Shortly after being named president of Virgin Hotels Las Vegas in mid-2023, Cliff Atkinson set out to unwind the complicated operational structure that saw nearly three dozen entities managing the property’s multiple businesses — including the 1,500-room hotel and 60,000-square-foot casino.

Atkinson, however, didn’t count on a 69-day strike by more than 700 non-gaming employees represented by Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Local 165. The strike — which ended Jan. 22 with a new contract for workers — disrupted operations and slowed the restructuring plans.

But there’s renewed optimism at the resort.

In the past few months, Atkinson’s team took control of the Virgin’s casino from Connecticut tribal operator Mohegan Gaming and Hilton Hotels was removed as the lodging operator, although the resort is still considered a Hilton franchise. The hotel is now managed by Virgin employees.

Atkinson said structural changes were spurred last summer when the property’s $190 million debt was refinanced. But if there’s a point where the property’s next chapter began, it was two months ago after the picket lines came down and ended the Culinary’s second-longest-ever walkout.

“The strike was difficult to go through and I don't want to go through that again,” he said. “But it showed the resolve of the property and the workforce.”

More than 1,800 union and non-union staff are employed at Virgin. 

‘Let your hair down’

Last week, Atkinson walked through a busy Virgin casino, greeting guests and employees by first name and visiting the sportsbook as boisterous customers watched and wagered on the opening games of the NCAA’s March Madness men’s basketball championship. 

March Madness coincided with the official launch of Cherry Rewards, a new customer loyalty program where guests earn points for spending at all aspects of the property.

The off-Strip resort has only been known as Virgin since the pandemic ended.

The hotel-casino opened as Hard Rock Las Vegas in 1995 and continued the rock ’n’ roll theme when it was acquired by an ownership consortium in 2018 that included Las Vegas-based JC Hospitality Group as the majority owner and five minority investors. Among the investors were Virgin Group, which is headed by British billionaire Sir Richard Branson, and Toronto-based Fengate Asset Management.

After an 18-month renovation, the property was rebranded as Virgin in 2021 to tie into Branson’s multifaceted international brand that ties into travel, music and hospitality. Las Vegas is one of five U.S. cities with a Virgin-branded hotel.

Atkinson was named president of the management company that oversees the property in 2023.

In a message to customers, Atkinson said Virgin relayed, “We were going back to things that are in our DNA [such as] fun, excitement, party [and] let your hair down.” 

But many of the changes Atkinson planned for Virgin couldn’t move forward until the labor dispute was in the past.

The unions demanded the resort sign a contract similar to the wage and benefit package agreed to by dozens of other Southern Nevada resorts, which included a cumulative 32 percent salary increase by the end of the five-year agreement. 

The walkout began Nov. 15, just ahead of the Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix, and 24/7 picket lines were in place through the holidays and into the New Year before quietly ending without warning on Jan. 22. Workers voted unanimously to accept the new contract, the property’s temporary replacement workers were dismissed and employees returned to their jobs.  

Atkinson, without getting into the contract’s financial details, said “We’re ending up at the same place the rest of the city is. We negotiated some things to get there.” 

He said the strike happened because “we were really trying to save the business. I think everyone gets that. We weren't holding on to hundreds of millions of profits here. We were trying to save jobs.”

He also suggested that “outside forces” played a role in the settlement but declined to elaborate.

If there was any follow-up animosity between union and non-union employees, Atkinson said he and his management team “worked their way through it.”

“We micromanaged. Myself and our [human resources] team went to every daily lineup, especially the big departments. We went and we talked about it,” Atkinson said.

He also visited with Culinary Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge and traveled to Carson City to meet with state lawmakers. His message: The strike is in the past.

“Ted and I shook hands and kind of put it all behind us,” Atkinson said. “We have to be partners in this for their union members and our team members.”

In an interview, Pappageorge said Virgin “settled for the Strip standard and we’re very proud of that.” He added the union “wants Virgin to succeed and we are going to work closely with them to support that effort.”

A new beginning

The structural changes Atkinson first discussed implementing more than a year ago are now in place.

“It's all-encompassing and it provides a much better value experience,” Atkinson said. “You had conflicting entities between Mohegan and Hilton. It looked good on paper but we weren’t a fully integrated resort. That's the headline for our business case review. Everything has to work together.”

Atkinson said Virgin’s customer base is someone who wants value but is also willing to pay to have the type of luxury experience found in high-end Strip resorts. 

Many of the property's venues from the 2021 reopening continue to operate, including Japanese restaurant Nobu, Morton’s ONE Steakhouse, Kassi Beach House and Beach Club and several entertainment spots, including The Shag Room cocktail lounge and 4,600-seat theater operated by AEG.

One of Atkinson’s initial efforts was to relaunch the property’s second-floor area that housed Money Baby!, a restaurant-sportsbook concept that failed under previous management. The venue had been closed for nearly two years, but Atkinson’s team reopened the space last week for special events. It hosted a viewing party for Virgin’s invited guests to watch the March Madness games on large-screen monitors and dine on food and an open bar.

“When we walk through a party like we just saw, it's exciting to see that customers are looking for a home,” he said.

Virgin is just a five-minute drive to Harry Reid International Airport and a short distance from the Las Vegas Convention Center and the Sphere. The property is also a site for a Vegas Loop station expected to open late this year.

Las Vegas-based gaming industry adviser Brendan Bussmann said Virgin has a much better future given the new management structure and the end of the strike, helping avoid what he called the “different and unaligned agendas that mired the property since its transformation.” 

“With full control of its gaming operations and in sync with the rest of the property, this should help offer a consistent experience where the right and left hand both understand what they are doing,” said Bussmann, the managing partner of B2 Global. 

When Atkinson started, Virgin Las Vegas had three organizational charts. 

Now, there’s just one.

“That was important for our employees because now they know what the culture is,” he said. “It's not different cultures and different ways of operating.”