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The Bellagio Resort and Casino

The first word that comes out of the mouths of most first-time visitors to the Las Vegas Strip is "outrageous". Everything about Las Vegas is "more" and everywhere the eye turns there is a spectacular sight to behold.

A sort of haphazard blend of New York's Times Square, New Orleans' Bourbon Street, Rio's Mardi Gras and Disneyland come somewhat close to describing the mix of architecture arrayed along Las Vegas Boulevard. But separating this place from anywhere else in the World is the ever present ads, posters and pitchmen beckoning visitors to try their luck on a fast track to riches or ruin.

Gambling is what Las Vegas is all about. It is what built this city and what continues to fuel a growth rate consistently placing it in the top 5 of the fastest growing areas in the United States. Long gone are the famous and infamous characters that pioneered gambling on the "Strip". People like Tommy Hall, Joe Louis, Wilbur Clark and Bugsy Siegel, who all started and hosted casinos along Las Vegas Boulevard have been replaced by major corporations who now own and control most, if not all of the casinos and resorts.

These new corporate casino entities continue to vie for risk takers and big gamblers, or "whales" as they are referred to by the locals. If you're willing to risk a lot, you can still be invited to casinos with the offer of free lodging and other "comps". But increasingly too, casino operators are also attempting to appeal to the average tourist looking for more than just the opportunity to gamble away some of their disposable income. Entertainment from leading celebrities abounds, as well as more than a few roller coasters and other amusement attractions. A new upscale shopping mall, sightseeing tours, top rated golf courses, spas, pools and a host of other non-gambling options greet the millions of tourists who travel from around the world to this desert Mecca.

For awhile, Las Vegas experimented with a marketing ploy designed to entice families to the city. More family attractions where added as well as entertainment targeted toward keeping the kids occupied while mom and dad tried a few spins on the slot machines. Today however, Las Vegas seems to have changed that marketing strategy and appears to be reverting to its traditional adult theme. But mixed with that traditional theme is the modern realization that today's generations have far more options available to them when it comes to their vacation plans and a far greater degree of disposable income then their parent's enjoyed at such a young age. To put it bluntly, today's tourists expect to be pampered and are willing to pay a lot, to be pampered in style.

That brings the Chief Engineer to the resort casino that is setting the standard for pampering guests - the Bellagio Las Vegas. Owned by MGM/Mirage Resorts and situated on over 120 acres in the heart of Las Vegas's "new" strip, the resort resides on property that was once the famous Desert Inn and golf course. Opened in 1998, with nearly five and one-half million square feet of hotel and casino space, Bellagio epitomizes the opulence and grandeur anticipated by today's tourists to Las Vegas, coupled with a level of service provided by it's 8,500 member staff that is unmatched by any other resort of its kind.

Just the basic statistics of Bellagio are near overwhelming. A man-made lake resides in front of the resort on 8.36 acres. Consisting of over 19 million gallons of water, the lake has over twelve hundred fountain "shooters" that provide water displays choreographed with music. There are twenty-two retail shops, eleven restaurants and six snack bars and cafes throughout the hotel, as well as six lounges. Seventy-five elevators, a dumbwaiter and four handicap lifts service the thirty-six stories and basement of the resort. Spaces for nearly five thousand cars ensure ample parking for tourists and employees. In the resorts showroom a 1.5 million gallon pool of water serves as part of the stage for the Cirque Du Soeil "O" performance, presently appearing at the resort. Three thousand and five guest rooms are within the resort and present construction of a new $375 million spa tower will add an additional nine-hundred and twenty-eight guest rooms by December 2004. Some guest room "villas" of as much as 6,500 square feet are available for guests capable of affording the $1.00 per square foot nightly rate. A 13,573 square foot conservatory greets visitors just off the main lobby entrance with a display of flowers, plants and theme props provided by an in-house horticulture department working from eighty thousand square feet of green house and warehouse space on the property. Sixty-eight thousand square feet of conference room space and numerous meeting rooms are also available for corporate meetings. An additional 60,000 sq.ft. is currently under construction along with the new spa tower.

But as impressive as the statistics are, not enough can be said about the lavish design, furnishings and amenities that accompany those stats. A 2,800 square foot art gallery within the resort features the works of masters and contemporary artists. Or if you happen to dine at the resorts Picasso restaurant, you can admire original works by the artist exhibited on the walls. Glass blown flowers adorn the ceiling of the hotels lobby area and shimmer off of the immaculate marble and mosaic flooring. The tasteful carpeting throughout the resort blends with the richness of the wall coverings and ornate ceilings, never allowing the eye to be jolted by a clash in décor. Fresh flowers throughout the resort offer a pleasing aroma and provide a calming mood for the required strolls through the expansive facility. While smoking is permitted in most common areas throughout the resort, you would be hard pressed to notice. Bellagio maintains a 100 percent outside air mix within their casino and common areas, constantly maintaining near or at ASHRAE 62 standards for smoking rooms, with a 12-time-per-hour (or every five minutes) air turnover rate. Handicapped accessibility is met in every instance while at the same time never being obtrusive or, for that matter, overly noticeable to the everyday visitor. The swimming pools are tastefully decorated and very lavish and a first rate spa or in-room spa services promise to melt away the wear and tear of normal life for guests and put them rapidly into "vacation mode". Although plenty of exercise equipment is available for guests in the resorts fitness center, if weight loss is your goal, this might not be the resort for you. The restaurants serve some of the finest food available anywhere in the world and with delicacies from every continent of the globe represented on the menus, it's clear to see the world is responding. The Bellagio dinner buffet consistently has a long line awaiting seating but it is certainly a feast worth waiting for. From fresh sushi to roast Buffalo the buffet's offerings and quality are simply outstanding.

So how does such a fantastic resort accommodate the hundreds of thousands of visitors that come to it each year and still maintain its freshly new and lavish appearance? To answer that question the Chief Engineer set out to go behind the scenes of this remarkable resort and find out just how things work and who the people are that make things work.

Bob Catalfano, Chief Engineer of the Bellagio, welcomed us to his office and escorted us on our tour of the resort. For the better part of the day, we followed Bob as he took us through the expansive "back areas" of the resort, through the catwalks above the casino ceilings and into a myriad of equipment rooms that visitors never see but deeply depend upon for their own safety, health and comfort. Bob was extremely gracious and very patient with us while answering all of the questions we had for our readers. In fact, as we went through our tour and met with many other staff members, we found the same gracious and patient understanding exhibited in everyone. We also found in all of the places we visited, staff members deeply devoted to their jobs and to the resort that they service. We were deeply impressed by the level of knowledge and professionalism displayed by everyone we met and truly found they had a story worth telling.

Originally from New Jersey, Bob moved to Las Vegas 27 years ago to tend to an ailing parent who lived there. Originally gaining employment at the Nevada Test Site, in 1986 he entered into the hospitality maintenance industry at the Golden Nugget Hotel. From there, stints with the Mirage and with Treasure Island culminated with his rise to his present position at Bellagio. Married with a daughter now attending college and majoring in electrical engineering, Bob comes across as a very personable supervisor who has a keen grasp of both his mission and his vision for the resorts facility.

Supervising a staff of 267 engineers, Bob explained that part of the staff is divided up among the many shops servicing the resort. A kitchen shop, welding shop, locksmith shop, carpeting and tile shop, upholstery shop, carpentry shop, plumbing and pool shop, electrical shop, casino shop, hotel shop, mechanical (HVAC) shop and a special services shop all serve in support of the maintenance department. Interestingly, most of these shops are manned by "engineers" and no traditional "trade" distinction is made.

Bob's staff performs all the in-house work within the resort, and according to Bob, everything that can be performed in-house is accomplished by his crew. From repair of all equipment and furnishings, to decorating and renovation, the in-house staff performs the work. In-fact, the Bellagio completely renovates each guest room every five years, changing all fixtures, wall coverings and flooring and refinishing all furniture. The current room renovation is estimated at $110 million. Bob took us up to one of the floors they were presently working on and explained how his crew and the contractors will completely renovate all rooms on one entire floor, every 4 weeks.

Bob told us that he takes great pride in the fact that the Bellagio was awarded a 4 star rating by Mobil and a 5 diamond rating by AAA. These prestigious awards are given very sparingly and according to him, the Bellagio is the only large resort in Las Vegas to have garnered such awards. Bellagio is also the only hotel in the world to have two 5 Diamond restaurants, the Picasso and Le Cirque.

As we began our tour of the facility, we were very impressed at the cleanliness of the "back house" spaces. Every employee area we visited was as immaculate, neat and orderly as the guest spaces of the resort. What was also apparent was the evident interest in the employees exhibited by their employer. Photographs of employees receiving recognition for their work were prominently displayed at various areas and a real sense of pride was clearly evident in the employees we met.

"The corporation invests a great deal in its employees," Bob told us. "And that investment pays off in the higher degree of service provided to our guests," he said.

Reimbursed tuition expense, free meals and paid lunch breaks are a few of the benefits provided by the resort to its employees, he told us.

Arriving at the physical plant, we were greeted by Chris Magee, a Mechanical Engineering Supervisor at the resort. Chris explained that the resort was serviced by 13,200 tons of Refrigeration from 10 York centrifugal chillers. Each chiller operated on 4,160 volts of electricity with a power rating of 531 Kw per ton. Chilled water of between 42 and 44 degrees is produced from the HCFC-22 refrigerant units, each containing 3,300 pounds of refrigerant.

Nine induced draft cooling towers, each delivering 3,750 GPM of water to the chiller condensers are maintained. Equipped with 125 hp pumps, each tower has a 50 hp fan motor equipped with variable speed drive (VSD). The total system volume is 80,000 gallons or 667,000 lbs.

Fourteen chilled water primary and secondary pumps are employed by the system. Ten primary pumps are driven by 40 hp, 460 volt motors, operating at 1150 rpm. Each pump delivers 2,500 gallons of chilled water per minute to the coils. The four secondary pumps are driven by 250 hp, 460 volt motors with a 1,750 rated rpm. Equipped with VSD to maintain differential pressure, the pumps deliver up to 5,000 gpm. The total chilled water pump system volume is 85,000 gallons or 708,985 lbs.

Four flat plate heat exchangers are also used in the physical plant. Two of the exchangers are used for free cooling when outdoor conditions permit. The two exchangers are serviced by 50 hp pumps, operating at 1,185 rpm.

The other two exchangers are dedicated to a pre-chilled closed loop. These exchangers are used to pre-cool outside air circulating through air handlers and to provide cooling to a number of heat pumps. Both exchangers are serviced by 100 hp pumps, developing 1,780 rpm with VSD.

On the heating side the plant uses four Unilux flex tube low pressure hot water boilers and 2 Unilux high pressure steam boilers. The low pressure boilers are rated at 19,430 M/btu/H or 490 B/hp. The boilers, which have a 1,943 square foot heating surface, are used for hot water heating of the resort. The high pressure boilers have an output rating of 4,024 M/btu/H or 120 B/hp. Operating at 100 psig, with a 538 square foot heating surface, the boilers are used for the resorts kitchen and humidity control and utilize FDA approved chemical treatment.

Thirty-four Aerco gas fired water heaters provide domestic hot water to the resort. Set at 120 degrees F, the heaters have a rating of 1 M/btu/H input.

Two additional flat plate heat exchangers are also used in the heating plant to add heat to the prechilled loop in order to maintain set points.

The extremely hard water makes the use and maintenance of water softeners essential in the plant. Despite this care, calcium buildup in boiler and heater tubes can still occur and must be constantly monitored by the engineering staff. G.E. Betz chemical company services the facility, keeping the water conditions under control.

Seven Caterpillar emergency generators each rated at 2,250 hp and capable of producing 1,750 Kw each services the resort and provides life/safety and security needs for the resort if necessary.

Needless to say, the plant and HVACR system is tied into a state-of-art DDC system. The Staefa system is complemented by a computerized preventive maintenance system directing maintenance to all the essential equipment within the facility.

One of the major challenges confronting Bob is blending his desire to conserve energy with the need to provide a pleasant and comfortable environment for the resorts guests. "We have crunched the numbers for installing a co-gen plant," Bob said. "We think we can achieve a two-year payback and hope to move ahead with this plan in the future," he said. But when it comes to installing compact fluorescent lighting in the guest rooms for example, the unflattering and unpleasantness of the lighting technology simply outweighs energy conservation considerations. Instead, they opted for the reduced wattage that PAR lamps offered.

Bob also stresses education to his engineers. "The best thing you get from college is the knowledge to rationally think and solve problems," he said, "and that is essential for any leadership position". Bob said he encourages every member of his staff to achieve an Associates Degree as a minimum to ensure themselves a future in what is fast becoming a high tech maintenance industry.

Continuing on our tour, we viewed the new construction area on the property where a new tower will add guest rooms to the resort and an addition to the physical plant will accommodate new boilers and air conditioning units.

Making our way to the conservatory, we met Audra Danzak, the Director of Horticulture who took us on a brief tour of the green house and massive refrigerated rooms that protect the fresh flowers flown in from around the world. In-house flower designers work to create the massive floral displays that adorn the main lobby as well as the smaller displays throughout the resort and in the resorts wedding chapel, which averages two to three weddings per weekday and as many as a dozen on the weekends.

As we continued our tour of the facility we descended walking through the lower level of the resort. It was as if we had entered a small city, filled with workers. We learned that computers are available for all employees which allow them to access their own files to make changes in personal information and to even print out their own paychecks. Training facilities exist which are used by the maintenance staff for OSHA and other training meetings and used by other employee groups for continued and initial training.

Arriving from the front to the rear of the facility, we entered into the domain of the "Front Feature" crew. Met there by the manager, Curtis Hunton, we were provided a tour of the equipment that operates and maintains the massive lake fountain equipment. 30 of Curtis' engineers are diver certified and work to maintain the lake and fountain shooters.

Curtis explained that the fountain shooters all operated by compressed air. An impressive display of Sullair Air Compressors and Air Storage tanks underscored that information. A computerized system designed by Wet Designs in Los Angeles operates the fountain and choreographed programs by them are used to provide the many different fountain displays that operate periodically around the clock at the resort.

Much of what happens here, Curtis explained, was designed by our own in-house staff. For example, Curtis explained that a large vacuum was designed to clean the lake bottom and to suction up the coins visitors toss into the fountain. "We donate all the coins retrieved to the Nevada Red Cross," Curtis said. The lake, which is 13 feet deep at its deepest points, averages about 7 feet in overall depth.

When the resort was first built the owners and designers insisted that when the fountain was not running, nothing would appear above the water line. So all the fountain equipment had to be designed to rise from the water during a performance and then recede back below the water, once the performance concluded.

Leaving the massive equipment room, we followed Curtis as he took us through the catwalks above the casino floor, eventually arriving at the operators perch adjacent to the lake. There it was explained to us how the fountain operates. Through use of a computer, the operator selects the musical program with the simple click of the computers mouse. To demonstrate, the operator selected a song and within a few seconds the massive fountain equipment rose from the surface of the lake and, in beat with the music, provided a stunning display for all to behold.

Everywhere we were taken, we were simply amazed at the efficiency and cleanliness of the resort as well as the professionalism of the staff. Concluding our tour of this massive resort, we thanked Bob Catalfano for all of the time and patience he gave to us during the tour.

For thousands of visitors to Bellagio, the experience is one they will never forget. For us, our memory will not only be about the elegance and grandeur of the resort, but also of the men and women who work behind the scenes each day, providing those experiences through their hard work and dedication.

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