Working hard is just part of who Kara Oyama is. Today, she’s the general manager of bars and lounges at AREA15, but before this job she was climbing the ladder consistently and successfully during her time in Las Vegas.
Oyama spent seven years as a cocktail server in her home state of Hawaii before she moved to Vegas 10 years ago and pursued a career in bartending. She’s helped open The Cosmopolitan as part of the bar team and worked for Tao restaurant and dayclub. She has also worked in management for the Hakkasan Group, where she helped to oversee the company’s various hot spots, including Omnia. “I was the first female manager for operations in the whole company,” she proudly says.
Two years ago she got recruited by AREA15, joining as the events operations manager, and she recently stepped into her current role.
“I oversee daily ops for the bars and lounges, book DJs, take care of sponsorships, manage our managers, deal with different inventories. It’s a lot. It’s like organized chaos. There are so many things happening here all the time because AREA15 really has something for everyone. They call it the Disneyland for adults here, but is so much more than that.”
Keeping up with all her responsbilities in such a massive space definitely keeps Oyama on her toes, she says, but she likes to work hard—she always has.
“I like what I do so much,” she says. “I really do. I’m a workaholic. I tell my friends and family that work is like my love language. It sounds so dorky but it’s true.”
Libation: Flawless Victory
One of the bars Oyama oversees is Asylum Bar + Arcade (where we photographed her). Guests can drink and play all sorts of classic arcade games and enjoy cocktails like sweet treat Flawless Victory. This boozy slushie is a blend of Cîroc watermelon vodka, watermelon schnapps, Yellow Tail rosé, Sprite and lime juice.
Benefit: Fans of the NFL can enjoy Asylum’s football viewing parties for free. Ask about game day drink specials, too!
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