For starters, with a new visitor record expected to be set for 2016, it’s hard to say that the casinos are "extorting" millions. There’s a lot of brouhaha about casinos ripping and tearing, reaming and mulcting, nickeling and diming, but extortion is the practice of obtaining something, especially money, through force or threat. No one’s holding a gun to anyone’s head. On the contrary, 42 million-plus visitors are sucking it up and shelling it out.
Indeed, anyone can avoid the resort fees and paid parking by simply boycotting the casinos in question. If enough people do it, the message will get through.
As for your "hotel grunts," no, they don’t make more money directly through added fees, as for most, their compensation is covered by pre-existing collective-bargaining agreements (although some of the revenue that goes toward their scheduled pay increases, it might be argued, was a byproduct of the plethora of ancillary fees). Labor's slice of parking-fee income will surely be revisited in the next round of contract talks.
As regards holiday pay, Culinary Union Secretary Bethany Khan says, "For most Culinary Union contracts, union members get double-time on holidays. Probably not the same for non-union workers."
When asked about holiday pay, MGM Resorts International didn't know, Caesars Entertainment didn't respond, and Station Casinos wouldn't discuss labor policy.
Boyd Gaming concurred with Khan's; Boyd offers holiday pay to members of collective-bargaining units. All other employees can request paid holidays -- but those can often fall on the days when the casinos can spare them least, such as Memorial Day.
As for the question of trickle-down economics, it’s generally agreed that gaming has been beneficial to its workforce. Many jobs require specialized skills and even in those that don't, the combination of union representation and -- in some cases -- enlightened corporate leadership has provided a ladder out of poverty.
At non-union Station Casinos, the average food-and-beverage server takes home $10.51 an hour (plus tips), while a front-desk clerk's salary is in the $15-$17-per-hour range. According to GlassDoor.com, a ticket clerk at (unionized) Mandalay Bay makes between $17 and $19 an hour. And if you can work your way up to housekeeping floor manager, you'll pull in between $34,000 and $38,000 a year. That rivals the highest pay this writer has been able to earn in journalism, so casino employees are doing none too badly.
