Gambling news from http://www.sunherald.com/
BILOXI - The Crescent City School of Gaming & Bartending has reopened to train workers as the Coast rebuilds with a bigger casino industry than it had before Hurricane Katrina.
The storm left 17,000 resort workers without jobs, including card dealers, but the number of employment opportunities could potentially double within the next three years. Casino companies have put rebuilding, expansion and new resort plans on a fast track so their resorts will be open by Dec. 31, 2008, the deadline to qualify for federal tax incentives to spur redevelopment after the hurricane.
With Beau Rivage and Grand Casino Biloxi reopening next month, there is already high demand for craps dealers and floor supervisors. More blackjack dealers and bartenders will be needed as Island View, the Silver Slipper and Hollywood casinos open next. Employment is projected to reach 12,000 by year's end. Plans have also been announced for brand new properties in DeLisle, Diamondhead, Biloxi and D'Iberville.
The Crescent City, which last operated in downtown Gulfport, has moved its school to Oak Street in Biloxi. The school opened last week.
"We're real excited about being right there in the center of where the majority of the jobs are going to be," said Ricky Richard, one of the owners of the family-held business. "It allows us to have contact with human resource and floor personnel. People can easily come by and see us. We're excited about being there."
After leasing land in Gulfport for years, the school bought property of its own in that city that it renovated a little over a year before Katrina hit. The school is leasing its location in Biloxi.
"We still own the building in Gulfport and we just put a new roof on it and are getting it back up to how it used to be," Richard said. "As far as what the future holds, how long we'll be in Biloxi and whether or not we'll go back to Gulfport, we all know the future is the future and could change in five hours. I just don't know."
One thing that he does know is that people still want to work at casinos. Since the storm, Crescent City has opened a school in Tunica and has plans to reopen its Louisiana school in the Elmwood area of Jefferson within two months. Richard, who lost his home in West Gulfport, relocated to Las Vegas, where the family also has a school.
"I had my calls forwarded to Las Vegas," Richard said. "On a lot of days, I would get more calls from Mississippi than here."
Although opening low key, the Biloxi school already had more than 30 students. Both day and night classes are taught. Many people want to take a three-month course in table games, but Richard believes they should learn more than just blackjack dealing and parlor games.
"When people come in to see us, one of the things I tell them is I don't recommend anything less than two games and the comprehensive course," he said. "It will help you become dual-rated and be elevated to a supervisor. There's always a demand for craps. Craps is the most challenging game. It can really pave your way. Some people shy away from it and some people are attracted to that challenge."
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