Spring Break
Living a Vida Vegas: a Growing MBA Opportunity in the Gaming & Hosptiality Industry
Gilbert Tang (OB), Contributing Writer
Issue date: 10/15/07 Section: News
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During the weekend of September 27-30, a group of 20 HBS students went on the Las Vegas trek to find out more about this much celebrated yet rather mysterious side of the business world. Led by EC students Aastha Gurbax and Shirin Odar, and co-organized by Josh Schwarzberg, we visited the Wynn, the Venetian and Caesar's Palace. It was amazing to see how different the business models were among the big three gaming and hospitality companies.
Our first stop was breakfast with the Wynn senior executives, including the Senior Vice President Human Resources, who joined the company after a successful career on Wall Street. Our conversations ranged from how to transition a career into the gaming business to Wynn's global expansion strategy. Following a tour of the hotel (including a 1900 square feet Tower Suite), the Vice President of Investor Relations chatted with us about the company and its clients. The Wynn's business model has always revolved around the idea of a "fun" experience for its customers. It has positioned itself successfully in the luxury segment of the business, respectively in its hotel & resort, gaming and entertainment, and retail divisions. Wynn's customers value privacy, exclusivity and comfort, and Mr. Wynn's vision to provide that offering is without peer in Las Vegas, earning the hotel resort the only 5-star and 5-diamond rating on the strip. With the opening of Wynn's second tower "Encore" in fall 2009, and a resort & casino in Macau, China, the Wynn enterprise aims to extend its luxury offerings to high-end customers worldwide.
We then transitioned to the Venetian, part of the Las Vegas Sands Corp. founded and owned by Chairman & CEO Sheldon Adelson. A buffet lunch at the employees' cafeteria awaited us as we were presented with an "HBS" cake and greeted by a pair of Italian tenors singing our praises. The Chief Operations Officer, Rob Goldstein, described the Sands' rapid growth strategy in different business areas: hotel & resort, casino and convention. The company consistently has the highest return on investment in Vegas and Mr. Goldstein projects that Macau will exceed Vegas in scale as the company expands its development in that region.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Paul Shafer HBS '79
posted 10/15/07 @ 2:56 PM EST
This article is a deeply depressing reminder of the HBS mantra, "money uber alles". "Gaming" is simply a euphemism for gambling, which Las Vegas has refined into a high art of exploiting human vulnerability and those in our society who can least afford it and are the most hurt by it. (Continued…)
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