BY AVERY GOODSTINE for WEEKLY VOLCANO | 9/25/2026
At Emerald Queen Casino, team member appreciation and familial feelings run deep. The latter is especially true for the father-and-son duo Edgar Oliva Jr. and Ethen Oliva.
Earlier this year, Ethen was recognized by EQC leadership as an employee of the month and earned a High Five Award for his positive attitude and diligence. Ethen works within the facilities department, and his father, Edgar, works in the food and beverage department.
“Ethen, once he was recognized, he had his father show up to his celebration, so it was an opportunity to then see the reaction of not just all of us as team members, but his … father there to witness and how proud he was of his son,” said Cosmo Bertucci, a human resources generalist at EQC. “And it was a really special moment for all of us.”
Bertucci started the High Five Program last summer as a way to publicly highlight team members who are going above and beyond. Every month, someone is recognized who has been nominated by a department head. All nominations are presented to the directors during the monthly leadership meeting, and one person is ultimately decided on to receive the High Five Award for that month.
Then, the team member is surprised during one of their shifts, and they are paraded through the casino floor with signs and music. Along with the team member of the month certificate, they are also gifted an EQC-branded Yeti cup, a parking pass, and a $200 gift card to the Slahal Steakhouse, EQC’s rooftop fine-dining restaurant.
Quarterly leaders are also selected and presented with the All In Award, which recognizes two upper-level management team members every quarter. They are also gifted a plaque, parking pass, and a $200 Slahal Steakhouse gift card.
There are walls designated for these team members at both the Fife and Tacoma casino locations with photos of the team members on display.
“It’s something almost every team member will see eventually … and it kind of inspires them to … work a little harder and provide that better guest service to one day get themselves up on that wall as well,” Bertucci said.
In addition to these individual team member recognition celebrations, EQC hosts larger appreciation events for all staff such as picnics, holiday parties, Thanksgiving turkey giveaways, barbecues, Halloween pirates, and more.
Senior human resources generalist Aaron Shelton said while the staff events are important, they have really tried to focus on being intentional in the way they build culture among the EQC staff.
“Better together” and “team first” are the slogans HR has adopted to encompass what it means to work at EQC. Shelton said the recognitions are a way they have been able to reward and identify specific actions.
Since the public recognition events have started, he said he feels confident that staff members know what’s expected of them and are excited to perform those duties.
Bertucci added the casino staff truly does feel like a family, especially since many of the staff members have been working there for over 20 years.
With some recent changes in EQC leadership over the last few years, Bertucci said they’ve been working hard to create a work culture they are proud of, and they’ve been doing that over the last year.
“Due to the longevity of most of our team members, it’s always been a great place to work,” he said. “But I think it’s something that we’re now trying to take to the next level and build that culture, that community, and know that we’re all striving for the same goal, and we’re all trying to get to that level of guest service and community.”
When EQC conducts culture surveys, Shelton said there’s always an overall positive attitude. He said people do really love their coworkers and managers.
Shelton also touched on the benefits package offered to EQC staff and how it sets them apart. Medical, dental, and vision insurance premiums are fully paid for, and he said it’s “actually really good insurance” that does not have high out-of-pocket costs. It’s the same insurance package used by the Puyallup tribal organizations.
“The tribe really takes care of the people,” Shelton said. “It’s an expensive package, but it’s important to take care of the community.”
EQC also offers 401(k) retirement options after 90 days of employment with up to a 6 percent company match, which Shelton said is the highest he knows of among other tribal casinos.
Other full-time employee benefits include a $10,000 life insurance policy, 18 paid flex days per year, an employee assistance program, and supplemental insurance options through voluntary payroll deduction. All employees receive free meals in employee dining rooms, free parking, and 20 percent meal discounts at all casino restaurants.
Shelton said they are always hiring for food and beverage positions at both the Fife and Tacoma casino locations. All open positions are listed on the EQC website. There are currently 29 open positions, including security supervision, soft count manager, fry cook, front desk agent, retail manager, table games dealer, and more.
This article paid for by Emerald Queen Casino
