is located where that little, 100-slot machine business once stood. It is only one of Station's nine major casino properties. The others are Boulder Station, Texas Station, Sunset Station, Santa Fe Station, Green Valley Ranch, Red Rock, Fiesta Rancho and Fiesta Henderson. Station also is involved in a handful of smaller properties.