Station Casinos President Richard Haskins Dies Saturday Following Michigan Watercraft Accident

Posted on: July 4, 2020, 08:08h. 

Last updated on: July 6, 2020, 09:14h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More

Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

UPDATE: The Emmet County Michigan Sheriff’s Office is investigating a Saturday afternoon boating accident on Little Traverse Bay where a 27-foot powerboat driven by James Moffatt, 77, of Vero Beach, Florida, collided with a jet ski driven by Richard Haskins, 56, of Las Vegas, according to Sheriff Pete Wallin. Haskins, president of Station Casinos, was transported to a launch area in Harbor Springs where he was pronounced dead by EMS responders, reported local TV station WPBN.

EARLIER: Richard J. Haskins, president of Station Casinos, died Saturday, July 4, following an accident on the water while he was vacationing in Michigan, according to a statement released Saturday evening by the gaming and hospitality company.

Details on funeral plans and the circumstances around the fatal accident were not immediately known Saturday night.

“It is with profound sadness that we announce that Richard J. Haskins, president of Red Rock Resorts, Inc. and Station Casinos LLC, died today in a watercraft accident while vacationing in Michigan,” the brief statement said.

The entire Station Casinos family mourns this loss. On behalf of our Board of Directors, management team and employees, we extend our deepest sympathies to the Haskins family.”

Haskins, who was reported to be 56 years old, was president of the company since October 2015, according to a LinkedIn profile. Earlier, he was a senior executive at the company. He was also a 1990 graduate of the University of Kansas School of Law and a member of the Nevada Bar Association.

Fertitta Recalls How Haskins Was ‘Friend to All’

Haskins had a close relationship with Frank Fertitta, III, CEO, and chairman of the Red Rock Resorts’ Board of Directors, who recalled Haskins’ profound impact on the company.

“Words cannot express what Rich has meant to the Company and to me in the 25 years he has been with Station Casinos,” Fertitta said in a statement released a few hours after the tragedy.

He was a trusted advisor, a brilliant strategist, a steady hand in good times and in bad and most important — a friend to all,” Fertitta recalled. “It is very hard to imagine Station Casinos being the Company it is today without Rich.”

“He will be sorely missed by all who knew him. Our thoughts and prayers are with his children, his family, and his loved ones.”

Haskins Led Company as Stations Reopened in Phases

In recent months, Haskins was in the news for leading the company during and after the March 17 temporary shutdown of its gaming properties by the coronavirus pandemic. He expressed concern for workers and guests, as the company reopened in phases.

Nothing is more important to us than the health and well-being of our team members, guests, and the entire Las Vegas Community,” Haskins said in a statement made earlier this year.

Some of the Station Casinos properties resumed operations last month. Earlier this week, Station Casinos announced that the Palms and three other of its Nevada gaming properties will remain closed until at least June 2021, according to documents filed with the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB). Stations’ Fiesta Henderson, Fiesta Rancho, and Texas Station are to remain shuttered “until further notice.”

Red Rock, Station Casinos’ parent company, will announce details about the Haskins’ succession at a later date.