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Exceptional start lays groundwork for second phase of casino
With so much variety on offer, queuing to enter a bar in a Macau casino seems to be something  from the bygone days. Today, visitors  are fascinated not only by the different gaming facilities, but also by a wide choice of entertainment options.
MGM Grand Macau opened in December last year and its Lion's Bar has taken centre stage in the enclave's entertainment industry.
Since management signed a contract with Freddie James Project,  a band from Canada, there have been queues on Friday and Saturday nights to enter the casino bar.
MGM Grand Macau's marketing and communications vice-president Joanna Barnes  said things had been going 'exceptionally well' since the  opening.
She pointed to the popularity of Lion's Bar as an example of the success, describing the atmosphere as 'high energy' and 'dynamic'.  'We have had a lot of positive feedback,' she said. 'It is a very high level energy performance and the audience really gets involved.'
Ms Barnes declined to discuss revenue from gaming, but said the mega resort was on track for its phase two expansion next year.
MGM Grand Macau employs almost 6,000 staff and will be taking on an additional 200 employees to cater for the 4,400-square-metre expansion. Roles will be offered in different areas including hospitality, operations and entertainment.
Ms Barnes said  employee recruitment would be from Macau, Hong Kong and surrounding areas. However, she said due to the labour shortage in Macau, the casino would have no choice but to also conduct an international recruitment campaign.
'We are yet to confirm all the details of the expansion, but positions vacant will cover all areas,' she said. 'We will be looking for people with strong language skills and also an aptitude to work with different cultures.
'We will not be confining our search to one city in particular.'
A search of the resort's website  indicated there were 219 positions vacant. The majority of jobs were  in hotel operations and food and beverage. Other positions included those in human resources, information technology, marketing and communications and security.  Application  can be made online.
Ms Barnes said applicants who spoke English and Chinese would be looked on favourably, as would those who could speak Korean and Japanese.
She said staff would be given in-house training in MGM culture to ensure they fitted into the organisation.
'We also do a lot in terms of vertical and horizontal training, or cross training in different sections,' she said. 'Here we are looking for long-term growth in our people.'
Much of the training, including courses designed to promote supervisors and leaders, is conducted in-house.
The majority of visitors  are from the mainland and Hong Kong, followed by Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia. Due to the fact that MGM Grand Macau has only been open four months, Ms Barnes said it was too early to identify any significant trends in visitor or VIP numbers.
She  said the  MGM was different from many other large casinos in Macau because it was specifically designed for the city. She said one of the most distinguishing features was the 1,088-square-metre Grande Praca, located on the ground floor, and the ballroom was designed for special events and dining. 'It is very important to recognise that this property is  specially designed for Macau,' she said. 'Originality is important to us, depth of detail and our people are also very important.'
She pointed to customer feedback as evidence of how important it was to select the right staff and conduct adequate training. 'The best way to show how important our staff members are is to quote some of our customer comments, and it has been consistently noted that we do understand what the word hospitality means,' she said.
'People feel we are genuinely friendly and welcoming. These are regular and consistent comments. It is all part of the culture. We want our people to love their jobs, enjoy what they do and project that.'
The US$1.25 billion project, situated on Nam Van Lake, has 600 rooms, convention centre, spa, retail and restaurants, together with 385 gaming tables, 888 slots and 16 private gaming areas. With the phase two project on the drawing board, the expansion will include an additional 70 gaming tables and 240 slot machines. This will leave an additional 2,400 square metres for future expansion.
Ms Barnes said the aim was to constantly improve the property and staff. 'We are constantly working to make things better,' she said. 'Our business is all about offering high standard products and entertainment that give us an edge.'
Numbers game
MGM employs almost 6,000 staff and will be taking on an additional 200 employees to cater for the phase two expansion  starting  next year
Jobs are available in hospitality, marketing, IT and hotel operations
The expansion will see an additional 70 gaming tables and 240 slots
MGM Grand positions itself as  specially designed for Macau



Grand expansion at MGM