James "Big Jim" Cashman was born to Benjamin Franklin Cashman and Ella Mary Stovall in Ladue, Missouri on December 16, 1884. Cashman moved to Searchlight, Nevada in 1904 and began working a variety of jobs until he opened an automobile garage in approximately 1910. Cashman later sold automobiles and operated in Searchlight until the mining boom halted around 1920. As a result, Cashman decided to move his business to the growing city of Las Vegas, Nevada. Cashman met his future wife, Leah Barker, in Las Vegas and they married in 1923.

Station Casinos, Inc., was started by Frank J. Fertitta Jr. in 1976 in Las Vegas, Nevada as a single gambling facility. The facility was known as The Casino and underwent various expansions over the years before changing its name to the Palace Station in 1983. Fertitta’s son, Frank J. Fertitta III, joined the company in 1984 as vice president and director. Station Casinos continued expanding throughout the 1990s and establishing additional gaming facilities in Missouri including riverboat and dockside gaming in St.