More than 600 people could soon score jobs at the new Hollywood Casino on the edge of Wood County.
The casino, being built on the Maumee River across from Toledo, has announced it is starting the hiring
process for half of the 1,200 employees that will work at the facility when it opens in April.
Penn National Gaming has made a commitment that 90 percent of the employees will be local, from the
“Toledo market,” according to John McNamara, a spokesperson for the casino who lives in Bowling Green.

“I’m a good example of them hiring local,” McNamara said this morning.
“They will give preference to applicants from this market,” he said. “We are fully committed to that.”

But job applicants shouldn’t delay, since the casino has already received nearly 17,000 applications,
according to McNamara.
“Don’t wait to apply,” he suggested. “We encourage anyone who enjoys working with people to apply.”
The casino jobs are expected to boost the local economy, with Wood County’s unemployment rate sitting
around 8.4 percent and Lucas County’s jobless rate around 9.7 percent.
Wood County Economic Development Commission Executive Director Tom Blaha said the jobs will be a welcome
addition.
“I’m not a big casino fan, but anytime you add any kind of jobs of that number to an economy it’s a
plus,” Blaha said.
Whether or not the casino will be a long-term benefit for the region “is open to debate,” Blaha said. But
the 600 casino jobs will provide a boost now, he said.
The casino wages will vary greatly, McNamara said. Traditionally, the industry is “heavily tipped,” he
explained. For example, a cocktail waitress making $5 an hour may bring in tips adding up to $20 an
hour, he said.
Though many of the jobs will start out as full-time during the opening of the casino, some of those will
level out to part-time, McNamara said.
The casino has posted the job openings online at http://www.hollywoodtoledo.com.
Job descriptions for more than 600 jobs in more than 45 position categories have been added to the
website. Job seekers can upload resumes, complete applications and submit them online.
Positions are available in four main areas:
• Food and beverage: Stewards, cashiers, hostesses, bar-backs, restaurant managers and supervisors,
cooks, sous chefs, beverage supervisors, and executive stewards.
• Slot operations and table games: Slot shift managers, slot tech managers and supervisors, slot
technicians and service attendants, table games and poker supervisors and dealers, and table games
schedulers.
• Facilities and environmental services: Facilities and environmental services managers and supervisors,
facilities coordinators, techs and groundskeepers, and environmental services attendants.
• Security and surveillance positions: Surveillance shift managers, surveillance technicians,
surveillance operators, security coordinators, risk and safety managers and security officers/emergency
medical technicians.
Penn National Gaming Inc. is developing the $300 million Hollywood Casino, which will include
approximately 2,000 slot machines, 60 table games and a poker room with 20 tables in 125,000 square feet
of gaming space. The casino will also have a steakhouse and piano bar, buffet, sports bar, casual grill
and a live entertainment lounge. The casino will employ approximately 1,200 people on top of the 2,100
construction jobs currently in place.
More than 100 job offers have already been made to people who have gone through blackjack dealer courses.
Ninety percent of the students in the dealer school held by Owens Community College and Hollywood Casino
passed blackjack training last month, and top performers are now in craps classes held at the casino.
Candidates who pass dealer school will be hired once they get their Ohio gaming licenses.
Hollywood Casino will be hosting a series of job fairs in January to answer questions and inform
individuals of positions available at the casino. One of those job fairs may be held in Bowling Green,
according to McNamara.
Candidates must be at least 21 years of age and have a high school diploma.
Individuals interested in applying for employment can go to http://www.hollywoodcasinotoledo.com/Careers
.