Casino-hotels typically have about one full-time employee
per guest room. That means locations in
Sullivan County and nearby will need about 200 or 400 workers. All will be local, and most will be recruited
from area residents.
Casino resort jobs can be divided into two groups – those
connected with the gambling operations, and those with other functions. Gaming managers can expect to earn $45,000 to
$95,000 per year. Dealers, at blackjack,
craps, roulette, poker, and other table games, are usually paid the minimum
wage plus health insurance and other benefits – the tips they receive put them
solidly in the middle class. Slot
machine attendants are paid similarly.
Pit bosses, who supervise groups of gambling tables, can expect to earn
around $50,000. Cage workers and their
supervisors are needed to buy and sell chips from players, and sports books,
which take wagers on football, basketball, baseball games and more, require
people to set the odds and handle bets.
A large number of security guards, generally getting around $30,000 per
year, will also be hired, along with their higher-paid supervisors.
The Catskills casinos will need many more workers than
these. Each will have several
restaurants with chefs, cooks, bussers, and waitstaff. They will also need bartenders, not only at
up-front locations but at service bars from which players’ drinks are
prepared. These jobs will typically pay
as much as they would in other settings, and many will have opportunities for
tips, which are often very large; for example, Las Vegas cocktail waitresses,
though paid only the minimum by their employers, often earn over $150,000 per
year. In addition, a full hotel staff,
ranging from front-desk workers and housekeepers to managers, will be
required. Almost all casino-hotel jobs
have two advantages: first, employers
tend to promote people quickly and from within; and second, work skills can
easily be transferred to other gambling locations.
What does it take to get these positions? Related experience is highly valued, but not
always necessary. The casinos will be
looking for people good at communication, customer service, and arithmetic, and
willing to work at unusual times. When
the licenses are granted, a variety of community and technical schools will
partner with management to offer courses, focused on getting students hired, on
dealing and other skills.
Will you have a good, new career before the next
presidential election? That is quite
possible, if you have the interest, abilities, and competence for a casino
job.