In this sluggish labor market, many job-seekers would be happy to land a full-time position. But for workers at one Atlantic City casino, getting a job may not mean keeping it.
Workers at Atlantic City's highly anticipated Revel casino, including bellhops and blackjack dealers, will be subject to term limits of four to six years, at the end of which they will repeat the hiring process, NPR reports. The policy will "attract the most highly professional people who are inspired by a highly competitive work environment," Revel wrote in a statement.
Gaming employees earned between $16,310 and $68,290 a year according to the most recent statistics available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The policy could just be an excuse for the casino to take advantage of desperate job seekers, experts told NPR.
Revel, the first new casino built in Atlantic City since 2003's opening of the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, is expected to be a big boon for a city that has seen declining casino profits over the past five years, as well as a high unemployment rate. The casino is projected to bring in $2.4 billion, provide 5,000 full-time jobs and has already hired thousands of construction workers.
The bad luck of the prospective employees stands in notable contrast to that of Don Johnson, who last year won $15.1 million playing blackjack in Atlantic City. Not that he needed it: Johnson is a chief executive at a Wyoming-based company that wagers on horseracing. Nor is he the only high-level executive to win big betting on cards either -- Steve Begeleiter, former head of corporate strategy at Bear Stearns, finished sixth at the World Series of Poker in 2009.
Despite the hefty price tag, many are optimistic that Revel will mark a turning point for the struggling city, whose revenue peaked at $5.2 billion in 2006 and has continued to decline thanks to a combination of recession pressures and increased competition from newly-opened casinos in Pennsylvania and New York. Casinos are becoming an increasingly popular way for states to pull in much needed revenue as well as attract new tourist dollars, with Pennsylvania adding 10 casinos since 2006, while New York currently plans to improve Aqueduct Raceway, a racetrack and casino on the city's outskirts.
Recent news may have justified boosters' optimism in the Revel's ability to help revive Atlantic City. The town saw revenue increase last month for the first time in three and a half years, raising hopes that the casino will be a so-called "silver bullet" for the resort city.
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