Las Vegas housekeepers and guardians put their skills to the test Monday night during the annual Housekeeping Olympics in the Michelob ULTRA Arena at the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino.
Teams from Strip resorts and local businesses competed in events such as bed making, mop relays, vacuum races and buffer tossing.
The annual event highlights the work of the employees who help maintain Las Vegas’ reputation for world-class hospitality. Now in its 35th year, the competition recognizes the city’s housekeeping and environmental service workers, many of whom start out in housekeeping before moving into supervisory and management roles.
Ten teams participated this year, including MGM Grand, Park MGM, Bellagio, The Cosmopolitan, Carriage House, Resorts World, Atrium Health, Staples Business and combined teams from Mandalay Bay/Luxor and ARIA/Vdara.
Winner
Bedding competition:
- Resorts World
- Bellagio
- The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
Vacuum run:
- Aria/Vdara
- Atrium Hill
- Mandalay Bay/Luxor
Buffer Pad Toss:
- Staples Business
- Aria/Vdara
- Resorts World
Mop relay:
- Mandalay Bay/Luxor
- Aria/Vdara
- The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
Executive Challenge:
- Staples Business
- Carriage house
- Aria/Vdara
Spirit Dance Competition:
- Resorts World
- Aria/Vdara
- The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
Overall Winners:
- Aria/Vdara
- Resorts World
- Staples Business
World record prices:
- Bedding: Resorts World
- Buffer Pad Toss: Staples Business
- VECUM RACE: Aria/vDara
- Mop relay: Mandalay Bay/Luxor
Sam’s Town is closing
Boyd Gaming Corp. has closed its Sam’s Town property in Tunica, Mississippi.
The company cited declining market conditions as the reason for closing the property and putting more than 175 people out of a job.
The 1,070-room property opened in May 1994 and was a sister property to Sam’s Town in Las Vegas.
“This was not an easy decision for our company,” Boyd officials said in a statement about the closing. “However, market demand in Northwest Mississippi has declined significantly over the past 20 years, with several of Tunica’s original casinos closing since 2014. Our decision to close Sam’s Town is a result of these market conditions and follows our best efforts to adjust operations to meet lower demand. These decisions are by far the most difficult we regret that this was necessary and we regret as a company.”
Mullally out
Former MGM Resorts International chief executive Jim Murren has been named interim chief executive of the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority in the United Arab Emirates after chief executive Kevin Mullally announced last week that he is leaving the role.
“Kevin has played a significant role in the agency’s early development, helping to establish its core governance and regulatory structure,” Murren said in a release announcing Mulally’s departure. “We thank him for his contribution and wish him continued success in his future endeavours. GCGRA remains focused on the next stage of its growth, ensuring regulatory excellence, responsible gambling and continued confidence in the UAE’s strategy.”
In a post on LinkedIn, Mullally said he needed to spend more time with his family as the reason for dropping out.
“My commitment to the principles and progress we have established remains unwavering. I will continue to support the agency as it completes this important transition and as the regulatory structure we have created realizes its full potential,” Mullally said in the post.
“However, after a recent trip home to the United States, I realized that I must prioritize family over my career at this stage in my life. I look forward to returning to Kansas City with my incredible wife and best friend, Jerri, to be with our five children, their spouses and our eight grandchildren. While this decision has not been easy, it is the right one for us and our family.”
Kalshi wins legal profit in California
A federal judge on Monday denied a request by three California tribes to block Kalshi, a federally regulated prediction market, from offering its event contracts on tribal lands.
Blue Lake Rancheria, Chicken Ranch Rancheria and Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians argued that Kalshi’s sports-related contracts amounted to illegal gambling under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley said that while she understood the tribes’ concerns about sovereignty and revenue, they did not show that Kalshi violated any tribal-state agreements. Scott Corley also noted that Kalshi’s contracts, which trade on a platform overseen by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, are legally separate from traditional casino gambling.
Kalshi said it welcomed the ruling, calling its exchange “a fair and transparent way to trade event contracts,” in a press release.
The company still faces a similar lawsuit from Wisconsin’s Ho-Chunk Nation.
