Vegas event planner keeps parties on track for MGM Mirage casinos

20.01.2004, Lesen Sie hier den Bericht über «Vegas event planner keeps parties on track for MGM Mirage casinos».

The woman who stages important parties, weddings and other special events for Bellagio, MGM Grand, The Mirage, Treasure Island and New York-New York is a big advantage for their parent company, MGM Mirage.

"Cheryl Fish and her team at MGM Mirage Events are a significant plus for Bellagio," said Randy Morton, Bellagio vice president of hotel operations. "They are the absolute best at what they do."

Morton's boss, Mirage Resorts Chief Executive Officer Bobby Baldwin, was more succinct. "She's the best," he said.

Fish and her 50-member team produce megaevents that can cost millions of dollars, including parties for big-betting casino customers, holiday celebrations, corporate events and spectacular weddings for the rich and famous.

Fish was lured to Las Vegas by former Mirage Resorts boss Steve Wynn, and she says the corporate bosses of MGM Mirage continue to allow her and her team the opportunity to be creative, and to be the best at what they do.

Q: How many events does MGM Mirage Events produce in a year? A: We do almost 600 jobs a year.

Q: Do any of the other big Strip operating companies - Mandalay Resort Group, Park Place Entertainment or Harrah's Entertainment - have an in-house, event planning outfit? A: There isn't another casino in town that has a full-service production company like we have. Our customers can bill everything for their events at once. It's seamless, and our talent is unmatched in this town.

Q: What do you do when things go wrong when you're staging an event? A: We try to troubleshoot before an event, but art is done by hand, and problems do come up. But the beauty of (our) facility is that we're so close. If something needs to be repaired or replaced, we're right here.

Q: You support a handful of different properties. While they're all MGM Mirage hotels, each general manager's concerned about his place. How do you please them all? A: Well, it gets tricky, especially for New Year's Eve. New Year's Eve is different. Of course, each property has its own event, and each property wants to outdo each other. Each property wants a new event, something edgy.

Q: What events are your bread and butter, predictable events you'll be planning year in and year out? A: New Year's Eve events, of course, at least one at every property. And there are big events during the early part of the year, with Chinese New Year and Super Bowl parties. After those events, each company property hosts big employee of the year parties, and they really go all out. During the rest of the year we support a number of casino events, ranging from baccarat tournaments to specialty slot tournaments.

Q: What's the price range for the services provided by MGM Mirage Events? A: Let's say a client wants just a marquee. That could cost only $1,000. We've also had events that run as high as $1.5 million to $2 million.

Q: What kind of events cost seven figures? A: The big baccarat tournaments could cost that much, and the big weddings, the star weddings, could as well.

Q: What's your busy season? A: The busy season starts during the middle of October, when we start with the Halloween parties. Every one of our properties does wild, outlandish events for Halloween. Before that, we're heavily involved in planning for our New Year's Eve events; those are presold by mid-October. Holiday decor comes next, we do the front lobby decor, plus back-of-the-house decor for our employees, including the employee dining rooms. We have the New Year's Eve events, of course, but on New Year's Day and the next day or two we also have a lot of college bowl game parties.

Q: Where do you get your inspiration, and how do you nourish your creativity? A: I try to go to a lot of plays, as they're really innovative. Because of my close association with Los Angeles, we know the people who do the Oscars and Emmys, and we try to bring some of that kind of innovation to Las Vegas

Über MGM Grand Hotel and Casino:

Das MGM Grand gehört zu den grössten Hotels der Welt. Der Hotelkomplex besitzt 5'044 Hotelzimmer und ist direkt mit dem Casino verbunden.

Das Casino ist mit seinen 15'930 m2 riesengross und bietet alle Casinospiele an. Die Tischspiele Roulette, Black Jack sind zahlreich vorhanden. Ebenso findet man einen Pokerraum und unzählige Spielautomaten.

Zur Geschichte des MGM Grand Hotel

1973 wurde das original MGM Grand eröffnet. Das Original-Hotel-Casino wurde 1986 von MGM an Bally Entertainment Corp. verkauft und umbenannt ins heutige Bally's.

1993 öffnete das heutige MGM Grand als damals grösstes Hotel der Welt seine neuen Tore.

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