Jay Clark is the embodiment of the image Las Vegas likes to present to the rest of the country and the world. It’s not that you can get rich quick here, or party like a rock star until the sun comes up—although those images are certainly major parts of the marketing campaign—it’s that Las Vegas is the place to be if you want to work in the hospitality industry.

Clark grew up in the Midwest. He went to school in Nashville, Tennessee and made his first foray into hospitality at Opryland there. He then migrated to Oklahoma before he learned JW Marriott Las Vegas Resort and Spa was looking for an event manager.

Not only did Clark have hospitality experience from Opryland, he also had five years of experience as a meeting planner in the oil and gas industry.

“My wife and I had come out here for her brother’s wedding 12 or 13 years ago and it was our first visit to Las Vegas,” he said. “We both thought that this would be a cool place to live at some point, and when this opportunity came up, we decided to make the move.

“And what better place to work in the hotel business than in Las Vegas?”

The quirks of the industry that sometimes catch people off-guard—working nights, weekends and holidays—were nothing new for Clark. In the smaller markets, filling shifts around those times was more difficult because of the smaller work force.

The major drawback is missing school activities and other family events because of work. But his daughters, Mariah, 13, Morgan, 10, son Max, 6, and wife Suzanne understand it comes with the territory.

“You try to find a balance,” he said. “My kids have grown up with me working in the hotels, so they certainly understand.”

One noticeable difference Clark has noticed in Las Vegas is that there are more unusual requests clients have made of him and his staff. While booking performers like Sheryl Crow, Cheap Trick, Jay Leno and Martin Short might take some work, they aren’t as challenging as say, bringing an elephant to the banquet room.

“We found a ranch in California where a gentleman had several elephants, so he trucked her in and we parked her out back and brought her in through the back doors,” he explained. “The elephant was taller than the door, so she had to get down on her knees and kind of crawl in.”

Clark is quick to point out that it takes a team effort to accomplish such tasks. While he has the title of event manager, it takes the whole events staff as well as staff members from other departments to deliver the experience customers demand.

“It’s never an individual effort,” he said. “It is always a team effort.”

Working in the team environment and facing new and unique challenges on a regular basis are the best part of the job, Clark said. Nothing is ever routine, and even returning clients want to see things done differently than they did on their previous visit.

“We might do some of the same things, but we never do them the same way twice,” he explained.

Event planning constitutes a major part of the non-gaming revenue for resorts in Las Vegas. With Jay Clark heading up the department at the JW Marriott Las Vegas Resort and Spa, the property knows its valuable operation is safe.

By Greg Jones

Greg Jones is managing editor of Casino Connection Nevada, as well as associate editor of Global Gaming Business magazine.