Jeff Gural hopes to open the expanded Tioga Downs by the Fourth of July in 2016.
Tioga Downs announced it would have a career summit on Monday, December 28. The jobs fair is a part of Tioga Downs’ transition from a racetrack into the Southern Tier’s first full-fledged casino and gaming resort. Job seekers are asked to appear to meet with Tioga Downs management to learn what manner of jobs will be available. Applications are being collected, while job seekers will have the opportunity to see their career potential in an expanded Tioga Downs.
When the casino expansion happens at the New York racetrack, management is going to want to hire experienced dealers for their gaming tables. The games list is going to include poker, blackjack, baccarat, craps, and roulette — among others. Those without experience will be given a chance to apply and receive the training they need to begin a new career.
Dealers and Other Personnel
Over half of the jobs at the new casino will involve gaming tables, with poker dealer as a major job. When details with New York State Gaming Commission regulations have been finalized, free training classes will be offered to prospective dealers.
The career summit is planned for 12-noon to 4 o’clock PM. Visitors should go to the stage front and winner’s circle lounge, where job seekers will gather. No hiring or interviews will take place on Monday. Those gathering are getting information and submitting resumes to the management team.
Full List of Jobs
The full list of dealer jobs includes poker room, table games, and experienced dealers. Guest services and cashiers for the cash cage also will be hired. Information technology professionals and slots technician positions are open. Beyond that, Tioga Downs will need additional administrative personnel and surveillance experts. Various food chains will look to food and beverage positions.
Jeff Gural on the Career Summit
Jeff Gural, the owner of Tioga Downs, gave his appreciation to everyone who comes out to the career summit. Gural said, “We appreciate all of the time and effort being spent by our local workforce organizations to ensure that we place the right employees with the most appropriate positions.”
Good Local Jobs
The career summit was planned with county labor officials on Dec. 11. It begins the long process of placing hundreds of local residents in solid unionized and non-union jobs at the casino-resort.
While hirings are not happening this week, the summit begins a process which should give locals well-paying jobs in the coming six months. Jeff Gural said at an October groundbreaking ceremony that he hopes to have the expanded casino open by the Fourth of July, 2016.
Tioga Downs Expansion
Tioga Downs opened in 2006 as a racetrack. The facility had been built in the 1970s. From 1976 to 1978, Tioga Park operated, but closed due to mounting debt. Jeff Gural bought the facility in 2000, but it took him 5 long years to gain the official support and licensing to open the facility for quarterhorse racing.
The key to re-opening the racetrack was approval for Video Lottery Terminals or VLTs, which Gural had planned to put into any gaming facility. VLTs (essentially slot machines) are a big part of a casino’s financial success, but operators would prefer to offer table games to draw a wider set of gamblers.
When the New York Gaming Commission opened its licensing process in 2012, Tioga Downs was one of 17 different gaming companies which applied for a casino license. In all, the state said it would license up to 4 casinos in 3 different regions: Upstate New York, the Catskills, and the Southern Tier. Eventually, one applicant pulled out of the process, leaving 16 potential developers. In December 2014, the Gaming Commission-appointed Siting Panel awarded a license to Tioga Downs to build a full casino, thus rewarding Jeff Gural’s 15-year plan to bring a casino to the Southern Tier.
