Meet the Las Vegas women of MGM Resorts International who are breaking the glass ceiling

The stage is set. The acts have been booked. The lighting and sound perfected. All the logistics organized. The curtain rises and the eager crowd roars. The Las Vegas hotels and venues in the MGM Resorts International portfolio—Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Excalibur, New York-New York, MGM Grand, Park MGM, NoMad Hotel, Delano, Bellagio, Aria, Vdara, The Mirage and T-Mobile Arena—offer some of the best entertainment in the city. From concerts and festivals to sporting events and special experiences, the worldwide corporation creates lifelong memories for visitors, but it doesn’t just … happen. A large network of MGMRI employees work together to launch that entertainment. While thousands of employees work for the corporation, Las Vegas Magazine is turning the spotlight on five top female executives in the company who have shattered the proverbial glass ceiling in their field and work tirelessly to piece together the moving parts in this entertainment scene. Learn a bit about their personal lives, jobs, career highlights and thoughts on being a woman in a male-dominated industry—and discover the humbleness, hard work and dedication that have led them to the top of their game. And the next time you take your seat in Vegas—be it seeing your favorite singer, sports star or show—remember that it’s these women who help make it all happen.

Erin Calhoun

Title: Vice president of booking—entertainment and sports

Shoot Location: MGM Grand Garden Arena

From Opera to Rock ‘n’ Roll. Born and raised in New Jersey, Calhoun went to college for music—she’s a classically trained opera singer. “After college, in a very dramatic fashion, I was like, ‘I’m going to move to L.A. and be like Ari Gold from Entourage,” she says. “But then I realized people like that make $12 an hour, forever.” So, she tried something different and worked for the company Rock ’n’ Roll Fantasy Camp. “I was the owner’s assistant and moved into marketing, then VP of operations, talent coordination, execution of the camp’s operations. It was a very cool learning opportunity for me because I got to see all sides of the business.”

Vegas Bound. The position at the camp brought her to Las Vegas in 2013. After a short stint in nonprofit work, “I quickly realized I missed entertainment,” Calhoun says. “I knew I wouldn’t be able to be 100% passionate about my career unless it was in entertainment.” And right around that time, T-Mobile Arena was being built, and she knew that was what she wanted to be a part of. She joined MGMRI in 2015 as one of the arena’s booking managers. Two years ago, she moved into her current title and now works with MGM Grand’s Grand Garden Arena, T-Mobile Arena and the Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay.

The Art of the Deal. When you hop on your computer and look up all the concerts across MGMRI’s properties, it’s Calhoun who books them. “I look at my calendar and all the open dates,” she says. “I do the deals, how each one is going to be executed. The fun part—once it’s booked and released into the world, we must stay that central person because we’re the first person and we’re the last person.”

From Jam Band to Boy Band to Psychos. For all those Phish fans out there, thank Calhoun, who has helped book the band’s acclaimed Halloween shows at the Grand Garden Arena. “They don’t have to come here, they can go anywhere for their Halloween shows, so it’s about nurturing those relationships to make them want to come back here,” she says. Calhoun also grew up a huge NSYNC fan. And when she booked Justin Timberlake’s Man of the Woods Tour, “I was walking around the floor at T-Mobile Arena, standing there, and he was right there rehearsing “SexyBack,” she says. “If you would’ve told 12-year-old Erin she would be booking the biggest arena in Las Vegas and standing next to Justin Timberlake and could go backstage and say hello … It was just this moment where I was going to cry but I couldn’t because I was in public. But that was just a really cool, I-did-it-moment. It was a personal, special moment.” Heavy-metal music fans can also thank Calhoun for bringing the Psycho Las Vegas festival to Mandalay Bay. “It’s been fun for me to be on the ground floor with the creators of Psycho and be able to make it special to what we can do,” she says.

The Quarantine Life. Calhoun has some happy news to share: she’s getting married next year. “I got a quarantine puppy and I got a ring,” she says, laughing. “As if I don’t have enough concerts to plan, I’m going to plan a wedding, too.”

Making It a Woman’s World. “When I first started, I was the only female booker on the team,” Calhoun says. “I would go out to booking conferences, and it’s a very male-dominated world. From the MGMRI side, I think it’s special that they focus on women in leadership. They want to see women grow. I have personally felt that I’ve been nurtured to be the person that got promoted twice; to be a person that they invest in. To be a woman in this male-dominated world—it’s nice to work for a company that appreciates the diversity and supports it.”

Katharine Sherrer

Title: Director of public relations

Shoot Location: T-Mobile Arena

It Began With a Note. Sherrer was born in South Korea and was adopted by an American couple when she turned a year old. “I was left in a basket on the orphanage steps and left with a note that my mom still has to this day,” Sherrer says. “It says in Korean, something to the effect of, ‘We can’t take care of our daughter. We want a couple to adopt her and take her to America and give her a beautiful life.’ And, I was.”

The L.A. Scene. Sherrer went to college in Boston for theater and costume design. She took an internship in L.A. to pursue a possible career in wardrobe design, but ended up working for Focus Features, where she had her first brush with public relations. After graduating, she moved back to L.A. and started as a junior publicist, working on movies and TV awards shows. In 2009, she applied for a job in Las Vegas with MGMRI. “I started in February of 2010,” she says. “My goal was two years in Vegas. ’Cause who lives in Vegas for longer?”

It’s Now Going on 11 Years. In 2011, Sherrer was promoted to public relations manager and in 2018 to director of public relations. The first big arena concert she worked on was Aerosmith at MGM’s Grand Garden Arena in 2010. She helped launch Jabbawockeez when they landed their first Vegas residency. She has helped direct PR for the openings of T-Mobile Arena and Park Theater and assisted with those venues’ major concerts and sporting events. She helped plan the Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor fight at the Grand Garden Arena. She’s assisted with the launch of the residencies Lady Gaga, Aerosmith, Cher, Queen and Adam Lambert, the Aces of Comedy series at The Mirage, the Billboard Music Awards and the Academy of Country Music awards. And she’s worked closely with the Vegas Golden Knights and all their games and events.

Those “Wow” Moments. Remember Drake’s performance on the Bellagio fountains for 2017’s Billboard Music Awards? Sherrer worked on that. Have you seen Bruno Mars’ music video for “24K Magic” when he rode a personal watercraft on the fountains of Bellagio? Sherrer was there, too.

In the Octagon. Having no experience with UFC, Sherrer learned the ropes quickly and took on PR responsibilities for UFC events in 2012. “I remember McGregor when he was on an undercard and then watching him progress,” she says. Since then, she’s worked almost every big UFC bout at T-Mobile Arena.

The Thing With Public Relations. “It’s those iconic moments—the things that get guests excited,” Sherrer says. “For PR, we do this to get the word out about the event, buzz about it, to sell tickets and fill those seats.”

The Bottom Line. “I think that, and it goes to all the women in this story, we work so hard to make it not about it being a man or a woman—it’s about doing your job and doing it well,” Sherrer says. “We’re just lucky to be in a company where we have men and women that are there to support us and help us grow and guide us. It’s about the work more than anything, in my opinion. I see the other ladies in this story, they’re all so excellent at what they do. Being a woman in entertainment, it’s very true—it’s male dominated and I think for me being in PR I’m proud of the skill set that I bring to the table. It pushes me. It’s nice to work for a company that isn’t afraid to have women in top roles—breaking that glass ceiling.”

Nathalie Binette

Title: Vice president of entertainment operations

Shoot Location: Park Theater at Park MGM

Running Away With the Circus. When Binette was 22, she left her hometown of Montreal and joined Cirque du Soleil’s touring shows as a ticket office supervisor. “I toured with them for four years in the U.S., Canada and Europe,” she says. “It was definitely a defining moment in my career.” When the job ended, she was asked to be a part of the opening of Cirque’s first Vegas residency show, Mystère at Treasure Island (which was a part of the MGMRI family back then). She made the move in 1993 and worked in ticketing.

More Than Two Decades. Binette moved up the ladder from ticketing into positions like director of operations for theaters at MGM Grand and executive director of its Grand Garden Arena to her current position, where she oversees operations for MGMRI’s mid-size theater venues in Ohio, Michigan, Mississippi, District of Columbia, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York. In her Vegas role, she’s responsible for partner and vendor relations, expenditures, assisting the team and being a liaison for guest services and security.

A Moment. During her tenure, Binette has been responsible for bringing and staging some of the biggest acts at Park Theater since it opened in 2016. Everyone from Lady Gaga, Cher and Aerosmith, to her favorite, Bruno Mars. She can also stick a feather in her cap for the Justin Timberlake 20/20 Experience Tour at the Grand Garden Arena. “At the end of the show, I walked by his dressing room,” Binette says. “I said hello, explained that I was the general manager and he told me how incredible the experience and space was, the guest services, telling me to pass along to the staff how thankful he was. I left with the biggest smile.”

Recognition. Binette was recently selected to be a part of MGMRI’s Accelerated Leadership Program—chosen personally by MGMRI president and CEO Bill Hornbuckle. The yearlong program helps grow talented individuals into senior leadership roles. “I wouldn’t be in my role currently if it wasn’t for the incredible support I’ve had from the many leaders throughout my career that believed in me,” she says. “The company gave me the tools to grow and be who I am today.”

Ding, Ding, Ding. One of Binette’s favorite memories over the course of her career with MGMRI was the Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquaio fight at the Grand Garden Arena in 2015. “It was definitely a fight that defined boxing,” she says. “We only had about seven weeks to pull it together. What is so fascinating to me is the collaboration between all the different departments. And the best moment of the night is when the fighter walks out and seeing the excitement of the crowd, and knowing that this is in our house, in our home and being able to share this with the world. That sense of pride resonated with me.”

Me Time. Binette loves spending time with her family—especially when her husband and kids have their Friday-night dance parties and game nights. She also does CrossFit six days a week at 6 a.m. “It’s a great source of stress relief and makes me feel good and healthy,” she says.

Possibilities. “I think there are many women that could’ve been selected for this article, so I’m honored to be featured,” Binette says. “It’s not without the help and support in my life, female and male. I just hope that I can be an inspiration to really prove that if you work hard and are really dedicated, you can make it happen.”

Lauren Lopez

Title: Executive director of ticketing operations

Shoot location: The Beatles LOVE Theater at The Mirage

Love Language. From a young age, Lopez had a love for the performing arts. She attended UNLV, concentrating in theater studies, studied modern British drama abroad in London and arts administration at NYU. As a senior, she was considering delving into nonprofit arts or teaching after graduation, but landed a part-time box-office attendant position for the musical Hairspray at MGMRI’s Luxor in 2006. After the show closed, she heard rumblings about a new Cirque du Soleil show coming to The Mirage called The Beatles LOVE. She became a part of the opening team for that show.

The Cirque Circuit. Lopez went on to help open some of the city’s most-beloved Cirque du Soleil shows including Criss Angel BeLIEve at Luxor, and Zarkana and Viva Elvis at Aria. “I became the department head and part of the opening team for CityCenter and Aria,” she says. “It was a very special time with a very special group of people. Plus, it was the first time the Elvis Presley estate lent out his catalog of music for a show.” After serving as Aria’s showroom manager and front-of-house operations for five years, she transitioned more into an entertainment manager role, and that’s when she got into ticketing.

Punching Her Ticket. By 2014, Lopez fully transitioned into ticketing for MGMRI, focusing on four showrooms and the MGM Grand Garden Arena. “I was so lucky to work with the titans of the industry at that property to really teach me, educate me and help me grow,” she says. In 2016, she was promoted to director of ticketing and headed up all ticketing for T-Mobile. “Ticketing is about coding and programming the tickets so they can be put on sale, then there’s a marketing and service component to it because you learn about the customer journey and experience,” she says. “Then there’s the financial side to it, legal aspect, taxation and face-to-face aspect of taking care of guests before they go in the show.”

Full Circle. “Anyone that knows me knows I’m a huge Barbra Streisand fan, since I was a little girl,” Lopez says. “My very first concert ever was Barbra’s concert at the Grand Garden Arena in 1999. I sat in the second to last row with my mom. It’s the most incredible moment. Fast forward 15 years and Barbra Streisand is playing in one of my venues (T-Mobile Arena). I helped ticket that show. I never expected that. It was incredible.”

She’s a Ticket Holder. When she’s not ticketing events, Lopez loves to personally support the art and entertainment community in Las Vegas as a season ticket holder to The Smith Center for the Performing Arts and The Nevada Ballet Theater.

Passing the Torch. “I’m so proud, and I mean that in the most humble of ways,” Lopez says. “It’s been a lot of hard work, sacrifice and determination to get to this point, and I’m so excited for what’s next as well. I love that all these women are being highlighted and celebrated because we are underrepresented in the industry that is often male-dominated. I love thinking back to when I was a young person myself growing up in this city and I was looking for opportunity. So for us to potentially play that role for future generations—I’m so honored to be included in that company.”

Paula Zappia

Title: Executive director and general manager of Michelob Ultra Arena and entertainment—Mandalay Bay and Luxor

Shoot Location: Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay

Cruising In. Zappia, a South Wales, United Kingdom, native, was just 19 years old in 1989 when she joined the cruise ship industry. “I started as a youth counselor, like a nanny to 1,800 kids,” she says. “I worked my way up to assistant cruise director, like Julie from The Love Boat.” Zappia worked on ships until 1997, when she followed her-then musician boyfriend to Las Vegas. “Once in Vegas, I landed in entertainment, which I’d always wanted to do,” she says. “I’d always loved entertainment since being on cruise ships.”

For Adult-Eyes Only. Zappia joined MGMRI in 1999 as a ticketing specialist at New York-New York. After eight months, she was promoted to supervisor, and one of her first big projects was being part of the team responsible for bringing Cirque du Soleil’s first-ever 18-and-over show to Las Vegas. “I went to Montreal when they were putting the Zumanity show together,” she says. “Seeing Guy Laliberte’s vision come together and then watching the theater being built at New York-New York—it was special.”

A Slam Dunk. Zappia was also responsible for bringing a fun sports tournament here. “I’m the person that brought 3-on-3 basketball from Spokane, Wash., down to Vegas,” she says. “I got together with the executive director in Spokane—they’d been doing the sport up there for 26 years every June. And I thought, ‘How cool would that be to bring that down to Vegas?’ I did a lot of research, got everything together and we brought it down here during the first year that T-Mobile opened. We brought it out on the Plaza. Just to watch that come to fruition—it was huge, it was great. We took up the entire plaza with it. It was a three-day tournament. It was just so much fun, and everybody had a great time. It was one of those events that will stay really close to me because it was my first big event that I did from beginning to end.”

Nights to Remember. “That’s what we’re into—making memories,” Zappia says. “If we don’t make a good memory for every guest that comes in here, we’ve done an injustice. I want to make sure that everybody that comes to a show has a positive experience and they can leave with a beautiful memory.” You can thank Zappia and her team for putting on events like the Concerts on the Beach series at Mandalay Bay, iHeartRadio Music Festival, Las Vegas Aces games, Day N Vegas, as well as working with resident shows like Carrot Top, Fantasy and Blue Man Group at Luxor and Michael Jackson ONE at Mandalay Bay.

Checklist. On the operational side, Zappia takes care of contracts for the shows, logistics for seating, expenses, production, staffing and more. “I take calls 24/7, but it’s like second nature,” she says. “I want my employees to love their jobs and being here. I have an amazing team and I always want to push them forward to success.”

Self-Proclaimed Tomboy. Zappia loves to camp, ride dirt bikes, shoot guns, practice archery and go hiking. When she needs a break, she’ll go to her 20 acres in Utah so she can spend time in nature.

At the End of the Day. “There’s just so much that I’ve been a part of and I’m just so grateful for it all, it’s so tremendous,” Zappia says. “I couldn’t wish for a better career. I’m a firm believer that you get something because you work hard at it. And I think that all the women being featured are hard workers and true professionals. I feel very privileged to be featured alongside of them because I think they’re all strong, very capable, brilliant women.”

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