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twitterCityCenter employees receive uniforms, gear up for opening
Getting outfitted with new work attire symbolizes fresh start for those coming off unemployment
Justin M. Bowen
CityCenter Uniform Attendant Anthony Richardson takes down Gabriel Bustamantez size information Wednesday at the CityCenter Uniform Distribution Center in Las Vegas. CityCenter properties begin opening December 1.
Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.
CityCenter Workers Get Uniforms
CityCenter has begun fitting their 12,000 employees into their new uniforms as the December resort openings approach. The 200,000 uniforms are the work of award-winning designers such as Jhane Barnes and some of them are made from recycled materials. For some, the uniform fitting marked the first step out of unemployment.
Sun Coverage
Sun Archives
- How CityCenter’s room rates will compare with Strip rivals’ (10-20-2009)
- CityCenter to begin making nearly 12,000 job offers Monday (9-18-2009)
- CityCenter's Aria Resort to hire 350 workers (8-2-2009)
- A look inside CityCenter’s application mill (7-17-2009)
With CityCenter’s first opening date just a month away, thousands are gearing up for new jobs at the property.
CityCenter brought hundreds a step closer to work on Wednesday as it handed out uniforms to new employees.
For those who have been out of a work, the uniform is symbolic of the beginning of new opportunities.
“This is like early Christmas. This is like the best gift I could unwrap for myself,” Gabriel Bustamantez said.
Bustamantez will begin his training for a room service position at ARIA in the coming weeks. The former graphic design professional said he was laid off in February and has been out of work since.
Like many other unemployed Nevadans, Bustamantez said his savings dwindled, he struggled with bills and his job search led him from dead end to dead end.
“Looking for a job was my job for awhile,” Bustamantez said. “I’d look online. I’d go three times a week to anywhere that was hiring — fast food, gas stations, other casinos.”
After selling all his graphic design equipment and computer to pay his rent, Bustamantez said, he had to swallow his pride and ask his parents for help.
“It’s been hard on myself and my family. I moved back in with my folks and that was hard for them, too, because I became a burden on my family again. That’s really where the struggle came in and my self worth changed. Here I am at 29 having to be their child again,” Bustamantez said.
But after applying with CityCenter, the hiring process moved along fairly quickly. Two weeks after applying, Bustamantez got a call for an interview and, a week later, got a job offer.
CityCenter began fitting new employees for uniforms on Oct. 1 and will process more than 200,000 garments before the hotel and casino opens in December. The 130 different uniforms represent not only different positions at CityCenter, but the property’s commitment to environmental sustainability.
ARIA Vice President of Hotel Services Barbara Davis said the design process for the uniforms started more than two years ago when MGM Mirage began to lay out the casino and restaurant concepts.
Noted for her work designing men’s fashions, eyewear and housewares for Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue, fashion designer Jhane Barnes was recruited to design uniforms for ARIA.
Davis said Barnes purchases recyclable polyester from a company in Japan, which can later be sent back and reused after the uniform has seen its lifespan. Along with that, ARIA convention staff uniforms have been developed from recycled materials.
Also waiting for her uniform today was Nicole D’Antuono, a future food server and room service attendant at ARIA.
D’Antuono said she put in for the position as soon as the property began accepting applications. At the time, she was working at the Rio and didn’t think layoffs were coming, but she decided to apply just in case.
The day after D’Antuono was offered the job at CityCenter, she was laid off from the Rio. Wednesday marked four weeks being out of work.
“I absolutely felt layoffs were coming right before it happened. It got really scary over there” at the Rio, D’Antuono said. “But I got really lucky compared to a lot of people.”
Davis said the best part of CityCenter’s recruitment has been days like today when future employees get a glimpse of the environment they’ll be working in.
“This is the most rewarding part for our company — to know that we are able to offer these jobs, that we made it over our hurdles and people are going to able to see the product that we are bringing them,” Davis said.
CityCenter received close to 160,000 applications for 12,000 openings — 60,000 more than the expected 100,000 applications. Of those who applied, 50,000 were interviewed.
Employees from other MGM Mirage properties will make up close to a third of CityCenter’s positions. The openings that transfers create at other MGM Mirage properties will be filled throughout the year.
Most employees at CityCenter will begin work in late November, ramping up through early December.
Vdara Hotel will kick off CityCenter’s opening on Dec. 1, followed by the Crystals retail and entertainment district on Dec. 3, Mandarin Oriental on Dec. 4 and ARIA Dec. 16. The Harmon will open in late 2010.
Discussion: 43 comments so far…
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Good Luck to all of the new employees of City Center! Although there has been much critisism of the new facility, we all hope the best for everyone!
save your money, guys. save that money. there will be mass layoffs at this place in 3 -4 months.
Can't anyone be positive about the opening of City Center, and applaud, for once, MGM's efforts and the hiring of nearly 12,000 employees. Allow us a moment of happiness and some hopefulness! Spend $10 and buy a share of MGM stock, or send them an e-mail. Invest in the future of our City. We need good news, and need to be out of this doom and gloom community attitude. It is nice to read something positive every now and then.
Editor: I bet all my $ [no pun Vegas!] you have spell check somewhere in your office ["the property began accepting applicaitons."] Any takers? :)
'serious' above: good point... I'm an optimist: I'll just wait for MGM stock come to down to $1 and then invest. :O
I agree with "serious"...lets just hope!!!
you guys are in denial if you think this place is going to be a success.
you can't add new product to a marketplace that already has too much product.
don't get me wrong. it WILL be popular for a few months, but once that "let's go see the new monolith" period is over, it will tank.
CITY CENTER WILL NOT BE ABLE TO OVER COME ITS DEBT SERVICE & ENORMOUS OVERHEAD WHEN IT OPENS IN DECEMBER 2009 !!! THE MGM/MIRAGE STOCK PRICE IS STARTING TO REFLECT THAT KNOW !!!
UNFORTUNATELY - CITY CENTER IS NOT TO BIG TO FAIL & THERE WILL BE NO GOVRENMENT BAIL OUTS FOR MGM/MIRAGE -- THERE CASH FLOW WILL BE DRAINED OVER THE NEXT TWO TO THREE YEARS - TRYING TO SUPPORT & ILL PLANNED & A FINANCIALLY UNSUSTAINABLE PROJECT !!! THE YOUNG GENIUSES THAT PUT KERK KERORIAN IN TO THIS FINANCIAL NIGHT MARE SHOULD BE HELD TO TASK - BY MR. KERKORIAN & THE INNOCENT STOCK HOLDERS !!!
IF MR KERKORIAN DID NOT TAKE ONE MORE BITE OUT OF THE APPLE - HE WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL TODAY & WOULD HAVE - GONE DOWN IN LAS VEGAS HISTORY AS A - MAJOR WINNER !!!
CORPORATE ACADEMICS & INTELLECTUALS WHO DO NOT HAVE THE CREATIVE MARKETING GENIUS - LIKE A JAY SARNO THAT CREATED CAESARS PALACE IN 1966 - DO NOT HAVE A CLUE ABOUT CREATING MEGA STRUCTURE THEMES & ARE TOTALLY INEPT IN THAT VISIONARY ARENA !! -- NO CREATIVE MARKETING VISIONARY WOULD HAVE USED -- 67 ACRES ON THE PRIME LAS VEGAS STRIP TO PUT - ONE HOTEL CASINO - BY THE NAME OF THE ARIA WHICH MEANS NOTHING TO THE UPSCALE CURIOUS PUBLIC - WITH NO REAL COMPELLING THEME & THREE OTHER MIXED USE BUILDINGS - LIKE A CONDO HOTEL AN OFFICE BUILDING - ECT ECT.
ONE HOTEL CASINO CAN NOT SUPPORT AN ELEVEN BILLION DOLLAR PROJECT - THATS JUST SIMPLE MATH & THE SO CALLED INTELLECTS & ACADEMICS SHOULD BE CALLED TO TASK & QUESTIONED PUBLICLY ON T.V. - WHAT WHERE YOU THINKING & WHAT DID THEY TEACH YOU IN COLLEGE & WERE YOU EVER IN YOUR OPINION EVER QUALIFIED TO BE PLACED IN A PUBLIC CORPORATION - WITH THE TITLES & RESPONSIBILITIES GIVEN TO YOU TO MAKE SUCH DECISIONS - THAT WERE OBVIOUSLY FLAWED FROM THE BEGINNING -- DID YOU CONSULT WITH CREATIVE MARKETING VISIONARIES - LIKE A JAY SARNO - OR A SHELDON ADELSON OR A STEVE WYNN - WHEN HE STILL UNDERSTOOD MEGA STRUCTURE THEMES !!! - UNFORTUNATELY JAY SARNO PASSED AWAY MANY YEARS AGO AT CAESARS PALACE !!!
ITS THIS CORPORATE INCOMPETANCY - NOT KIRK KERKORIAN THAT CRATED THIS FINANCIAL NIGHT MARE - MR KERKORIAN NEVER HAD THE INTELLECT OR THE ACADEMIC SKILLS THAT THEY HAVE & HE ALWAYS RELIED ON THE -INTELLECTS TO GUIDE HIM - UNFORTUNATELY - HE BET ON THE WRONG HORSE THIS TIME & AT 92 YEARS OLD HE SHOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN EXPOSED TO THIS TIS FINANCIAL DEBACLE !!!
THE LESSON TO BE LEARNED FROM THIS CORPORATE TRAGEDY IS -- ONLY APPOINT A PRESIDENT & A CEO WHO HAS A COMBINATION OF ACADEMIC SKILLS WITH CREATVE MARKETING SKILLS & THE PROPER PEOPLE PERSON SKILLS - SO HE CAN BE A GOOD LISTENER OG JUST - NORMAL PEOPLE - WHO CAN CONTRIBUTE SOME VERY GOOD IDEAS - FROM TIME TO TIME !!!
EGO & UNREALISTIC POSITION & POWER CAME BACK TO HAUNT MGM/MIRAGE UNFORTUNATELY !!!
MR. KERKORIAN IS A GREAT MAN & ROSE ABOVE HIS BACK GROUND & OTHER FINANCIAL CHALLENGES THAT POOR BOYS FACE - HE IS REMARKABLE & SHOULD GO DOWN IN LAS VEGAS HISTORY AS A WINNER !!!
More properties to fight over the same declining number of visitors. For every job created at city center a job will be lost at another property.
BELAIR :
Has no one ever told you that posting in ALL CAPS is considered SHOUTING and is rude..
CAPS should be used for EMPHASIS only...
I heard last night of the local news that the new uniforms have some kind of tracking device so that you can be found anywhere on the property. I don't know if thats good or bad but it does sound kind of "big brothers watching" to me. At the same time, it is a very large property. I guess you would need to be found if you are hurt and turn up missing and can't call for help.
smokininkman, Are you the "INTERNET POLICE"?
Six thousand more hotel rooms at the same time that McCarran's 2nd largest carrier (US Airways) is cutting flights in half!
Yes, folks, I suppose there's "no life without hope" but you're deluding yourselves if you think CC will do anything but harm to both MGMM and most other operators here in town.
I cannot help but believe that in the next 6-12 months one or more hotel/casinos here in town will actually close its doors. Any suggestions out there for likely casualties?
"By LV4LIFE I heard last night of the local news that the new uniforms have some kind of tracking device..."
LV4LIFE: What network did you see this on? I ask as I believe it is false info. thanks
I'm excited about CityCenter and look forward to visiting it. Sure, it's not a design that I would have picked and better things could have been done with that space, but here it is and it looks interesting.
It's not going to make billions in the next 6 months or even next couple of years. But in the long term, this is going to succeed, like almost everything else does in Vegas. Things are bad now, which explains the doom and gloom posts but that just means that things will get better-no, not tomorrow, but at some point.
Uniforms with RFID chips in them for tracking purposes.
Just like your dog.
With a criminal background check all the way to your birth to work in the gamblin' industry, (it does say "EVER BEEN" on the application), and now your moves followed going into your future until you're fired or quit, I honestly can say that I am very much relieved that I can count past 21.
But Hey, it's work, for now.
(On lots of *foreign* corporate borrowed money...)
I can't believe how many pessimistic bloggers we have here. In anything in life, if we think we will fail before we even try it, there is a big chance that we won't succeed. It is better to look at it as half-full than looking at it as half-empty. Cmon guys, give it a chance and we will see what happens after a year of operation.
Just gotta comment:
Let's all sing along with Critias and serious, ready,
"Nothing but blue skyes, blue skyes, comin' my way..."
(Don't forget to whistle, and follow the bouncing optimism.)
*HaPpY dAyS aRe HeRe AgAiN*
Only morons post in all caps.
Only morons criticize people for posting in all caps! Ok, to the new employees - yippee - wish you the best - at least you will get some free clothes. Someplace people will be laid off because of this! I figure the hiring will result in about two jobs lost someplace in Vegas for everyone hired here. It will result in some marginal operations becoming non-viable. I figure it will have its greatest impact on other strip casinos and places like Southpoint and M. Too bad, so sad, wish it weren't so!
OK HERE GOES I WILL JOIN IN THE HAPPY CHORUS! JUST TAKE YOUR MEDS!
"Nothing but blue skyes, blue skyes, comin' my way..."
(Don't forget to whistle, and follow the bouncing optimism.)
*HaPpY dAyS aRe HeRe AgAiN*
Don't get me started on CityCenter - please don't
The homeless are actually lucky; who in their right minds want to "Suck-Up" & be at the Beck-n-Call of people to get their money; sounds a lot like PANHANDLING with clean clothing ( and provided I see).
The smart casino owners are still making money even now with a substantially reduced number of visitors who are spending less money than ever before.
For the rest of the big box casino operators, their is always hope.
There is no increase of visitors and will likely be the case for awhile, so citycenter will take visitors from other casinos. This will be a matter of the survival of the fittest. MGM has taken on alot of debt for the citycenter so they are in need of maintaining a certian of revenue just to service the debt. I like the location of citycenter and they have a chance to survive if they out-perform their competitors in terms of service. Best of luck to the citycenter employees. The outcome is not set in stone, but for sure there will be losers on the Strip.
Ah hell, lets just wish 'em the best, and hope that this thing is a success..
How does that song by the Killers go again? Oh yeah......?"JEALOUSY, turning saints into the sea." To all those recently employed, congratulations! To all the haters out there, please know that no one wants to do business with you. Your personality smells of you know what. I was not chosen to work at City Center either. Move on. To all the critics, God bless you. I don't know your credentials, so I take your words with a grain of salt, and I'll read what you have to say nonetheless. After all, opinions are interesting.
Lastly, let's all hope for the best. City Center's success will be all our success. And if City Center fails, we'll all be sorry.
I certainly wish them the best.
I can only speak personally..I'm not nearly as excited about this development as others in the past. The whole 'city within a city' idea just doesn't appeal to me. It is certainly not enough to make me hurry up and return.
Fogcity..I completely agree with you. Sadly they are fighting over the same pie. They have not made it bigger. Since MGM/Mirage have essentially made all their casino's carbon copies of eachother, it seems they will be the ones who suffer.
An interesting part of the article "Employees from other MGM Mirage properties will make up close to a third of CityCenter's positions. The openings that transfers create at other MGM Mirage properties will be filled throughout the year."
'Filled throughout the year' seems to imply will be filled as needed. Essentially, MGM/Mirage laid people off without having to formally do so.
Not to mention that, for a project the size of CC and a company the size of MGMM, to have less than one third as transfers from other properties speaks volumes about the states of mind of MGMM hotel/casino workers, and what they anticipate will occur at CC!!
By cutting costs at the other casinos, and possibly the profits they are reaping at Non-LV sites they can sustain CC until better days come around. It may not be the boom years of several years ago but at least it will not a deep recession that they will have to operate under.
As usual, the negative commenters are out ranting and raving... must be exhausting to be so miserable =( sigh... life is so hard and terrible
So they hire 12k service industry workers & put 10k construction workers out of work.
Given the differences in pay, this is actually a net loss(especially considering that other construction projects are showing as much life as Michael Jackson).
You'd have to be retarded to buy MGM stock right now.
Hope that those 12,000 employees, are actual American Citizens...lol...bet not...
that rude person how dare she write in CAPS it sustains the ringing in my middle finger
and the nay-sayers are always right about Vegas
mayor goodman - why do you think anyone would want to build in your fife-dumb?
kick-okole baby
To All Those Who Think We Are Naysayers:
We've seen it all before. There is hype up the ying yang when a new casino opens and even in GOOD economic times, the hype lasts for 3-5 months and then business slows. We are also heading into THE slowest time of the year - the holiday season. Some of the best offers during this time, but Vegas slows down considerably; throw in the hard economic times and Vegas will suffer even more, and City Center will NOT save it. REtailers across the country are already predicting it will be a dismal shopping season. People just don't have the money or are not going to spend it foolishly. So Guess who is going to lose even more this holiday season??? Oh yeah - right - City Center will be the beacon of good times ahead......
As far as those 12,000 jobs - again don't believe the hype. What about the other 20,000 unemployed EXPERIENCED casino workers in Las Vegas that didn't get one of those jobs at CC because so many went to out of towners?
City Center to the world looks like Vegas is thriving and "recession proof". The majority of us know better even those that don't even live in Vegas.
So pardon us for our pessimism - we know better.
The strip casino's can't fill their rooms now. So lets add a few thousand in this depression.
There will be 4000 not 12,000 people working there in a few months.
LAS VEGAS IS DEAD !!!!
RUN FOR YOUR LIVES !!!!
MGM stock will be worth less than a penny sometime in 2010.
Det_Munch : Firstly, why would the positions at City Cemetery go to outsiders? Is your source for that information dependable ? I thought I read somewhere that many of the positions at City Cemetery were move overs from other MGM properties..
"City Cemetary"
Ha Ha, that's pretty funny. First I've seen that.
Det_Munch: Think of it as 12,000 employed workers instead of 32,000 unemployed if City Center did not hire. You're right City Center will not cure all the Las Vegas unemployment problems but it's a big help if you look at the bigger picture.
ATTENTION MISS SMOKININKMAN & MISS GUNS4HIRE -
YOU ARE WORRIED ABOUT BELAIRS CAPS VS LOWER CASE TYPING - YOU ARE WORRIED ABOUT THE WRONG THINGS & YOU ARE MENTALLY & EMOTIONALLY FIXED WITH TRIVIA & MINUTIA !!!
INTELLIGENT COMMENT IS MORE IMPORTANT & BECAUSE YOU CAN NOT ACADEMICALLY CONTRIBUTE INTELLIGENT COMMENT ABOUT SOPHISTICATED SUBJECT MATTER - YOU ARE OBVIOSLY JEALOUS - & MUST RESORT TO ADOLESCENT - IGNORANT ATTACKS !!!
TRY TO RISE ABOVE & I AM SURE YOUR MEN FRIENDS WILL RESPECT & LIKE YOU MORE !!!
GROW UP !!!
THE WORLD SHOULD HAVE YOUR SHELTERED PROBLEMS !!
hello,all i start work at city center on the 16th of december. @ the aria hotel.....and i hope the property makes it....if not i'll look for another job ...we have to be positive .....i understand everyones comments about city center..it mite make it ....it mite not...but we have to start sumwhere......i don't listen to negativity....have a good day...