The chips are down for casino workers
11th February, 2009
As the recession hits the casinos, the workers are the first to feel the negative effects.
It has been reported that two major casinos in Connecticut, The Mohegan Sun (on the Mohegan tribal reservation) and the Foxwoods Resort Casino (on the Mashantucket Pequot tribal reservation) are feeling the effects of the recession.
Whilst Foxwoods Resort Casino has already laid off about 800 employees, the Mohegan Sun has tried to save as many jobs as possible by making most employees take a 4% pay cut. Midlevel manager’s salaries at the casino declined 7.5% and it is said that the top executives lost 1/10 of their compensation packages.
In an era when unemployment is on the rise and the economy is weak, for many employees the pay rollbacks come as a huge relief. One casino worker said "I was pretty grateful not to get a pink slip in my mailbox."
Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods are the largest employers in Eastern Connecticut, with a combined workforce of nearly 20,000 employees. According to the Economist, Peter Gioia, in recent recessions, the casinos acted as economic buffers for the region, maintaining employment while other industries suffered cutbacks.
It isn’t just the casinos in Connecticut that are feeling the strains and stresses of the recession. In Atlantic City and Las Vegas, casinos have either laid off or cut the number of hours of thousands of employees. In Rhode Island it is said that the situation is so dire that state officials might have to take over Twin River, a gambling facility facing bankruptcy.
Bill Satti, director of public affairs for the Mashantucket Pequot tribe (which houses the Foxwoods Resort Casino), said the tribe's actions in the recession are no different from those of many other companies. "These are trying times for everyone in the US and especially in southeastern Connecticut," Satti said.
By Annabel
