NJ Casino News: Weekly Roundup

Get the latest casino news and updates in New Jersey for this week (September 11, 2021 – September 17, 2021).

AC Casinos Still Looking To Fill Positions

The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa are having trouble finding new employees to fill positions at their Atlantic City locations. Both held job fairs recently, with the Hard Rock offering more than 60 positions on the spot to applicants. But both casinos are also aware that Covid has changed the face of work and hiring people this fall:

“A lot of the college kids have gone back to school,” [Hard Rock property President Joe Lupo] said. “So it’s not uncommon here in the Atlantic City market for the fall to take a different approach without the seasonal help.”

But since the casinos reopened in July 2020 after a three-month shutdown due to COVID-19, potential employees have been hard to come by.

… Ellis said the restrictions placed on the J-1 visa program, which allows visitors from more than 200 countries to come to the United States to work, put a further strain on the job market.

Local NJ Actor Lands Role in Sopranos Prequel

John Ruggiero, who lives in Mays Landing, gets to play a bit part in the upcoming Sopranos prequel The Many Saints of Newark, set to release in theaters and on HBO Max Oct. 1. He plays a bookie wiseguy on Dickie Moltisanti’s crew, but this isn’t his first movie. He was an extra in The Color of Money with classmate Tom Cruise, but since then he has been focused on his career as a mortgage banker. A casting agent saw Ruggiero’s IMDb profile and asked if he would audition:

The Many Saints of Newark follows a young Anthony Soprano, played by Michael Gandolfini, whose father James Gandolfini played the iconic role in the series. The film is set in Newark during 1967, a time when riots and racial tensions swept the city.

… For Ruggiero, the premise of the film resonated deeply to his own experiences. And paired with his thick New Jersey accent, charismatic personality, and strong ties to the state, the part came naturally for him.

“I remember those riots. I was only a little kid at the time, but I remember when it was taking place,” Ruggiero said. “When I was in the movie it was almost like flashbacks to be honest, which made it very comfortable for me.”

Since filming The Sopranos prequel, Ruggiero has appeared in several more films.

Miss America Competition To Be Held Dec. 16, But Still Not in AC

Though Atlantic City was once its home base, the Miss America pageant will be finally held once more on Dec. 16 at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. This will be its second time in Connecticut, and this year the pageant will be celebrating its 100th anniversary. Before the actual night of the competition, there will be anniversary events Dec. 14-15. Meanwhile, Atlantic City still recently got a little love while the fundraising arm of the organization, the Miss America Foundation, held a three-day event in the city that included a Habitat for Humanity project in Hamilton Township:

“We’re thrilled to be back at our glamorous new home at Mohegan Sun”, Miss America CEO Shantel Krebs said in a statement. “As Miss America begins her second century of empowering women through scholarships and opportunities, we’re looking forward to showcasing that this program is more important and relevant than it ever has been.”

The 51 contestants (all 50 states and the District of Columbia) will begin competition week Dec. 12 with the first evening of preliminaries, followed by round two Dec. 13.