In Upstate New York, Empire Resorts, parent company of Resorts World Catskills is reportedly challenged with finding 1,500 qualified job applicants in Sullivan County to fill 1,400 full-time and 100 part-time positions at the $1.2 billion destination resort slated to open in March 2018.

Empire Resorts president and CEO, Ryan Eller, said, “We have to fill our pipeline with thousands and thousands of candidates to yield 1,400 full-time employees and another 100 part-time employees. That is a significant challenge,” according to the Times Herald-Record.

Eller added, “I think that we will be successful, because we’re going to have very compelling compensation. It’s going to be really solid, middle-class jobs.”

On Monday, at an editorial board meeting at the Times Herald-Record, Eller and Charles Degliomini, Empire Resorts’ executive vice president, offered an update on the hiring efforts of the company, which also owns the Monticello Raceway racino in the village of Monticello in Thompson in Sullivan County, New York. The daily newspaper reports Eller and Degliomini remain confident the casino resort will have success in what is an increasingly competitive gaming industry.

Last month, Degliomini was a participant in a ribbon cutting ceremony commemorating the opening of the new Resorts World Catskills educational center and casino dealer school at Stewart International Airport in Newburgh that took place on Sept. 7.

Resorts World Catskills is one of four non-Native American casinos in Upstate New York awarded a license in December 2015, including del Lago Resort & Casino in Waterloo in the Finger Lakes, Rivers Casino & Resort in Schenectady, and Tioga Downs Casino in the Southern Tier.

While the three other gaming venues have already opened and have underwhelmed, earning much less than projected in their first year of operation, Degliomini and Eller reportedly said they don’t anticipate that Resorts World Catskills will experience the same.

Eller said, “Those were regional casino properties, focusing on that type of business.” And, “Ours is something where we’re focusing on a destination resort that is anchored by casino gaming,” as reported by the Times Herald-Record.

Eller went on to say that the project will be unique in the Northeast, with a range of planned amenities that include a five-star hotel, a water park and a golf course and dining options such as an authentic Asian restaurant and a high-end Italian steakhouse.

Resorts World Catskills’ 18-story casino will reportedly offer 100,000 square feet of gaming space, 100-plus gaming tables, 2,150 state-of-the-art slot machines, private gaming salons and a poker room. Included in the guest amenities are 332 all-suite luxury rooms, which include seven two-story villas, eight garden suites, 12 penthouse suites, spa and fitness center and two indoor pools.

Individuals interested in one of the 1,500 positions, including approximately 600 dealer positions, at Resorts World Catskills can obtain information at https://rwcatskills.com/careers.html.