Job fair for Firekeepers Casino
EMMETT TOWNSHIP, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) – After years of legal challenges and months of construction, the Firekeepers Casino is only weeks away from opening its doors.
Construction is almost complete on the massive casino complex just off I-94 at 11 Mile Road.
Firekeepers will have a 107,000 square-foot gaming floor, with nearly 3,000 slot machines, 78 table games, and live poker and bingo rooms.
The casino has been hiring all summer, but they’re still looking to fill about 300 positions.
Newschannel 3 went to the Firekeepers’ job fair on Thursday and saw that they have no shortage of people hoping to fill those empty positions. There were a lot of people at the job fair, from working mothers to the unemployed, all of them competing for a coveted position at the Firekeepers Casino.
Tameisha Russ of Battle Creek was one of many looking to land a job with Firekeepers.
“I got in the doors in like five minutes,” said Russ. “That’s a plus for me.”
“It’s wonderful for people who are unemployed. It’s wonderful for our economy, it’s a huge shot in the arm for the area,” said Tim Sheehan, who was also seeking work.
The crowd on Thursday was vying for roughly 300 jobs available at Firekeepers, jobs ranging from line cooks to valets to cashiers.
“We want to hire the best people with the best guest service for that opening date,” said Debra Houston, Human Resources Director for the casino.
The experience was a bit overwhelming for some of the job seekers who showed up.
“I’m surprised by all that’s here,” said job seeker Elise Howard. “I was thinking it would be more one on one, but the way it is out there, there aren’t too many jobs.”
Candidates at the Firekeepers job fair are first prescreened, then if they pass that, it’s on to the one on one interview. If all goes well, they’re hired on the spot.
From the looks of things, some of the folks who showed up Thursday could have a new career in their future, but the excitement will have to wait a few more weeks, as the casino isn’t expected to open until August.
Firekeepers says they hope to have all 300 openings filled by the end of June.
