Gulf Coast Casino Workers Seek Jobs in Atlantic City

[clevfan]

September 14, 2005
Gulf Coast Casino Workers Seek Jobs in Atlantic City
By JOHN HOLL
NY TIMES

ATLANTIC CITY, Sept. 13 - Peter Cunha and Megan Gutierrez were about to start new jobs at the Hard Rock Casino in Biloxi, Miss., the newest casino on the Gulf Coast, when Hurricane Katrina hit. With the Hard Rock and much of the rest of the casino industry in Mississippi and Louisiana reduced to a shambles, the two headed here to find work.

On Monday, two weeks after they left their damaged apartments in Gulfport, Miss., they found themselves standing on the boardwalk here, in the shadows of what Mr. Cunha called "monster-size" casinos. They are among the first of possibly thousands of Gulf Coast casino workers who may soon arrive here looking for jobs in this city's booming gambling businesses, industry officials say.

Atlantic City's 12 casinos generated $4.8 billion in gambling revenues last year, compared with the $2.1 billion produced by Louisiana's 18 riverboats and racetrack casinos and the $2.7 billion from Mississippi's 29 dockside casinos, according to the American Gaming Association.

Audrey S. Oswell, president of the Casino Association of New Jersey, the industry's trade group, said the city's casinos stood ready to help. "There are many talented and experienced casino employees who have been displaced, and we, along with many other gaming jurisdictions, will assist those workers with employment opportunities wherever possible," she said.

The New Jersey Casino Control Commission has agreed to expedite temporary licenses for displaced workers. Dealers, pit bosses and others who are directly involved in gambling will be able to get licenses in 10 days, while others who work on the floors can qualify within 48 hours, according to Daniel Heneghan, a commission spokesman.

Harrah's Entertainment, which owned three casinos damaged by the hurricane, now has 8,000 displaced workers. The company owns four casinos in Atlantic City and has offered jobs to "a number of individuals affected by the storm," said a Harrah's spokeswoman, Susan Kotzen. She could not provide the specific number of jobs offered.

Maureen Siman, a spokeswoman for the Tropicana Hotel and Casino, said that a few people from the Gulf Coast had applied for jobs in recent days and that the casino's human resources department expected the number to increase over the next few weeks.

"They are ready for them," she said. "There are always jobs available at a casino."

Mr. Cunha, 32, who graduated from Tulane University's casino management program, said he "was really looking forward to working at the Hard Rock."

"I was so excited to start down there," he said.

He had been hired as a player's club supervisor, while Ms. Gutierrez was preparing to start work as a bartender.

"Now," he said, "I have to go through the process again of finding a job. I can't get excited. It's frustrating. But I want to be in a casino. It is where I thrive."

He said he had applied for jobs at the Borgata and the Tropicana, the "hot, exciting spots." But when he arrived at the human resource departments at the two casinos, he was missing a crucial document - his résumé.

"My computer is still in my apartment. I couldn't get back into my apartment," he said in a telephone interview on Tuesday. Fortunately, he said, the casinos were understanding.

Both Mr. Cunha and Ms. Gutierrez have interviews scheduled at the Tropicana on Thursday. If they are hired, he said, they will probably move to Atlantic City and stay there for a while. If they are not hired, he said, they will apply over the phone and the Internet to casinos in Las Vegas. They have also applied to the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Fla.

Ideally, they would like to go back to Mississippi, Mr. Cunha said, but it could be a year before the casinos reopen and by then they may have roots someplace else.

"I'm a casino guy," he said. "It's the lifestyle we like; it's where we want to be."