Priority was given to employees who work closely on the Capitals and was based partly on seniorityMONUMENTAL SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Monumental Sports & Entertainment Chair & CEO Ted Leonsis arranged for 200 full-time employees to "make the trip to Las Vegas, where they would be put up in the Excalibur for one night and receive a ticket" to see either Capitals-Golden Knights Game 1 or 2 in the Stanley Cup Final, according to Scott Allen of the WASHINGTON POST. Leonsis "chartered two flights, one that left Monday morning and another scheduled to leave" this morning, with each one carrying "roughly 100 full-time employees from nearly every department." A company spokesperson said that ticket availability "prohibited Leonsis from inviting more" of MS&E's roughly 500 full-time employees, so priority was "given to employees who work most closely on Capitals-related business and was also based in part on seniority." Monday's traveling party were "handed red 'All Caps' rally towels as they boarded" their 7:00am ET charter flight at Dulles Airport. MS&E Guest Relations Manager Luis Omar Castro Velez said, "I never expected an owner of the company to do this. ... He's thinking of us as part of a family, as part of the experience. There's no reason for him to do it. All I can say is big thanks to Ted and his family for the opportunity, and for truly making this into something memorable for all of us" (WASHINGTON POST, 5/30). In DC, Adam Zielonka noted Leonsis was "recently seen at the Capitals' final practice at home before the team traveled to Nevada." He "wore an Alex Ovechkin jersey and tossed T-shirts to fans" (WASHINGTONTIMES.com, 5/29).
