Richard Craig Estey is an American businessman, political donor and philanthropist. He is the founder and chairman of Nevada Restaurant Services, Inc. parent company to Dotty's,

Bourbon Street Bourbon Street (, ) is a historic street in the heart of the French Quarter of New Orleans. Extending twelve blocks from Canal Street to Esplanade Avenue, Bourbon Street is famous for its many bars and strip clubs. Tourist numbers have b ...

, Hoover Dam Lodge,

Laughlin River Lodge The Laughlin River Lodge (formerly Sam's Town Gold River, Gold River and River Palms) is a hotel and casino on the banks of the Colorado River in Laughlin, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Richard Craig Estey ( Nevada Restaurant Services). T ...

La Villita La Villita Historic Arts Village is an art community in downtown San Antonio, Texas, United States. There are art galleries, stores selling souvenirs, gifts, custom jewelry, pottery, and imported Mexican folk art, as well as several restaurants ...

, and Red Dragon an enterprise of

taverns A tavern is a type of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that ...

hotels A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a refr ...

, and

casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

sHoward Stutz for the Las Vegas Review-Journal July 26, 2014
Dotty’s taverns are simply complex
/ref> with locations in

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

and

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

. Nevada Restaurant Services, Inc. maintains the largest slot route in Nevada.

Career

Gaming History

The chain was founded in Oregon in 1991 by Craig Estey, whose family owned a successful vending machine and food distribution service. The

Oregon Legislature The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower chamber: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the H ...

that year had authorized

video poker Video poker is a casino game based on five-card draw poker. It is played on a computerized console similar in size to a slot machine. History Video poker first became commercially viable when it became economical to combine a television-like mo ...

machines to be installed in bars and taverns, under the aegis of the

Oregon Lottery The Oregon Lottery is run by the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. History The Oregon Lottery was authorized by “Oregon Ballot Measure 5” which was passed by voters in the 1984 general election. The measure amended the Oregon Cons ...

. The first poker machines began operation in March 1992, and by the next month, five Dotty's delis were open.

Dotty's

Dotty's is a 24 hour cafe with a local forward business model, "offering food and beverage choices, with a focus on players having a welcoming environment." The chain has a clean, well-lit atmosphere meant to invoke "your grandmother's kitchen" and is demographically targeted towards women aged 35 and older.

Hoover Dam Lodge

"The owner of the chain Dotty's storefront taverns (in an interview) says he's bought a landmark hotel off U.S. 93 near

Hoover Dam The Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado, Black Canyon of the Colorado River (U.S.), Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. Constructed between 1931 and 1936, d ...

and

Lake Mead Lake Mead is a reservoir formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River in the Southwestern United States. It is located in the states of Nevada and Arizona, east of Las Vegas. It is the largest reservoir in the US in terms of water capacity. L ...

. Nevada Restaurant Services Inc. chief Craig Estey released a statement Tuesday confirming his purchase of the Hacienda Hotel & Casino from the Lakeview Co. Estey calls the Hacienda a "historical jewel."" - August 7, 2013. Hoover Dam Lodge is a 280 room hotel and casino. Hoover Dam Lodge has three restaurants - Big Horn Cafe, Dotty's a 24 hour cafe, and La Villita.

Laughlin River Lodge

The

(formerly Sam's Town Gold River, Gold River and River Palms) is a

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

and

on the banks of the

Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...

Laughlin Laughlin may refer to: Places *Laughlin, Nevada *Laughlin Air Force Base *Laughlin (Nevada gaming area) Other uses *Laughlin (surname) *Laughlin City, a fictional town in Alberta, Canada in the 2000 movie ''X-Men'' *Laughlin wavefunction, an ansa ...

. It is owned and operated by Richard Craig Estey ( Nevada Restaurant Services). The property includes an expansive casino floor and 1,000 hotel rooms in a 25-story tower. The resort has 653

slot machine A slot machine, fruit machine (British English), poker machine or pokie (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. A slot machine's standard layout features a screen disp ...

s and a

bingo Bingo or B-I-N-G-O may refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * Bingo, a game using a printed card of numbers ** Bingo (British version), a game using a printed card of 15 numbers on three lines; most commonly played in the UK and Ireland ** B ...

parlor.

Philanthropy

Mr. and Mrs. Craig Estey are supporters of the

American Heart Association The American Heart Association (AHA) is a nonprofit organization in the United States that funds cardiovascular medical research, educates consumers on healthy living and fosters appropriate Heart, cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability ...

. *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Estey, Craig Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Businesspeople from Oregon