Last Wednesday, the Caps advanced to the Stanley Cup final for the first time in 20 years with a Game 7 win over Tampa Bay. The joy of the fans and the players was profound, but it’s possible that no one was more ecstatic than Capitals owner Ted Leonsis, who has owned the team and witnessed its struggles firsthand since 1999.

It’s clear that Leonsis was eager to share his elation. The morning after the win, 200 Monumental Sports & Entertainment employees received an email with an invite to go to Las Vegas for free. The trip would be courtesy of Leonsis, who owns and founded MSE.

According to the Washington Post, employees who were gifted the unexpected trip were not only given a free seat on one of the two planes that Leonsis chartered, but would also be provided a room in the Excalibur for one night in addition to a ticket to Game One or Game Two of the Stanley Cup Final.

The 200 lucky full-time employees came from nearly all of Monumental’s departments, with priority given to those who work most directly with the Capitals affairs and based on seniority.

As a result of his generosity, around 100 Monumental employees flew to Vegas from Dulles Airport on Monday morning, arriving in time to watch Game One later in the day. Another 100 employees will leave on Wednesday morning to attend Game 2.

Photo courtesy of Monumental Sports

Leonsis’s magnanimity continued throughout the days prior to the team’s departure to Las Vegas. He joined the thousands of fans who came to send the Caps off on Saturday, throwing Capitals merchandise into the stands at Kettler Capitals Iceplex.

Headline photo courtesy of Monumental Sports