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MGM Grand president Gamal Aziz poses in the courtyard of the Mansion at the property. Photo by Amy Beth Bennett. Gamal Aziz Photo by Amy Beth Bennett. VITAL STATISTICS Name: Gamal Aziz. Age: 44. Title: President and chief operating officer of MGM Grand. Education: Bachelor of science in business administration from the University of Cairo in Egypt; studied at the Sorbonne in Paris. Work History: President and chief operating officer of MGM Grand; senior vice president of food and beverage at Bellagio; other senior management roles at The Mirage and Caesars Palace, as well as at The Plaza Hotel in New York City, the Westin Hotel in Washington, D.C., and the St. Francis in San Francisco. Family: Wife, Amal; daughters, Sarah and Sabrina; son, Adam. Hobbies: Workout daily, play soccer, dining out. Hometown: Cairo, Egypt. In Las Vegas since: 1997.

Sunday, August 05, 2001
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

NEVADAN AT WORK: GAMAL AZIZ - President and chief operating officer of MGM Grand

Love of food lures MGM Grand's boss; property's leader shares worldly tastes with restaurants aimed at all diners

Gamal Aziz was raised in Cairo, Egypt, and entered the restaurant and hotel businesses as a way to expose himself to the cosmopolitan environment of international travel.

He worked around Greeks, Italians, French, British and Americans, learned to speak several languages and developed a love of food and travel that continues today.

"That's how I got motivated to learn more and be a member of the huge family called the world," Aziz said.

Today he heads the MGM Grand after holding top-level food and beverage positions at Bellagio and Caesars Palace.

Question: So you grew up around a variety of cultures and languages?

Answer: Yes, it was fascinating to know a foreign language for me. It made for a great deal of excitement growing up in a neighborhood where there was a lot of Greeks, Italians. I've never felt a stranger in any of the cities I worked in -- London, New York, Paris. I spent about five years at the Plaza in New York, opened the Westin in Washington, D.C., worked in the St. Francis in San Francisco.

Question: You've headed the food and beverage departments at Caesars Palace and Bellagio. How do you identify a great young chef?

Answer: I've never hired a chef until he's cooked for me. What they have is an extraordinary palate for what is appealing. They are also extremely competitive. They take risks and marry different flavors. Ninety-nine percent of the successful chefs have had a great upbringing around food. If you grew up eating certain foods then you're almost certain you still be eating that. A lot of these guys and women have had great surroundings with food. Their mother or grandmother was always a great cook. A lot of these people when I sit down and talk to them it usually stems from that. A lot of these people go and educate themselves.

Question: How come you didn't become a chef?

Answer: I did an apprenticeship in London and the day I graduated I decided I wouldn't be a chef. I have a huge admiration for chefs. It's hard work. It is difficult. You have to be really oriented to it. It's not something you can do half-heartedly. I've always been a business person. I'm not in a technical sense a restaurateur. I put partners together. Before the opening of Bellagio, I started with a complete blank page. I brought in (Picasso's) Julian Serrano, (Aqua's) Michael Mina. My business has always been to put these deals together, to position them, so they provide all the tiers to the consumer.

Question: And the building you head now is designed for everyone. The MGM's not just the high-end.

Answer: That's the appeal of this building, its mass appeal. At the MGM my customer is so multi-faceted. I can go into the (high-roller) Mansion and put a magnificent restaurant in there or do something elegant ... and have a food court. That's the beauty and the range that the MGM gives me. We're not tied to one market. We're not tied to one specific income bracket. We appeal to a great deal of people from different walks of life. We also will not take our eyes off of who our customer is. I think they intermingle together. That's why the "City of Entertainment" concept is brilliant. It creates that energy (through which) we can compete with a great deal of confidence. What is it you like? We have it. When you walk into our competitors' properties you have one thing or another, and that's not bad either. You may be in different moods throughout the day, and at the MGM that mood transition may be met.

Question: Why does Bellagio generate so much more cash flow than the MGM Grand with 2,000 fewer rooms? (Last year, Bellagio reported cash flow of $294.6 million vs. $221.4 million for MGM Grand.)

Answer: Bellagio is able to attract a higher room rate and a customer that is willing to pay more for their services and products. Bellagio is a value that people cannot say, "I cannot get into Bellagio I will go to property X." What we have created at Bellagio is a value you must have. That is really the success story of that product and employees. They have developed a brand that has become a must have. I think at the MGM we can do the same thing.

Question: For some, the MGM Grand is overwhelming.

Answer: Eighty-two-thousand people can walk through the doors of the building, but once you're in the space you feel special and small. It's the magnitude that creates that constant party atmosphere, that buzz that energy.

Question: What about the chaos when 10,000 people walk out of a concert at the Grand Garden Arena?

Answer: It's very manageable chaos. The MGM when a fight lets out is at its prettiest moment. That energy, that buzz can't be matched anywhere else. I'm hoping we can extend that entertainment destination feel with very strong restaurants, bars. We've got a new show, La Femme, that's doing great. We're going to capitalize on that foundation and get more shows, more restaurants. When they're in a building they won't have a reason to go anywhere else. That's one thing Bellagio has been very successful at.

Question: The 29-villa Mansion is a powerful tool in recruiting high rollers. How powerful?

Answer: It's a great joy for me. I've been around rich and famous at the Plaza, Bellagio and all those places. I walk them through and they still gasp that this can exist in Las Vegas. It's extraordinary and provides a powerful competitive advantage. The numbers tell a story before and after. We were never really in the realm of high-end play until the Mansion became a part of our offerings. It really completed the picture from that approach to having something for everyone.

Question: Is there a reluctance of Bellagio guests to visit the MGM Grand because of its mass appeal?

Answer: We get `Bell' guests all the time for a show, restaurants. When I was at Bellagio we looked at MGM as super big. I still do that, but I don't think that's a negative. That's really a flavor, a feel, that we have been able to turn into a positive for us because a lot of people like to come to Las Vegas and disappear.

It really is a city. A lot of times it's just an energy that cannot be matched.

Question: What are the future plans for the MGM Grand?

Answer: I'd like to look at our building as a self-sufficient unit from the point of arrival to departure to have no need to venture outside of this building. People enjoy their games, slots or table games, but they also need to sustain that with good food, a destination, a good show. Every single restaurant is going to get a remodel, starting with Gatsby's, which will be replaced with something casual chic, Michael Mina's NOBHill. We redid some of the bars and business has increased tremendously. We replaced the Cabaret theater for the La Femme theater. It's certainly a transition to a more fun adult entertainment in that sense, a place where singles can feel comfortable. There is a slow departure from being primarily a family destination.

Question: Will you bring in more big-name chefs?

Answer: Absolutely. They're not going to be inferior to anyplace in town. I think the issue is that your guest leaves to go somewhere for a meal, they hardly ever come back. They stay there and gamble. We don't have statistics, but I knew it sitting at Bellagio. We knew exactly where our customers came from. We knew we were using some of our competitors as dormitories.

Question: Will your new restaurants offer Bellagio-type prices and compete with Bellagio?

Answer: I really don't want to go there at all. I don't have the intention to No. 1 compete with Bellagio, but I can provide a meal that is absolutely extraordinary without the price point offered at Bellagio.

Question: How do you go from the five-star mentality of Bellagio service to one less-extravagant but still top notch?

Answer: When I was at Bellagio I tried to provide the ultra experience. At MGM I want to provide fun, energized service. In all of my meetings I stress you have to enjoy this be fun. I don't want you standing at attention. You're not an English professor.

Question: Could you see days when MGM Grand cash flow exceeds Bellagio's?

Answer: Well, let's stay in touch.

Question: Will you be adding rooms? A new hotel tower?

Answer: It's one of my projects to find what we should do with that 18.8 acres (in back of the hotel). I'll find the best use for it. Whether we develop it or partner with another entity, that's one of the to-dos handed to me."