Officials engage prospective casino employees

REVERE – More than 200 locals turned out to Suffolk Downs on Monday to hear “what it?s really like to work at Mohegan Sun,” in hopes that soon they could have the opportunity to experience it for themselves.According to Project Manager Peter Schultz, Mohegan Sun will bring 4,000 jobs to Suffolk Downs if the site is approved by the Massachusetts State Gaming Commission. Of that amount, 75 percent are promised to locals within a 15-mile radius, with another 20 percent designated for Revere residents. The average salary at the Connecticut casino was $56,000 a year, said Schultz.At Monday?s event, directors from the hotel, gaming, retail and cashier operations spoke from the podium about their tenure with the Connecticut-based casino before mingling with the crowd to answer questions one-on-one. The directors talked about Mohegan Sun?s customer service-driven philosophy and a fun workplace complete with daily “team huddles.”Don Trella, director of employee and guest experience, said a prospective Mohegan Sun employee did not need prior work experience at a casino. Mohegan Sun would provide the training and tools, including free dealing instruction for two table games “for anyone off the street,” according to table games director Don Bower, who started as a dealer at Caesar?s Palace in Atlantic City.Trella said there was only one requirement to working at Mohegan Sun. “We look for people for whom it is not an unnatural act to smile,” he said.Human resources director Maria Echeverria said she started as a cashier when the casino opened 17 years ago and described her fellow employees as “family,” and she said she was driven by the goal of making her employees or a customer smile. Hernan Salas, director of retail, said he had kept 60 percent of his staff since starting at Mohegan Sun 30 years ago. Former Lynn City Council candidate Clay Walsh said after the presentation that although it seemed more about the philosophy and less about specific available jobs, the speakers were “seemingly sincere.”Locals who showed for the event were very supportive of Mohegan Sun?s plans for Suffolk Downs, applauding often.Lynn resident Rachel Jedruy, who was at the event to “look at better opportunities,” said the retention rate that the casino boasted about had to be true because she has seen a lot of the same staff members working at the Connecticut Mohegan Sun since it opened. “They blow Foxwoods away with customer service,” said Jedruy. “It?s how they treat people.”Lynn resident Denice Taylor, a retired teacher, said she wanted a second career at the casino as an event coordinator, as she had done at the Nahant Country Club. “I want to stay local, but I want to grow,” said Taylor.Revere resident Maureen Testa said she has been in support of a casino at Suffolk Downs since the campaign began. She was hoping to work security at the casino and was looking forward to turning her Oak Island-area home into a beach house to rent out to tourists.Revere resident Bobby McKenna, 41, was trained as a graphic designer but said he wanted to leave its monotony behind. He, too, was hoping to work security at Suffolk Downs, as he had at former Boston bar The Kells. “I was in the Marines and I?ve got big arms,” he reasoned.McKenna said he wished the speakers had given more specifics about the kinds of jobs available, but he thought he would get more information by approaching casino representatives in a one-on-one conversation.Mayor Dan Rizzo, who spoke at the beginning of the event, urged voters to have a strong presence at the polls on Feb. 25, when a heavy majority is needed to win the Suffolk Downs casino site over Everett?s proposed Wynn casino.