The Bellagio: Controls at Work

The Bellagio: Controls at Work

MGM MIRAGE owns quite a few properties spread out all over the United States. The Bellagio is one that most people will never forget. The Bellagio is not only known for its gambling but also for amenities such as the fountains, spas, restaurants, pools, and convention areas located throughout the property. To manage a property such as this, there are quite a few controls at work. How does MGM do it? There are many ways that MGM has been able to use controls to their advantage and have learned to manipulate these controls at all their properties to bring in a massive excess of cash to continue to grow the company. We will discuss some of these great controls, how they are used at the Bellagio and what might be missing that could take this property to the next level.

The Bellagio: Control Strategies

There are a lot of controls that MGM utilizes at the Bellagio and they have been perfected to the degree that they work to make the best outcome for the property. There is a mixture of tight and loose controls that work best for the Bellagio to operate with precise intention. The intention being to make money and attract both existing and new clientele. Some of these controls were legally mandated which meant that there was no room for error (Merchant, 2017). These were very strict because even one violation to these laws could result in penalties in that area but in any other area MGM operated.

When looking at the blackjack dealers at the Bellagio the personnel control was very strict in which the Bellagio hires experienced dealers that meet the criteria that they have been successful with. This was the strict portion of the controls. As far as the pace of play, the action control was loose in which there are minimum expectations that must be met, but they don’t time the dealers. Instead they make sure that customers gravitate toward dealers by making the correct personnel decisions. The results control seems to be lacking in almost every position we will discuss in this case as there is no requirement or quota to meet for the blackjack dealers. However, I would imagine there are a lot of people on the property that deal with results driven data that end up with daily, monthly, quarterly, and annual numbers that help drive profit and are required to provide year over year growth for the property. The results control here is a mixed bag in which they must respect the guests, deal while at the table, and make as few mistakes as possible while performing the job.

The position of the pit bosses is very important to a casino because they were typically responsible for a “pit” which consists of 16-30 blackjack tables. They were more action control heavy to make sure the floors were running smoothly. Making sure employees were getting to work, on time, and making sure the dealers took the needed breaks to be effective at