Galaxy launches job fair to hire 1,000 for its first casino-hotel

A bit old news - jan 04 - but good info Galaxy launches job fair to hire 1,000 for its first casino-hotel :: PONTO FINAL :: Portal do Di�rio de Macau - MACAO DAILY NEWS: "Hong Kong's Galaxy Resort & Casino expects to invest 4.8 billion patacas and create 6,000 jobs in Macau over next few years Galaxy Resort & Casino, which is owned by the family of Hong Kong property tycoon Lui Chee-woo, launched in Macau on Saturday a three-day job fair to hire around 1,000 hotel and casino staff for its first development project in Macau, the Galaxy Waldo hotel-casino scheduled to open in April. 'Galaxy's emphasis on comprehensive and quality staff training is rooted in our basic belief that gaming and hotel industries are people-oriented services, Francis Lui Yiu-tung, a son of the 74-year old property magnate, said at the formal launch of the recruitment drive at the Macau Cultural Centre. Several hundred job-seekers started lining up outside the centre one hour before its start. Company officials said they expected 'many thousands' of Macau residents to apply for the 1,000 new jobs. The casino and hotel jobs on offer include croupiers, slot-machine technicians, housekeepers, engineers, security guards, cooks, receptionists and senior management positions. Lui also said his company planned to hire another 2,000 staff for its 'flagship development' in Macau, the Galaxy Star World hotel-casino next year. 'Our demand for talent will further increase when our mega-resort project in Cotai [a land reclamation area between Macau's Coloane and Taipa offshore islands] begins development in 2006,' Lui said, adding, 'In fact, we estimate that we will be creating a total of 6,000 new jobs [in Macau] by 2009.' Galaxy Resort & Casino was granted one of the Macau government's three new casino-operating concessions in 2002, following the termination of a casino-monopoly system that had been in place since the 1930s. Galaxy's concession includes The Venetian from Las Vegas as a sub-concession. The Venetian, which is headed by Sheldon Adelson, plans to open its first casino in Macau, the Las Vegas Sands, in April. The other two concessions are held by 82-year old veteran Macau casino mogul Stanley Ho Hung-sun's Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (Macau Gaming Company/SJM) and Wynn Resorts. While SJM plans to open a new luxury hotel-casino in 2006, Wynn Resorts, which is headed by Las Vegas gaming mogul Steve Wynn, says it will start construction of its mega-hotel casino resort in Macau in April. Currently, all of Macau's 11 casinos are owned by Ho's SJM that employs around 8,000 people. Both The Venetian and Wynn Resorts have said they plan to hire at least 3,000 staff in Macau each over the next few years. Galaxy has said it plans to invest at least 4.8 billion patacas in Macau this decade, comprising a total of 3,750 hotel rooms, 500 gaming tables and 1,500 slot machines. Its first project, the Galaxy Waldo, is planned to comprise 38 gaming tables and 150 slot machines. While its 33-floor, 600-room Galaxy Star World hotel-casino is slated to open late next year, the Lui family says it plans to start building its 'Mega Cotai Resort' at a cost of three billion patacas in 2006. Macau has presently some 9,200 hotel rooms and 330 gaming tables. The former Portuguese enclave's workforce of 217,000 included 12,900 jobless residents in November, when the officially measured unemployment rate stood at 5.9 per cent, the lowest rate since April 1999. Under Macau's labour laws, the casino concessionaires must give preference to the local workforce. A Galaxy company spokesman said on Saturday night that 'over 10,000' people had applied for jobs on the first day of the three-day job fair. Macau has 446,000 residents. "