Casino's job fair attracts 1,000 plus

Pamela Carnegie said she’s excited about the future jobs a casino in Schenectady would bring and exploring her options in a new market.

Carnegie, 59, said she would like to be a table game dealer at the future Rivers Casino and Resort at Mohawk Harbor off Erie Boulevard.

“I’m excited about it because I was born and raised here in Schenectady,” she said.

Carnegie was one of more than 1,000 people who attended casino operator Rush Street Gaming’s job fair at Schenectady County Community College on Saturday.

“I’m considering SCCC’s gaming program to get me prepared for a job,” she said. The college had its first graduates from the two-year casino and gaming management program in May.

Carnegie attended the job fair with Alex Rivera, also of Schenectady, who was there to learn about job options in food and beverages at the casino.

“Maybe I could be a cook or a waiter,” Rivera, 29, said. “I’m really just looking for a job.”

The Mallozzi Group will operate the 10,000-square-foot banquet facility at the casino along with a marketplace and steakhouse.

The Mallozzi family — brothers Bobby and John and their father, Joseph — spoke to people at the job fair about positions they would be looking to fi ll including busboys, chefs and servers.

“We’ve talked to people with various backgrounds and experience interested in food and beverage jobs,” Bobby Mallozzi said.

“We’re providing our contact information to them so if they want to reach out sooner we’ll talk to them now about a job.”

The family was celebrating its 50th anniversary of downtown Schenectady bakery Villa Italia on Saturday. Mallozzi said they are considering a bakery at the casino, too.

The Mallozzis are looking to hire between 180 and 220 people to staff the restaurants and banquet facility at the casino.

The fair was not set up to take job applications, but to give people a chance to see what will be available when it opens. Rush Street had staff on hand to discuss future job opportunities in finance, gaming, information technology, marketing, and security and surveillance.