Caesars employees make quick use of education benefits

When she isn’t up all night monitoring table games at Caesars Palace, Kelly Paiz focuses on putting her four children through college.

So far, she has two down and two to go. And now she has some much-appreciated help from Caesars Entertainment.

The company recently introduced its All-In On Education benefits program that offers several ways for its full-time and part-time employees to pay for college or other technical training for themselves and their dependents.

Paiz’s son, Hunter Walker, was a recent beneficiary of the program. He was selected from more than 100 applicants to be among the inaugural class of 22 Don Carano Legacy Scholarship recipients, which included seven in the Las Vegas area.

“It’s always been a struggle how to figure out how to help each one of them,” Paiz said, who has been with Caesars for 15 years in various capacities. “For a student, getting into an education program is very easy. Paying for it is not easy.”

“As a mother, wanting your children to have success is so important,” she added.

Caesar’s education benefits program includes:

— Tuition assistance up to $5,250 annually.

— Student loan debt repayment up to $5,250 annually.

— A 529 college savings plan for dependents.

— Access to low- to no-cost degrees through Strayer University and Capella University, along with other in-network degree programs.

— The Don Carano Legacy Scholarship, which offers up to $20,000 over four years for employees’ dependents.

Walker, 20, is transferring from the College of Southern Nevada to UNLV this fall to study international business. Now, he will attend his new school almost tuition-free.

“It feels good that I don’t have to put any burden on my mother,” Walker said. “I can achieve my goals without stressing my parents.”

Ana Munoz, Caesars’ director of community impact and giving, said the education program will allow her to pursue a Ph.D. in hospitality administration and eventually a career as a university professor.

The 41-year-old Las Vegan, who is married with one adult son, said she is starting school part-time in August and expects to need six or more years to complete her program. She will use the tuition reimbursement portion of the education benefits program to reduce her costs.

“I would have likely had to take out another student loan,” she said in an email interview. “Since I’m still paying off loans from my undergrad from more than a decade ago, this is a huge relief to not add to that debt.”

Stephanie Lepori, the chief administrative and accounting officer for Caesars, said the benefit for the company was simple.

“Our team members are our top priority,” she said. “It might sound cliched, but they are our greatest asset and the key to our success.”

She said a saying she heard passed down from casino executives over the years was that, “You couldn’t always afford Frank Sinatra, but you could always afford to have a great team.”

Lepori said Caesars believes the program will help recruit and retain employees, but that they are welcome to pursue educational opportunities that would eventually take them away from the company.

Paiz said she’s grateful that her job is enabling opportunities for her son. She said Walker’s personal essay for the scholarship application moved her because of how he opened up about the challenges he and his peers at Palo Verde High School faced during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Seeing his journey is beautiful,” she said.

Contact Jim Barnes at jbarnes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0277. Follow @JimBarnesLV on Twitter.