Thousands try their luck at casino job fair in Rosemont
More than 5,000 job seekers flocked Friday to the sprawling Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont for a meet and greet with the management team of Des Plaines' new Rivers Casino.
“I had been planning on applying ever since they've been talking about building,” said Tom Warman of Des Plaines, who began waiting at 6 a.m. for developer Midwest Gaming's job information fair.
Warman, 62, formerly a warehouse supervisor in the manufacturing industry, now works part-time jobs as a substitute teacher at Maine East and West high schools and at a local auto parts store. Having been without full-time employment for nearly two years, Warman hopes to become a cashier at the casino, which is set to open in mid-July.
The size of the crowd is a sign of how the economy really is, said Newton Long of Des Plaines.
“I had no idea there'd be this many people this early,” he said.
Nick F. Infelise of Rolling Meadows, a retired Cook County sheriff's deputy, said he got tired of his wife's “honey-do list” and is itching to get back to work.
“I'm looking for a nice company to work for. I'm a people person and I feel I will be a plus with my security experience for the Rivers Casino,” said the 56-year-old.
Job fair organizers are looking to fill roughly 1,000 jobs, from management positions to restaurant personnel.
In groups, applicants were shown a 7-minute video presentation about the casino then shepherded into an area where they could meet the management team.
Lawrence Martin of Schaumburg has been out of work for a year and a half, but hasn't given up hope, joining job clubs at area churches and working with the Barrington Career Center. He hopes to secure a human resources job with the casino.
“When there's an opportunity, I always find this energy,” he said. “Here's an opportunity for several hundred people. Why can't I be one?”
Early crowd excitement dimmed, though, as fair organizers reminded that no applications would be accepted on-site due to the difficulty of dealing with the paperwork. Job seekers were asked to visit the website riverscasino.net to apply.
“With as many thousands of people that potentially could be there, it really is the most efficient way,” said Merrick Dresnin, Rivers Casino vice president of human resources.
“We've already exceeded 3,000 applications on that website. Obviously, after (today) that's going to go up tremendously. It's going fantastic, the flow is nice, the quality of people is wonderful.”
Interested applicants who don't have home computers should go to area libraries or to the Illinois Department of Employment Security's local job centers, Dresnin said.
“This is an opportunity for us to get to meet the applicant pool and an opportunity for the community to get to meet us,” Dresnin said. “We're looking for top people who want to deliver the best in guest service. We're getting what we need for the casino.”
Des Plaines Mayor Marty Moylan urged unemployed city residents to apply.
“If we didn't have a casino, we wouldn't have this opportunity,” he said. “By the turnout here, obviously jobs is the number one issue.”
The $445 million Rivers Casino will house 1,200 gambling positions and several restaurants and bars on about 20 acres off Des Plaines River Road between Touhy and Devon avenues. It is expected to generate millions in annual gambling tax revenues for the state, city and area communities.
Moylan said between the casino and Rosemont's development of a 200,000-square-foot entertainment district off the Tri-State Tollway, residents throughout the region will benefit.
“We're real excited and these jobs are right around the corner,” he said.
Dresnin said interviews with prospective candidates will begin Monday, April 18, and hiring will be in the first week of June, followed by orientation. Employees must obtain an Illinois gaming license, which requires a general background check, fingerprinting and no felony conviction.