MGM holds ceremony for training day student participants

A total of 75 local students gain hands-on experiences

A certification ceremony for the 2016 “A Day with MGM” program was held yesterday at MGM Macau, awarding 75 local high school students aged 15 and above who received on-the-job training across multiple departments for the gaming operator. Participants were awarded with certificates and given stuffed toy of a lion – the icon and logo of MGM.
Three daily sessions will be held this year, the first of which concluded yesterday. The other two training days will be held later this month on August 15 and 24 respectively.
The participating departments in this year’s program were front desk reception, fitness and pool facilities, food and beverage, operations, wardrobe and linen, warehouse, human resources and others.
Some of this year’s participants shared their experience during the certification event, claiming that the event had helped them examine their future career path and had shed some light on their interests.
One participant, identified as David, thanked his department mentors for their help and guidance during the event, and said that his experience had helped him plan for his future.
Among other invited guests were two former participants of the program; a lady who identified herself as Victoria who studies Hotel Management at IFT, and Ray Au, who is currently studying International Hospitality Management in the Netherlands.
“I understood [after completing the program] how hotels work,” said Victoria. “I [realized] that all of the employees in a hotel are important and are all [important in creating] the best customer-facing experience.”
Meanwhile, Au told the Times that he has actually participated in the program twice before, first in a customer-facing role in the restaurant area of the business, and then in a back-of-house function also under the food and beverage category.
“The experiences inspired me to pursue a career in hotel management,” he told the Times during the ceremony.
When he finishes his studies in the Netherlands, Au intends to return to the MSAR and emphasized that he would like to join MGM, working at either MGM Macau or the new Cotai resort expected to open next year.

MGM Cotai to open only with mass tables

MGM Cotai, which was initially slated to open early this year, will contain no VIP gaming rooms in the finished resort; a move which demonstrates the operator’s shift toward entertainment-driven offerings.
MGM China CEO Grant Bowie told TDM that the resort will contain “only mass tables” at the sidelines of a forum on Tuesday, titled “Macau Integrated Tourism and Leisure Enterprises and Corporate Social Responsibility.”
“We’ve already made the decision that we’re envisaging opening with only mass tables, and that’s obviously the basis of where we see the future of Macau and that’s the decision we’ve taken at this time,” Bowie said, as cited by TDM.
The property is being constructed to accommodate up to 500 gaming tables, however in view of the fact that the government is unlikely to grant the full amount, Bowie said MGM China will cooperate with the government’s decision.
“The market is changing and we have to adapt to those changes,” he said. “I’m very positive that our property in Cotai will be given […] sufficient tables.”