Casino

A Mirage original: Dedicated doorman Robert Folk shares the warmth

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From his post at Mirage, Robert Folk has greeted them all, from NBA legends to selfie-seeking tourists.
Photo: Adam Shane

How many employees have been at the Mirage since day one? A lot, actually. About 400 original workers are still doing their thing at the 25-year-old resort, but one of the most visible members of the team—perhaps the first person you met if you were there for opening day—is Robert Folk. The ebullient 60-year-old Philadelphia native and Air Force veteran moved from his post as receiving supervisor at Steve Wynn’s Golden Nugget to doorman at the Mirage in 1989. Folk is still welcoming guests today and wouldn’t have it any other way.

How did you go from working in receiving at a Downtown casino to greeting guests at the original Las Vegas Strip megaresort? As I heard more about the Mirage, that it would be the first to have this and to do that, my mind started clicking and I thought, I want to be part of this. … I got a call from [executive] Bill Hornbuckle, who said he had the perfect job for me: doorman. When it was still under construction, they walked me out front and showed me the driveway and said, “As doorman, you run this whole place, the front. This is your stage. You’re an actor.” I’m thinking, well, Denzel stole all my other parts, so let’s do this. I’m gonna go out there and try to win the Oscar.

What do you remember about the opening of the Mirage? The crowd coming in like the running of the bulls. Steve Wynn announced we were open, and they opened the gates on both sides and everybody was just flying in here. It was extremely busy for the first three months, just swamped, and maybe for a couple years after that it pretty much stayed that way.

Did employees recognize then that they were part of something special, even by Las Vegas standards? We knew we were setting the trend. There was nothing like this. Caesars [Palace] and the old MGM, now Bally’s, were the biggest hotels on the Strip at that time; that was our competition. But after a few months, the competition wasn’t really there. It was almost like night and day comparing our place to theirs. It was just something so refreshing, and I’ve always got my ears open so I heard all of it: “This is just fabulous,” and “Did you see the lamps outside?” and “Did you see the show inside?” It was so exciting for our visitors and everybody felt it. And all those other places that came along, you know, they took a little piece of something from us. Everybody was kind of following our lead.

You’ve had other career opportunities. What keeps you here? I could have gone to other casinos that opened up, but this is where I want to be. It’s sort of like an athlete that doesn’t want to play for another team. And I have people who keep coming back telling me it’s because I’m here. This town wasn’t really geared for kids, and when we have a family staying here for a few days, I like to get into it with them. It usually starts with a high-five. They’ll say, “I’m glad you’re here because all morning my kids wanted to come down there and see Folk and get a high-five or a fist bump.”

I could have come inside as a host, too, but ... I’d rather help those who don’t have it instead of those who do. Those [guests] are getting pampered by a lot of people. I want the ones who feel as though they’re not important but they actually are important. This is the people business, and if you take the people away, what do you have? You have to keep them coming back.

Who are some of the most memorable people you’ve met on the job? I’m a big sports fan. During the NBA All-Star Weekend in 2007, I was out on the curb and happened to see Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics, 11-time world champion. I remembered someone telling me he’s hard to approach, and he had his head down. So I just blew my whistle to hold up all the traffic, and said, “It’s the man with more rings than he’s got fingers.” His head came up and he had a big smile on his face, so I knew—I got him. And then later I was walking him to the elevators and we got into a nice conversation.

Another one was Dr. J, he did something I’ll never forget. I spoke to him one day and he said, “Come here, I want you to meet somebody,” then walked me down to the end of the porte cochere and sitting there on a bench was his mother. He introduced me to his mother, and that was so special, for a superstar to do that.

Has your job changed much over the years? It’s about the same, I just get deeper into my job every year. I’ve learned a lot about people and their expectations and I just try to tighten up my game and keep it fresh. Selfies is the big thing now. Everybody wants to come over and get a selfie. I have people come back the next year and show me the pictures we took the year before. That’s a lot of fun, and it sparks conversation.

It’s almost like you’re one of the attractions at the Mirage, like the volcano or the dolphins. (Laughs) I am unworthy. Seriously, I’m just a fixture. One of the best compliments was winning employee of the year in 2011, and after I won the award I got a message from another employee who had won earlier, saying, “Welcome to the wall.” It made me feel like I’d made the hall of fame. I know my picture will always be back there as long as this building is standing, I’ll be a part of it. There’s a lot of personal gratification there. That’s the kind of thing that keeps me here.

Is there a little extra excitement now, with this anniversary? Do you and your coworkers talk about this milestone? We have that conversation almost daily. Something will happen, and it will remind you of something else, and it’s like, do you remember that? Was that really 10 or 15 or 20 years ago? How could it have been that long? It does seem like yesterday. But that’s because most of those stories were good experiences and it’s easy to remember those. The people that work here are like a family. There are a lot of warm feelings.

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Brock Radke

Brock Radke is an award-winning writer and columnist who currently occupies the role of managing editor at Las Vegas Weekly ...

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