LAS VEGAS – It’s been a tumultuous time for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts regarding gambling, as some cities and towns across the state have answered with a resounding “No” when asked if a casino should be erected in their community.
For one Westfield man in particular, though, the city of Springfield’s decision to move forward on a plan for a downtown casino with MGM Resorts International has resulted in a lifechanging opportunity… 2,600 miles away.
Brian Tierney, a lifelong resident of the Whip City and former Marine who did several tours in the Middle East, is currently stationed in a different desert, namely the sands of Clark County, Nevada, where he has accepted a position with MGM Resorts through a chance encounter while in western Mass.
“We were looking for sponsors, and were handing out packets around the area,” Tierney said of the Run Westfield 5K road race run by his father, Mike. “I brought a packet to Springfield and talked to MGM.”
In Springfield, Tierney spoke with another former Marine, who was working with the company through a military program, Boots to Business.
Tierney’s application to the program took around six months to be accepted, with the program itself being a 90-day training period, Successful candidates start as a manager in an MGM casino.
Tierney, who was one of 300 applicants to the program, advanced through two rounds of cuts for a managerial position before being offered a job in Las Vegas on September. A week later he was a Housekeeping Manager, at MGM Grand, one of the company’s ten major resorts on the Las Vegas Strip.
“I never thought about housekeeping, but they called and offered me the position,” Tierney said, before asking for some time to think about the offer. “I can’t make a decision without my wife.”
The man responsible for hiring Tierney, Robert Harridge, a former Marine from Orlando, said the decision to offer him the position was easy.
“I first heard from him in September,” Harridge said. “This cycle (of Boots to Business) came around, and housekeeping really allowed me to take the most qualified candidate. I feel Marines and housekeeping are a good fit — Marines fight battles no one wants to fight, housekeepers do a job no one wants to do.”
Harridge, who got out of the service in 2001 and studied Hotel Management at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, said that Tierney was thinking of working in marketing when he first heard of the program, and that housekeeping “came out of left field.”
“It was a Friday. I spoke to him for 30 minutes on the phone about the transition,” Harridge said. “He said he would talk to his wife. The next day he called me back and said ‘I’m down. Let’s do it.'”
After deciding to give it a go with his wife Angela, Tierney kissed her and his three kids goodbye, and departed for the Silver State.
He arrived on September 30, and started work the next day.
“I was on one of the hotel floors, and I got a call from him saying he was here,” Harridge said.
After initially staying at the hotel, Tierney stayed with Harridge, and then another former Marine for a month, and has now moved into a three bedroom home in nearby Henderson, NV, and is planning to move his family out soon.
“I have a six-year-old and two younger children, so transferring them shouldn’t be difficult,” he said.
When asked of his take on his new occupation, Tierney is ecstatic.
“I love what I’m doing, it’s good so far… Vegas (has been) great for veterans.” he said, before describing various events put on by MGM Resorts, including a recent veterans golf event this past weekend.
When asked why MGM Resorts participates in Boots to Business and looks for military personel, Tierney was very blunt.
“You have to have proven leadership skills,” he said. “They (MGM Resorts) are trying to recognize leaders in the military, many without college degrees.”
Tierney, who did his first stint with the Marines from ’02 to ’06, including a tour of Iraq in ’04, saw his family start growing in 2009, and subseqeuntly went into the reserves in Chicopee, getting out in ’11.
The family also raised Alpacas since the early 90’s, and once the economy began it’s downward spiral, Tierney knew he had to find another gig.
“In this economy, the value of the the animals went to almost nothing,” he said. “So when I saw this opportunity, I thought it was a great opportunity for my family.”
While Tierney, who enjoys golf and wrestled at Northfield Mount Hermon and Westfield High School and is a certfied official in Massachusetts, doesn’t get to indulge many of his passions in Vegas, his twelve hour workdays are keeping him plenty busy until the rest of his family are able to join him in Clark County.
“I love the culture here,” he said in a phone interview this week. “I’m learning several languages, Spanish, Swahili, even a little Italian. We have a workforce of around 900 in housekeeping. I’m just immersing myself… this is a great company.”
“Brian’s a very talented guy,” said Harridge. “In this industry, you’ve got to love what you do. He’s really getting in and learning. There are so many opportunities for growth. I started at the bell desk, went to food and beverage, then housekeeping. But Brian is going to be great wherever he works.”
