“We’re hoping that the hotels that are here in our community can handle that influx of visitors. Thankfully, we’ve got some hotels that are either just newly constructed and are just now open over the past few months, plus some that are currently under construction that will be open soon, as well,” added Larking.
Larking said opening the temporary casino will create jobs sooner and allow employees to gain experience before working in the permanent one.
“It won’t be the full amount that’s necessary for the full casino, but they’ll be able to get a good group of them together. They’ll have them trained. They’ll get some experience. By the time the casino opens fully, they’ll have at least a good core group of employees who can either help train others or be the backbone of what is needed to be done,” explained Larking.
The city wants to use the casino revenue to jump start economic growth for the community.