MBA's are Mixing Work and Play

It's becoming apparent that even for an MBA, quality of life may be more important than money. Having an MBA doesn't mean that you can't have fun, too.

Today, what happens in Vegas isn't necessarily staying in Vegas. In fact, MBA grads are flocking to the adult playground in the hopes of finding a non-traditional career. Harrah's Entertainment, with its strong database-marketing and customer-relations management programs, and the Las Vegas Sands, which owns the Venetian Casino-Hotel, are hiring MBA interns and graduates for their analytical and strategic know-how.

"Our training in revenue management and optimization can help casinos understand how much to charge for rooms and comp gamblers [with free rooms and meals] in order to derive the most value from each customer," points out Maria Taft, co-president of Stanford's Travel and Hospitality Club. It isn't poker players that have management skills - that's where an MBA comes in. Plus, Chanel, Polo Ralph Lauren, Brooks Brothers, Paramount, and Walt Disney are targeting MBA's for their skills in mergers, marketing, and investments.

In turn, colleges and universities are catching on, and offering new specialties to MBA students. For example, many MBA programs, including those at online colleges and universities, now offer specialties in controllership, finance, taxes, international business, supply chain management, hospitality and tourism, and gaming management. Courses at some of these online colleges and universities include economic and social aspects of gaming and gambling, casino industry regulation, and casino management. Getting an MBA these days can open the door to an exciting, unique career, giving new meaning to the term "it pays to play."