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Bowling pointed out that "yesterday MGM Grand was a kids"
hotel, running $180 million in free cash fl ow. By adding the
most exciting restaurants in the United States and having the
right entertainment and the right service standards – that has
resulted in an increase of cash flow of up to $300 million annually.”
Today MGM Grand’s properties have 70,000 employees and
36,000 hotel rooms in Las Vegas. Said Bowling, "We keep the
brand identities separate. Each [Mandalay Bay, Mirage, Excalibur,
Luxor, etc.] communicates its own experience and each is the
most successful brand in their business from the standpoint of
the consumer, employees, and the community. It’s all about
understanding who you are, finding out what your customers’
expectations are, and delivering on those expectations," said
Bowling. He added, "That’s been the most exciting part of
being associated with this organization for the last eight years.
We are very proud of what we’ve accomplished here."
While conventions and tourism are the economic engines
that drive Las Vegas, they also make it vulnerable. No area’s
businesses were harder hit by the events of September 11, 2001.
Said Bowling, "While Las Vegas was hard hit, the area bounced
back quickly. We had to lay off 4,000 people initially but were
able to rebound in seven or eight months. The time actually
allowed us to regroup and perhaps even better prepare for
the future."
Las Vegas is experiencing yet another interesting trend, the
growth in its permanent population. "There’s tremendous
excitement here and it has become a great place to live," said
Bowling, who noted that from 5,000 to 6,000 people are
coming to Las Vegas to live each month.
The legend of Las Vegas is well known. Founded in the 1940s
by gangster Bugsy Siegel, the town has long outlived its "Wild
West" reputation. Even the gaming business now accounts for
less than 50 percent of Vegas’s revenues and is one of the most
highly regulated businesses in the nation. Thanks to people like
Chuck Bowling – and his Robinson College education – Las
Vegas is far more than just a town of glitz and glamour. It’s
a laboratory for marketing success and for dealing with the
growth that inevitably follows.
Page 4 continues with feature on Skip Bowling
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