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Casinos bet on new jobs from bill
Before the ink had dried on the bill legalizing table games in Pennsylvania, people were contacting Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs seeking one of the 400 jobs the expansion of gaming is slated to create at the Luzerne County facility.
Bobby Soper, chief executive officer of the casino, said some current employees were inquiring about transferring to one of the new jobs and others from outside the company were also asking about hiring opportunities. Soper said advertisements for the positions, which include dealers, beverage servers and security, will appear in several weeks.
Todd A. Vonderheid, president of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business and Industry, hailed the Legislature and the benefits he sees table games bringing.
“The General Assembly and the governor deserve a lot of credit for working with the gaming industry to craft a bill that will immediately stir job creation and investment in this difficult time and help reduce the tax burden on all Pennsylvanians,” Vonderheid said. “Additionally, they have, in one bill, expanded an entire industry that will serve as a quality, long-term economic anchor.”
The table games could be up and running this summer, Soper said just a few hours after Gov. Ed Rendell signed a compromise table games and gaming oversight bill into law.
The legislation means job creation, more money will flow into state and local coffers and Mohegan Sun will have to do some remodeling to accommodate what will initially be 50 to 60 tables offering poker, blackjack, roulette, baccarat and craps.
There are some uncertainties that will be determined in time, Soper said. Among them is what minimum bets for the tables will be and who will run the hotel planned for the property.
“We have not worked through that yet. Those are the types of details we’ll examine the next few months,” Soper said.
The planned nine-story, 300-room hotel attached to the casino has been on the drawing board in anticipation of table games gaining approval. With votes by the state House and Senate this week, and the governor’s signature on Thursday, “this certainly solidifies our desire to move forward with that project.”
He said those hired for dealer or croupier positions will be schooled in-house by Mohegan Sun trainers after being hired. School for blackjack dealers lasts eight weeks. Craps croupiers will get 12 weeks of paid training.
Soper said that while “we’ll certainly look at experience …” those without a gaming background would be considered.
“In our culture here we hire team members based on a number of things, most importantly that they could provide good service,” Soper said.
There also will be a few hundred new jobs at Mount Airy Casino Resort near Mount Pocono. Casino spokeswoman Wendy Wilson said there are plans to install 73 tables — 54 on the main floor, four high-end tables on the third floor overlooking a lake and 15 poker tables overlooking the gaming floor — and hire between 250 and 300 new employees.
“Mount Airy is finalizing its process right now in seeking experienced table game dealers and pit personnel along with those individuals willing to be trained in these positions. Mount Airy anticipates advertising job fairs for these positions in the very near future,” said Mount Airy’s general counsel Don Shiffer. He also said there are no plans to set a minimum table bet.
Vonderheid said many regions of the country would love to see this kind of economic-generating announcement.
“Although significantly less than other regions of the country, Northeastern Pennsylvania has been severely impacted by the recession,” he said.
