6,500 Hires in 90 Days: How Kim Virtuoso Built the Workforce Behind Las Vegas's Newest Resort

Settle in for one of the most operationally wild episodes in recent memory. Kim was employee number 11 at a resort that didn't have an offer letter template, an HR system, or a building that candidates could walk into. Eighteen months later, 6,500 people were through the doors on opening day. The conversation covers how Kim built the EVP from scratch to win back hospitality workers who left the industry after COVID, why they ripped and replaced their ATS six months into the build when it couldn't handle 300,000 expected applications, and how benefits like childcare stipends, pay transparency, and weekly pay became genuine competitive differentiators on the Strip. This is a masterclass in building talent infrastructure at speed and under pressure.

Key takeaways

They planned for 80,000 applications and received 300,000. Scenario planning your recruitment capacity at multiple demand levels is not optional at scale. They ripped and replaced their ATS six months in when the vendor flagged the system might break under volume. The new one, Paradox, reduced application time from 20-30 minutes to 3-5 minutes via AI conversational chat. Benefits are a real differentiator when you deploy them intentionally. Childcare stipends, weekly pay, parental leave, and pay transparency were all firsts on the Strip and drove both attraction and retention. COVID wiped out a generation of hospitality workers who left permanently and felt like a number. Culture-first recruiting was the strategy to win them back, and belonging has been the competitive advantage ever since. AI handles screening, scheduling, and application triage. Humans make every hiring decision. Protecting that distinction freed the team to focus on the moments that actually require judgment. Don't fake it until you make it. Face it. Kim's advice for anyone building toward a senior people role: show up as yourself, surround yourself with the right people, and commit to staying curious about what's next. Links:

Kim on LinkedIn

LHH Recruitment Solutions

A Beautiful Working World

A Soundbeam Studios Production