Published on: August 25, 2025, at 12:11 PM.

Last modified: August 25, 2025, at 12:11 PM.

Three major players in the gaming industry—Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts, and Las Vegas Sands—have once again been featured on the “Low-Wage 100” list. This list highlights the 100 companies in the S&P with the lowest median employee salaries.

Since the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) and its oversight platform, inequality.org, initiated their reporting in 2019, Caesars, MGM, and Las Vegas Sands have consistently made the Low-Wage 100 list. No other gaming company has ever been included.

Top Excessive Compensation

The IPS’s “Executive Excess” report sheds light on the extreme disparity in pay between CEOs and workers within the Low-Wage 100. Here’s the ranking for these gaming giants:

1. Las Vegas Sands (516:1): CEO Robert Goldstein earned $21.9 million compared to the median employee wage of $42,426.
2. Caesars Entertainment (419:1): CEO Tom Reeg took home $18.4 million against a median worker salary of $43,880.
3. MGM Resorts (332:1): CEO Bill Hornbuckle received $15.8 million while the median employee earned $47,607.

In 2023, these pay ratios became even more disproportionate:

1. Caesars had a staggering ratio of 560:1.
2. Las Vegas Sands followed closely with 532:1.
3. MGM Resorts had a ratio of 374:1.

Since 2019, the salary of Caesars Entertainment’s CEO has surged by 106.4%, while median worker pay only increased by 40.8%. Las Vegas Sands’ CEO compensation grew by 38.9% compared to a 18.3% rise in median wages, and MGM Resorts saw a 20.3% increase in CEO pay against a 22.2% rise in worker earnings.

Interestingly, Las Vegas Sands is the only company in this discussion showing a significant decrease in the CEO-to-worker pay ratio, which dropped by 11.8%. MGM’s ratio fell by 1.5%, while Caesars’ soared by 47%.

Notably missing from this discourse is Wynn Resorts, which has never been part of the Low Wage 100 list. Wynn has consistently been recognized on Forbes’ “Best Employers” and Fortune’s “Most Admired Companies” lists.

Expanding Beyond the S&P

Since the Low Wage 100 encompasses only the largest 500 companies in the U.S., The Nevada Current developed an alternative list based on 2024 SEC filings. They uncovered the following CEO-to-worker pay ratios in gaming companies not listed in the S&P 500:

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