Kathy Sweeney of KFVS-12 TV reports on what type of person Isle of Capri intends on hiring at their new facility.
CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KFVS) –
If you're hoping to land a job at Cape Girardeau's new casino, get in line.
"We'll get upwards of probably about five thousand applications I would assume," says Isle of Capri's Cape Casino General Manager Chet Koch.
That's five thousand applications for 500 jobs.
Koch says some people are even showing up at the construction site in suits, with resume in hand.
But, what will it take to be one of that ten percent?
"I'm just excited to be in the Cape. I'm setting up my apartment," Koch tells me with a smile.
It's clear Koch is a happy guy, and he says he's looking for others just like him to staff Cape's multi-million dollar riverfront casino.
"We are really looking for people who are happy, naturally great to get up in the morning. They want to take on life and that's the type of person we're looking for," he tells me.
Koch says in the next few months, Isle will begin conducting panel interviews, moving waves of people through the first step in what he calls a very unusual process.
"Every employee that works inside the casino actually also has to work under a privilege license. So, unlike any other job, you have to have the privilege to work in the casino, granted by the state of Missouri," he explains.
A new aerial shot of the project shows about 20 percent of the structure's steel beams in place. The man in charge of designing and building Cape's casino tells me he'll have the rest of this steel up by the end of February, and that's when this huge, floating structure will really take shape.
"That will be followed by the steel panels that are enclosing the building, and they'll be going up starting the end of this month. And then you'll see it very quickly close in and we'll be at the point at that time where the building will become water tight and we can start working on the interior finishes," Dick Meister tells me.
Back on the ground, Chet Koch says he isn't upset that eager job hunters are looking for a finished door to knock on.
"It's fantastic. The excitement here in the Cape, it's unbelievable how much support we've received already," Koch says.
Chet Koch says there will be plenty of warning before the interview process begins.
As for the building itself, it's still on track for completion by the end of this year
