In August, Cliff Atkinson, a longtime leader in hospitality, stepped into the role of president of Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, which was formerly the Hard Rock Hotel and is part of Hilton’s Curio Collection.

With two major events on Las Vegas’ calendar — Formula One’s inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix in November and the Super Bowl in February — Atkinson didn’t have a lot of time to settle into his role.

Last week, when the Las Vegas Sun sat down Tuesday with Atkinson at Virgin, Formula One guests had already begun arriving ahead of the racing weekend, and an array of cars could be seen on display around the casino floor.