April 23–SPRINGFIELD — Chris Smigel, assistant executive chef at MGM Springfield, moved up the career ladder at the soon-to-open casino before he was even hired.

A Westfield native who got his culinary training at Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island, Smigel applied to MGM hoping for a job as a chef running one of its restaurants.

Instead, he was hired to oversee culinary operations for all MGM-operated facilities on the property in Springfrield's South End. It's a step up for him, having worked for Hyatt Hotels for 10 years with stops Austin, New Orleans and, most recently, Cambridge. The MGM Springfield job has allowed him to buy a home and move back to Westfield.

"This is an opportunity that didn't exist here," he said. "I never thought I'd get the opportunity to move forward with my career and do it close to home."

Five newly hired food and beverage executives sat down with The Republican recently to talk about opportunities at MGM Springfield as the $960 million resort casino nears its expected September opening date.

They were Smigel; Andres Gomez, director of restaurants; Anthony Caratozzolo, vice president of food and beverage; Nathaniel Waugaman, executive chef; and David L. Bennett, food and beverage project manager.

The interview was in part a recruiting pitch. Caratozzolo spoke of upcoming hiring events and Waugaman spoke of his growing relationships with area trade schools and MGM's work developing the HCC MGM Culinary Arts Institute in collaboration with Holyoke Community College. Some of the chefs MGM has hired demonstrated their skills at the culinary center's grand opening last week.

But there is an issue no one at MGM is talking about, at least on the record.

MGM Resorts International is reportedly interested in buying the beleaguered Wynn Boston Harbor casino under construction in Everett. State regulators might come down hard on Wynn due to the sexual harassment scandal of founder Steve Wynn and efforts to cover up it up. If MGM gets the more lucrative Boston market, it would be forced by state law to divest itself of the Springfield property.

Instead, the MGM food and beverage executives focused on how much work they need to do, the hiring events coming up in May and June and how MGM Springfield will have a local feel, with New England seafood and local craft beer. Even the selection of cheeses will focus on New England products.

Besides Smigel, Gomez and Bennett are also local. Gomez is originally form Puerto Rico and now lives in Ludlow. Bennett, a UMass graduate, lives in Longmeadow.

Gomez said the next step in his career journey simply didn't exist here before MGM Springfield. No one else was large enough a food operator to offer him an opportunity for advancement, he said.

"It would probably have meant me picking up and leaving the area," he said.

Caratozzolo said he has the biggest recruiting job in the organization, needing to hire 800 people before September.

He said the hiring events won't be like other job fairs. Prospective employees should expect an audition, with MGM bosses putting a knife in their hands.

"There is a job for everyone at MGM," he said. "Every level of skill."

Caratozzolo, top man on the food pyramid here, said MGM Springfield is different from other MGM properties in that the company normally builds buildings from scratch. Here, MGM is renovating existing buildings.

A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, he worked as a lead cook at MGM's Beau Rivage resort in Mississippi and was in Las Vegas before coming to Springfield.

MGM Springfield restaurants will have doors out onto the street, he said. That's not typical at casino properties.

He said food service will also be different in Springfield because staff will focus on both the customer who comes just to eat and the casino gambler whose food is comped. It'll be a fifty-fifty mix, he said.

That's similar to the Vegas business model, built on conventioneers and tourists and different than most regional casinos where food staffers are told to prioritize the gamblers.