NORTH RANDALL, Ohio — After being hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic last year, the entertainment and hospitality industries are working to make a comeback—and Ohio's racinos and casinos are doing just that.
Ohio's four casinos and seven racinos recorded the most profitable June on record. Whether it be cabin fever, a way to spend stimulus checks or just more Ohioans returning to work with money to spend, the state's gambling industry is making a massive rebound.
"I think there's a lot of factors including people having a lot of pent up energy in wanting to get back out into the public after being confined to their homes throughout COVID and even maybe some expendable income they saved throughout their pandemic," said Casey Clark, senior vice president of the American Gaming Association.
The state's casinos and racinos saw a combined revenue of $196.8 million in June, the fourth biggest month the state has ever seen behind March, April and May of this year.
JACK Cleveland Casino brought in $22.8 million in revenue in June, up 30.2% from 2019—while JACK Thistledown Racino in North Randall brought in $17.4 million in revenue in June, up 46.1% from 2019.
To keep up with the growing demand, JACK Thistledown Racino is hosting a job fair and offering competitive incentives to attract more employees.
"We have some great PTO plans. We offer tuition reimbursement. We allow for benefits to kick start in just 30 days, which is not typical of jobs when you come on board," said Aleksandra Breault, PR and Communications manager of JACK Entertainment.
One of those incentives includes signing bonuses of up to $1,000.
The racino is looking to hire servers, bartenders, dishwashers, line cooks, guest services, security and gaming operators.
Because its part of the gaming industry, all applicants much be 21 or older.
The job fair will be held at the racino, located at 21501 Emery Road in North Randall on Thursday, July 8 from 12 p.m. until 7 p.m. with on site interviews and job offers. Applicants should dress for the occasion and bring their resumes with them, even those with limited experience.
"We have many team members who started off in coat check and now they're part of our advertising team. So once you're with us, we want you to stay with us and we'll do what we can do to help support you and your career path," Breault said.
Walk-ins are welcome but those interested in attending are encouraged to reserve an interview in advance online. To learn more, click here.
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