Dozens of men and women queued up on a recent afternoon within the sun-lit lobby of Resorts World New York City, the casino that’s been operated for the past 15 years in Ozone Park, Queens.
They weren’t paying customers in search of slot machine glory, but rather job seekers in search of another kind of payout.
The casino, next to Aqueduct Racetrack and a dice throw of JFK Airport, has been on a furious pace to hire hundreds of new dealers and other personnel – ahead of Resorts World’s relaunch Tuesday as a full-fledged casino, with hundreds of live table games featuring blackjack, baccarat, craps and roulette, as well as thousands of slot machines.
Resorts World New York City in Ozone Park, Queens.
Arun Venugopal/Gothamist
The new offerings mark the first time live table games will be available in New York City and come just months after the state Gaming Commission awarded full gaming licenses to three downstate venues, including Bally’s Bronx and Metropolitan Park in Queens, both set to open in 2030, promising thousands more jobs.
Resorts World spokesperson Stefan Friedman said the company has hired 1,250 people for the expanded casino, with another 500 hires scheduled by the end of June.
The hiring spree comes against an otherwise muted local economic backdrop, with City Comptroller Mark Levine stating in a February report that outside of health and social assistance, there had been “no net job creation” across the five boroughs in 2025.
Friedman said residents of Queens would receive “significant hiring preferences,” with new dealers starting at $41.83 and experienced dealers starting at $47.50. On average, new full-time hires will earn $45 an hour or roughly $93,600 a year, with some dealers earning above $50 an hour, he said.
Your loss is their gain
The newly hired said in interviews that the jobs represent stability and the chance to enjoy middle-class comforts. Several said they planned to save for a new home or car, and saw the jobs not as stepping stones to other opportunities, but long-term positions with a possible path to retirement.
A look inside Resorts World New York City in Ozone Park, Queens.
Arun Venugopal/Gothamist
One new worker is Christian Perdomo, 23, an Air Force veteran who said he’s eyed a casino job for years. Perdomo said the income would allow him to start a family with his girlfriend and perhaps buy a home nearby. “The salary is definitely, definitely a massive step up for me,” he said. “100% life changing.”
Diana Strain, 47, a resident of New Haven, Connecticut, is another new hire, but with more than 20 years of casino experience.
“ I’m from the era where they were smoking in your casino, belligerent, drunk,” Strain said. “Now things have been somewhat tamed.”
Less-experienced hires went through a 10-week training program at the company-operated Resorts World Dealer School.
Harrison Gunn, 37, from East Quogue in Suffolk County, got his job as a dealer after working in child care and before that, in construction.
He said he’s never worked as a dealer before, but he said some of his best memories over the years were forged over games of poker and blackjack at Atlantic City, Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods, with his friends.
“These days, as we’ve gotten older, it’s harder to get together as often with your friends,” Gunn said, “but sometimes I feel like the casino is the one place that we come together.”
A mother and daughter duo
Among the hundreds of new dealers is a longstanding Resorts World employee, Lena Duverglas, 39, who began her professional tenure at the casino in 2011, when the complex first opened.
For years, Duverglas worked in the food court, then came across a flyer advertising the new jobs.
Resorts World New York City in Ozone Park, Queens.
Arun Venugopal/Gothamist
“I was like, you know what? I want to go for it. I want to be a dealer,” she said.
After each day of training, Duverglas said she returned to the Jamaica home she shares with her daughter and practiced what she’d learned at dealer school, even suiting up in her new uniform.
“ I mean, I had to buy the whole shebang. The shoes, the belt, the cards, like six decks, and I had to go and practice every day, even for 5 minutes,” she said. “Practice makes perfect, you know.”
But Duverglas is not the only member of the family who will be suiting up. Her daughter, Demetria Smith, 20, also got a job as a dealer and will be starting soon, after a series of jobs that had left her disappointed.
“She loves it,” Duverglas said of the new job.
Dreams of new homes and new cars
Strain said in her new role, she was earning $48.50 an hour. The rate would edge her salary into the six figures, and has allowed her to consider relocating from Connecticut.
As a lifelong Yankees fan and owner of two dogs, DiMaggio and Monroe, she’s already scouted several neighborhoods in the five boroughs and is eventually hoping to buy a home here.
“ Howard Beach is looking a lot like me,” she said.
Daniel Eng, 32, a newly hired dealer who previously worked in the restaurant industry, said he was “fairly certain” he and his wife would buy a new home in Queens or Long Island the next two to five years with his new salary, and left open the possibility that they’d be able to buy a second home outside of the city as well.
In addition to the wages, he was happy to receive a pension and a 401(k).
“The workplace is amazing,” he said of the company. “Everyone’s happy to be here.”
As the veteran dealer among the newcomers, Strain had some parting advice for her fellow hires.
She said ultimately, a dealer would succeed by paying attention to customers and taking care of “the little things.”
“Whether they win or lose, they want to feel comfortable with who they win with,” she said.
She gestured at Gunn nearby, who she said was “very likable” and brought a useful knowledge of gaming from years of firsthand experience, if not actual dealing.
“He’s going to do just fine,” she said. “This’ll be like a work family. It’s full throttle.”
