Former casino workers from Puerto Rico are finding jobs and new lives in mainland casinos following the devastation of Hurricane Maria one year ago. One example is Horseshoe Casino in Baltimore, which employs 1,400 people. It has hired at least a dozen experienced dealers and anticipates hiring 18 more in the near future for blackjack, roulette and craps tables. Maryland’s six casinos compete with each other for experienced dealers as well as with casinos in surrounding states that offer legalized gambling, including Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
Revenue has dropped at Horseshoe since the $1.4 billion MGM National Harbor opened in December 2016, about 43 miles away.
However, Horseshoe gamblers have shown an increasing preference for table games, so the casino has decreased the number of slots, and added more table games—and hired more dealers.
Horseshoe General Manager Erin Chamberlin said hiring new dealers from Puerto Rico is a “win-win” for the casino and the workers. She said she and Vice President of Gaming Operations Patrick Chan were glad to find out about them. She said after the hurricane struck, she happened to have a conversation with a Horseshoe chef from Puerto Rico. “He showed us pictures—it was months after Maria had come through—and I was crying. It was his family home. He was like, ‘This is how they’re living.’ It was unbelievable. What he showed me broke my heart.”
Soon after, Chamberlin told Chan, “Let’s go for it. Let’s see if anybody would like to come over and work. It kind of just snowballed. People need jobs and we would love to have experienced folks.” It took a few months to identify dealer candidates, conduct background checks and spread the word that Horseshoe was hiring, she said.
Other casinos also sought dealers from Puerto Rico. A spokesperson for Live Casino & Hotel in Hanover said it has “about half-dozen new hires” from Puerto Rico and that “the dealers themselves are spreading the word and interested applicants are reaching out to us.”
A MGM National Harbor spokesperson said the property employs “a number of residents who were displaced from Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. Their experience in the gaming and hospitality industry were valuable qualities that made them attractive job candidates at our resort.”
