Craig Amiott came here for a wedding six years ago and wound up marrying the Venetian.

The Boca Raton, Florida resident schooled in the hospitality industry had an eye-opening experience when sampling Las Vegas. Before long, he became an indispensable part of the world’s largest resort.

“To see the sheer size of this operation was impressive,” Amiott said. “I had been in the food-and-beverage and hospitality business for a long time. I had worked in a place with 1,000 rooms and thought that was a lot. This dwarfed that. During the dot com days, I had gone into a technical field for awhile. Coming out here and seeing the Las Vegas operation was like revisiting my roots.”

So he stayed, first as a front-desk operator and now as a catering and conference manager. The Palazzo recently joined the Venetian, providing more than 10,000 rooms and employees on the grounds. Amiott holds one of 23 such positions for the Venetian, performing a job that entails, well, everything. He’ll speak with conference managers, double-check the hotel rooms for guests, confer with meeting planners and discover the nuances every client needs to feel fussed over.

That’s the luxury of Amiott’s position. It’s almost a freelance world. Although employees don’t report to him, Amiott can make decisions. And because his title is broad in scope, he can mingle with numerous departments.

“You can describe this job as almost being a producer,” he said. “We coordinate with banquets, meeting services, the front desk, etc. We’re on top of where something needs to be, when it needs to be there, and we make sure that it gets done right.

“It’s a wide variety of roles in this job. You can handle corporate convention clients, anywhere from five people up to 300 or 400. We’ll work some of the in-house meetings, do some work with government relations, team-member appreciation events, holidays, whatever pops up.”

Details vary with each assignment. A major convention may prompt him to contact clients by telephone, start working on menus, go back and forth with the rooms and ensure that the convention leader coming has an overall contact. He likes to have everything operating months in advance, if possible.

Yet that’s not always a reality. Improvisation is golden, especially during the blitz known as the Palazzo opening last January.

“That was a very large event,” he said, laughing. “Sometimes you felt like you were at the end of your string. It had numerous components. It was a relief, almost a jubilation, actually, when things finished and they went well. Everything has come together here.”

Venetian colleagues say Amiott is a walking inventory of logistical information. He knows where and how to get project approvals. And large numbers don’t bother him.
 
“When I first started, the feeling was, ‘Oh my God,’” Amiott said. “The sheer size and volume was overwhelming. But working at the front desk was an excellent experience to start off with here. It was a shaping experience; I would suggest it to anybody.

“You are dealing with mass volumes of people who want their service. In many cases, you deal with people who are happy. In some cases, you get the unhappy ones; you learn how to get them what they want.”

There are good days and better days for him, just like any other good marriage.

By Dave Bontempo

Casino Connection Sports Editor Dave Bontempo is an award-winning sports writer and broadcaster who calls boxing matches all over the world. He has covered the Philadelphia Flyers in the playoffs, as well as numerous PGA, LPGA and Seniors Golf Tour events, and co-hosted the Casino Connection television program with Publisher Roger Gros.

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