In just a few weeks, the Hollywood Casino York will be open for business. The satellite casino is a work in progress and has just a short time to be ready for opening day. Just this week, the casino sent representatives to a Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board meeting to review the construction progress of the project. In the meeting, the reps discussed how the project is moving along as well as how the property is having difficulty finding employees. They also have plans to expand.
Details of the Meeting
During the Board meeting, General Manager of the casino, Ruben Warren, commented that the casino plans to open in early August. The exact day was not mentioned. The casino is going to offer 80,000 square feet of gaming space and include 500 slot machines, 24 table games and 10 electronic tables.
For sports fans, the property will host a sports betting site. Barstool Sportsbook will offer full-service betting options. The casino will also have two restaurants where visitors can dine in between playing the many available games.
On June 22, the casino will start the installation of table games. The slot games should start coming in by end of the month, according to Warren. Concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic caused the casino to have to reconfigure the layout of the gaming floor.
Because the casino plans to open in August, the property needs employees now. Warren stated that Hollywood is having trouble recruiting employees to cover the number of services the property will offer. Particularly, the casino is having trouble finding people to train for dealer positions.
David Barasch, the chairman of the Board, said that there is a concern that the property will not have enough staff members, or they will be inexperienced. Warren told Barasch that the goal of Hollywood is to open the property and ensure that dealers are experienced in order to provide quality services to customers.
Table Game Dealers Needed
A total of 105 employees are needed in the table game positions of the casino. The property was approved by the board to add more table games and right now, only 60 new hires are receiving free training for the dealer positions.
Penn National will be sending 20 dealers from the Hollywood Casino in Grantville to help out with the York employment needs. So, the casino still needs 45 dealers in place to help with table game operations.
To help with potential employment needs in the future, Warren said the dealer school will remain open for one to two months after the casino opens. Sometimes, dealers will drop out of school or quit at the casino. By leaving the school option, the casino can train new people if they are short-staffed in the future.
To try and bring in new employees, the mini-casino is offering a $1,500 sign on bonus. Paid training is also provided. The operator is also giving away a Harley-Davidson Motorcycle. The lucky winner will one employee who remains employed until the holidays.
