Station Casinos steps up to cover Salvation Army theft loss

Station Casinos will cover the $13,000 loss the Salvation Army suffered after its headquarters was burglarized last weekend, officials announced Wednesday.

"Their management said we should have no losses this season," said Charlie Desiderio, marketing director for the charity.

Lori Nelson, a spokeswoman for Station Casinos Inc., confirmed the donation.

"We were actually devastated when we heard the news," Nelson said. "We've been a longtime supporter of the Salvation Army. We've worked with them over the years on a variety of donations and issues important to them."

Nelson said the general managers of individual Station properties came up with the idea Wednesday morning. Each casino was able to chip in to match the stolen money, she said.

"They really deserved this," she said.

Desiderio said the burglary was discovered Tuesday after the long holiday weekend. A bag of money, collected in kettles from bell ringers this holiday season, was missing from a locked filing cabinet, he said.

An armored truck was scheduled to pick up the funds Tuesday morning.

Desiderio was worried the theft would be a setback to the charity, which relies heavily on holiday donations to operate the rest of the year. But the donation has given peace of mind to his staff.

"They're just a classy organization," Desiderio said of Station Casinos. "They have plenty of headaches of their own, and this was just a nice thing."

He said Las Vegas police continue to investigate the burglary. He said that as far as he knew, no suspects had been identified.

There were no signs of forced entry, and Desiderio said Tuesday that someone with a key probably was responsible.

Contact reporter Mike Blasky at mblasky@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283.