Atlantic City casinos are set to open more job opportunities to local workers, with local government leaders pushing to phase out J-1 Visa workers. The Casino Association of New Jersey, the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, and city and state government officials are pushing to provide further training and job opportunities for local residents.

Seasonal foreign workers have flooded Atlantic City casinos in past years. With limited job opportunities, local city officials are in favour of opening up casino job opportunities for several hundred local residents.

Casino Association of New Jersey President Steve Callender believes that the move to put local workers first, will help revitalise the community. “We’ve always been receptive of the idea of putting Atlantic City people to work first, so it’s going to have to be a program that is well thought out and organized and gets people on board.”

Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. has been proactively campaigning for the casino industry to step up and help bridge the job shortfall. Before the COVID-19 pandemic Mayor Small had secured commitments from Atlantic City casinos to provide employment options at a job fair. “This further clarifies my administration’s stance with the good people of the City of Atlantic City, working with the casino industry, towards employing more Atlantic City residents, which is a priority, I’m happy that this is going to happen,” Mayor Small said.