Most Casino Bosses Say Hiring Remains a Big Challenge

By John Isaac,
Editor at online-gambling.com

John Isaac Editor at online-gambling.com

John Isaac is an editor with many years of experience in the gambling industry. He writes expert articles on card games like blackjack and poker. In addition, he is also well aware of the US gambling laws and the Indian and Dutch gambling markets. You can rely on verified information and insightful details.

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Last updated: September 24, 2022

Recently, Atlantic City hosted the 25th Annual ECGC (East Coast Gaming Congress), hosted at the Hard Rock. One of the major topics discussed is how the gaming industry handled COVID-19 and the ongoing difficulties it continues to face to this day due to the pandemic. From what most casino executives said, hiring is still the most pressing issue. At the end of June, the most recent month for which employment data were available, 23,466 people were employed by the nine casinos in Atlantic City.

Although this is more open positions than there were in June 2021 (22,588), the number is still considerably less than the 30k-person workforce that was employed by the industry during the summer of 2018. In the worst days of the pandemic, casinos throughout the Northeast forced many employees to take unpaid leave. Industry leaders said that many laid-off workers found new jobs, chose new careers that allow for remote work, or completely quit the labor market.

Workforce Has the Advantage

The shortage of labor led to a worker’s market in the United States casino industry. Last month, Hard Rock International revealed that it was setting aside $100 million to pay its non-tipped hourly employees at its casinos, restaurants, and hotels. Jim Allen, chair of Hard Rock International, said that the increase in overheads would lower the high turnover of the company. The CEO and president of Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, Jason Guyot, stated that the casino keeps raising base pay to keep top employees.

Guyot says that all Foxwoods workers now earn an hourly rate of at least $14.50. The casino’s starting rate was $10.50 just two years ago. Around 3,000 people work for Foxwoods in Connecticut. Guyot stated that Foxwoods reevaluated its operations “from the top down” as a result of the pandemic. He says that the restructuring increased margins by around 8%.

David Cordish Says His Firm Is Thriving After Changing Strategy

The pandemic gave the casinos a rare opportunity to evaluate their features and operations. After the pandemic, some things such as casino buffets have not returned. David Cordish, whose Cordish Companies run live-branded casinos in Pennsylvania and Maryland, mentioned his company has not started with buffets again. Instead, he has focused on keeping environments clean. He believes this will ensure clients feel safe now and in the future.

Cordish further said: “What we did is, we put in every possible type of health and safety screening. People were fed up with being cooped up and came pouring back to the casinos when we did these things”. He mentioned that business has been fantastic since they reopened.

Debate Over Indoor Casino Smoking

The ongoing debate over smoking in casinos indoors is the major problem being avoided in the ECCG room. Before the ECGC gathering, a scheduled discussion on the subject was canceled. It was canceled because Mark Giannantonio, CEO of Resorts Casino, decided against attending the event.

Mark Giannantonio, who is also the head of the Casino Association of New Jersey, was to speak in favor of the casinos. The businesses argue that smoking inside the facilities is necessary to maintain competition with casinos in Philadelphia, where the use of tobacco in gambling facilities is partly allowed. During the ECGC last month, proponents of making casinos in Atlantic City smoke-free campaigned outside Hard Rock.