This post is sponsored by MGM Gold Strike Resort and Casino
On Saturday afternoon of our stay, Elaine and I were treated to a behind the scenes tour of the Gold Strike Casino and Hotel. We learned a lot from the tour and from various employees of the facility. We were introduced to the Director of Hotel Operations Craytonia Collins, and Front Office Manager Kyle Buggs, by the Communication Manager Keisha Oliver.
They all welcomed us to MGM Gold Strike Resort and Casino. Then we started on our tour. The first place we went was to the Presidential Suite. This is where the high rollers stay when they come to town to play at Gold Strike.
This suite goes for about $800 per night if you were to pay to stay in it, but Mr. Collins told us that the usual guests are high rollers who are comped for the room. Can you imagine staying in such a huge suite? He also said that some of their guests who stay in this suite are flown in by private jet for the weekend. I guess that is how the other half lives!
Look how big that bed is! The whole bedroom is separate from the rest of the suite. I wanted to stay in that room for just one night.
The Presidential Suite also had a dining area with a dining table with six chairs, and a kitchen with a refrigerator and stove. I think the whole suite was larger than my house! One more photo of the Presidential Suite and we’ll move on: The bathroom!
From the Presidential Suite, we went to Housekeeping, where we met Carolyn Wright, Director of Housekeeping. It was so interesting to me to find out that housekeeping handles about 30,000 pounds of linens a day with 60% occupancy of the hotel. That is a lot of towels and sheets! They send all their linens out to a laundry service to be washed and folded. Even with that, they have 91 Guest Room Attendants, 10 Housemen, 13 supervisors, 5 managers and office staff, for a total of about 130 employees in the housekeeping department.
We left Housekeeping and went to Food Service. That was amazing to see. First, let me say, the kitchens here were very very clean. I was impressed. (Fabgrandpa and I delivered foods for a Hot Shot delivery company in the late 1990’s in a pick up truck, and we saw some really ugly kitchens.) The Executive Sous Chef, Anthony Cieplinski, took over as our tour guide for the kitchens.
Anthony showed us where the kitchen employees were making desserts and hors d’oeuvres for a private meeting that was to take place later in the day. They all looked awesome. There were little individual fruit tarts and crab cakes in progress when we were there. We also learned that everything they serve at the restaurants at MGM Gold Strike is made fresh on the premises.
All of the employees we met along the way on this tour were so nice to us, and every single one of them was smiling. They all looked so happy to be working at MGM, and that says a lot to me about a business. When the employees are happy, they must be doing something right. By the way, did you know that MGM Gold Strike Resort and Casino employs a total of 1,357 people?
This is just a small part of the employee dining room. All employees of MGM Gold Strike can eat here for free. The food was the same food that is served in the restaurants on site, and all of it on the employee buffet the day we were there looked really good. There were several options, with healthy choices available. This is so unlike any employee dining room of any place I ever worked.
Next, we went to the kitchen where they were preparing the foods for the Saturday Night Seafood Buffet. There was a huge stack of boxes of snow crab legs, taller than me. Anthony said that all of those crab legs would be served that night, and they would probably bring more up from the freezer before the night was over. They serve between 3500 and 4000 pounds of crab legs in a weekend.
They will serve this huge vat of dressing on the buffet in one night.
In addition to the snow crab legs, there are also steamed crab claws, raw oysters, steamed shrimp, and so much more on the buffet. Even Sushi!
Finally, the last part of the behind the scenes tour, was the liquor vault! This is where they keep all the alcoholic beverages at MGM Gold Strike.
The Assistant Beverage Manager Alex Thornton took us into the area of the liquor vault. We didn’t actually get to go inside to take a look at the inside of the vault, because anyone who goes in there has to have a member of security with them to go in. We did get to see the liquor setup, and I was so amazed!
The open liquor bottles are all set upside down in the troughs. See the pipes on the left side of this photo? When a bartender in one of the bars in the casino or one of the restaurants pours a drink or mixes a drink, the liquor is pumped through those pipes to the bartender’s spigot. The spigot has different buttons on it to program in the correct drink, and mixes it automatically from the wells in the basement. COOL! There were rows and rows of these troughs and pipes, leading all sorts of liquor and mixers to the different bars throughout the property.
Alex explained that by using this system, all the drinks of the same kind have the same amount of liquor in them. From the beginning of the night, to the end of the night, from one bartender to the next, all the drinks are uniform, and liquor is not wasted. What do you think of this setup?
Here are some interesting things to know about the casino:
There are 1,325 slot machines. Table games available to play are Black Jack, 21 + 3 Black Jack, Lucky Ladies, Craps, Crapless Craps, Baccarat, Roulette, Mississippi Stud, Mississippi Stud Progressive, Three Card Poker, Three Card Poker Progressive, Four Card Poker, Caribbean Stud Poker, and Let It Ride. Thereis something for everyone here.
Tomorrow, I will continue with the rest of the tour, where we met Jack Hanna of Into the Wild!
So I had to click on the link … this is in Mississippi? I’ve been to MGM Grand in Vegas and we also have one in Detroit, though I haven’t been. Looks beautiful!
That’s pretty cool re: the alcohol spigots too.
Yes, in MIssissippi, just south of Memphis Tennessee. It is a gorgeous location.
This looks like a wonderful place to stay. I would love the buffet with crab legs and sushi.
The buffets in Vegas are all awesome, but I have eaten at this one before and it was by far the BEST!
I know! The food does look amazing!! I would want to try those crab legs too!
What a place! If you’re going to hit a casino for a getaway, this is the place! That’s amazing.
How exciting to see the behind the scenes stuff. You must have felt like a real VIP!
I really did feel special! Elaine and I had a wonderful weekend.
This looks like a great venue! I love these quick, luxurious getaways!
Sounds like you had a great tour and an amazing getaway with your girlfriends. It’s always amazing to see a commercial kitchen in operation, isn’t it?
Patty, yes it is. Especially when it is really clean and you know you are going to be eating the stuff they cook in there.
I just can’t get over how amazing this hotel looks and the food is just droolworthy! I wish I was close enough to zip on over!
Whoa! That room, that bathroom, oh my goodness, yes please!!! What a beautiful place to stay at! Lucky you!
Wow, the setup with the alcohol is pretty cool. It’s very efficient!
Wow that crab looks great! Seems like you had a fabulous time 😉
Those crab claws look awesome! Girlfriend getaways are the best.
I absolutely love how you focused on the rest of the hotel. We don’t really gamble so when staying at Casino’s we like to see what else they offer. The food and rooms alone look nice enough that I would definitely visit! I didn’t see where this is located? I know there is an MGM grand in Vegas. Where is this one located?
This is located in Tunica, Mississipi.
What Casino did this used to be? Is it brand new? I always like MGM properties.
Between the bathroom in that suite and those crab claws I am ready to buy my ticket now. I think a girlfriend getaway is long overdue for my friends and I.
Oh how I wish I was headed there right now! this is my type of vacation
This looks like a fabulous location to get away to. I love the behind the scenes tour. Thanks for sharing.
I never would have guessed this was in Mississippi!! Looks like an amazing place to visit!
How completely fun to get to see behind the scenes! The suite was awesome. Loved the liquor bottle set up. Who knew?!
The resort looks gorgeous. I have always wanted to visit a casino.
What an amazing place to visit! If you’re going to go on a girls trip to a casino this is surely the place.
That is definitely and interesting bar set up. Very impressive! Those rooms are just gorgeous. What a great place to stay.
I love gaming and I love the MGM Grand in Vegas if I ever get out to Memphis Tennessee I will definitely check out Gold Strike, thanks for sharing your behind-the-scenes tour. Do you like slots? Do you have a fave machine you like to play there?
I am in NYC so I tend to go to Atlantic City in New Jersey, I love that they have a beach and boardwalk there so I can get out and a great selection of stores at the outlets too! 🙂
Tracy @ Ascending Butterfly
I love to play slots! My favorite is any one I’m playing that is paying! LOL
This looks like a really nice place to stay! I’ve never been to a casino, but this one looks like a great one to go to.
What a neat experience – it looks like a great place to visit!
If I went to a hotel with a bathroom like that, I would want to stay in the shower all day! Looks like a great getaway.
Thanks for the behind-the-scenes tour! It’s fascinating. I think I’d hit the seafood first, yum!
Wow, that looks amazing. What a beautiful place to some fun.. and I want those crab legs!
You are makin me excited to go to Vegas in a few months! Looks like a ball I cant wait!
Sounds like you had a great time on your Vegas trip!
Wow, this place looks awesome! I love that they allow employees to get in on the good food too!
What a fun behind-the-scenes look at the casino! That Presidential suite looks awesome.
Spectacular tour. Looks like a great place. I am heading to Vegas next spring.
Looks like a great place to stay. Staying in the high rollers room would be so cool.
Wow this looks like an amazing place go stay. The rooms look amazing and that food? Yes pleas
I love that you got a behind the scenes look! That presidential suite is amazing!
That suite is HUGE! What a fun visit you had. All that food made me hungry and the bar… I want a margarita!!!
I totally would have thought this was in Vegas! Such a beautiful room. I’d love to try all the food.