PORTSMOUTH, Va. — As leaders at Rivers Casino Portsmouth gear up for their grand opening next year, they’re also in the middle of another monumental task right now: filling the hundreds of jobs the casino creates.
Many industries are still grappling with a labor shortage, and the gaming business is no exception. The casino’s Human Resources Vice President Johnee Ingram said it’s an ongoing challenge, but she’s not too concerned.
“We have 1,300 jobs that we have to fill by the end of this year before opening," Ingram said. “Every industry is being affected by this workforce shortage post-COVID. We’re all affected by it, but I don’t see it as a big issue.”
She said that based on the excitement and turnout at job fairs, her team is confident they’ll fill all the positions.
There are obvious positions like table game dealers, but Hospitality Vice President Karl Waitner said his team is also looking for a lot of manager and leadership positions.
“To be honest with you, I think some departments will fare better than others in regards to finding enough staff," Waitner said. "That might be a challenge at first, but as we start moving on, I think that we’re going to get enough excitement in the area, and I think we’re going to do just fine.”
Waitner and Ingram said they're looking to fill positions in marketing, human resources, IT, facilities, front-of-house and back-of-house food and beverage leadership, and engineering.
Rivers Casino Portsmouth will be a massive 300-million-dollar gaming and entertainment complex.
“If anybody is even remotely interested, even if they don’t think their current career path translate into the gaming industry, they should come have a conversation with us," Waitner said. "Because they’d be surprised with some of the things that can translate well into our business.”
If you’re interested in working at Rivers Casino, there are two more job fairs coming up. One is happening on Saturday August 20th at the Portsmouth Sportsplex. Another one will happen on Wednesday, September 28th at the Holiday Inn Virginia Beach on Greenwich Road.