Table games bringing employment to Pennsylvania casinos

Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course is preparing for 400 new workers. They have not yet started looking for the employees, but officials believe the jobs will be of the well paying variety. "This is 400 good paying jobs," said Hollywood Casino General Manager Frank Quigley, "A young person can come out of six weeks or eight weeks of school and start at what could be a us$ 40,000 a year job."

With many people being laid off during the recession, the idea of 400 new jobs being created anywhere in the state is being met with happy faces. "That would be great for me to get hired for a dealing job," said Michael Lerber, a resident who lost his job six months ago, "Hopefully, I will be one of the people that the casino decides to hire." Lerber has already gone to school to become a dealer.

There are many other stories much like Lerber, people who have been laid off but have turned to the casino industry in Pennsylvania to help. The Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh recently opened after hiring thousands of new employees, and the SugarHouse casino in Philadelphia should be open sometime next year.

While other states have started to expand their casino licenses, Pennsylvania lawmakers have worked to stay ahead of the curve. The table games would give Pennsylvania casinos the ammunition needed to go after the struggling Atlantic City casino industry.