Raiders’ Mark Davis delivers on his 12K steak dinners
Mark Davis is honoring 12,000 workers for a job well done with a rare gesture.
The Las Vegas Raiders owner has delivered, for real, on his promise of a steak dinner for the thousands of workers who built Allegiant Stadium. The $100 gift packages are actually commemorative Raiders “MVP Reward” gift boxes, which began arriving in the mail last week. Workers claim their prize online.
“I made a promise three years ago that if we finished the stadium on time and safely, that those workers would get a steak dinner,” Davis said in phone chat Sunday morning. “We wanted this to be at the stadium, but obviously due to circumstances we couldn’t get together.”
Davis in March said he wanted an epic event, or multiple events, honoring the workers before this season opened. Instead, he has arranged for the gift cards exclusively through Tilman Fertitta’s Landry’s restaurant chain. Fertitta’s company owns Morton’s The Steakhouse, Strip House at Planet Hollywood, Trevi at the Forum Shops at Caesars, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Claim Jumper and Rainforest Cafe. Fertitta also owns Golden Nugget, where Vic & Anthony’s and Grotto are signature restaurants.
Davis had previously treated workers to lunches every four months (or, quarterly) as the stadium took shape. But as Davis says, “”Now that we’re at this point, it’s time for steaks.”
Davis is also bringing in up to 20 workers to light the Al Davis Memorial torch before Sunday night’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium. The owner plans to watch with his mother, Carol, from the team’s Henderson headquarters. Davis refers to his mom as The First Lady of Raider Nation, and the two watched the home opener together at the team’s headquarters in September.
And for some Vegas entertainment flair, The Gazillionaire from “Absinthe” at Caesars Palace is featured in the opening segment Sunday on NBC’s “Football Night In America” coverage. Gaz is comparing the “Absinthe” artists to the Chiefs’ starting lineup (Patrick Mahomes as a member of Duo Vector, maybe?).
The team is making the most of a difficult situation, playing this crucial AFC West battle in a gorgeous new stadium devoid of fans.
“I just keep thinking of those workers,” Davis said. “To have been able to finish all that work in a pandemic is unbelievable.”
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.