Sands workers prepare for job search, unknown
By ELAINE ROSE Staff Writer, (609) 272-7215
Published: Wednesday, September 6, 2006
ATLANTIC CITY — It was a day many employees at the Sands Casino Hotel knew was coming, but Tuesday's announcement of the 26-year-old casino's imminent closing still sent shock waves through the building.

The mood on the casino floor was subdued as news reporters and photo-graphers roamed in search of reactions.

Nadine Hogans-Snow said the news that the Sands will soon be torn down to make way for a larger, fancier resort still hasn't sunk in with many workers, herself included. Hogans-Snow, 40, is a cashier at the Broadway Buffet who has been with the company for 16 years. As to what she will do, she isn't sure.

“I don't have plans yet. I guess I'll have to be like everyone else and find another job,” she said.

“We've heard different things, but today's the first day we found out,” said dealer Anita Johnson, 26, of Sicklerville. “There are a lot of question marks.”

Johnson said she's still young and can start over. But autumn is an inopportune time to look for another job in the industry, as most casinos hire dealers in the spring.
Doorperson Lenny Monroe was one of the few employees in good spirits Tuesday. At 64, he said he will retire a few months early. OK, semi-retire.

Still, Monroe said he will miss the “17 good years” he had at the Sands.

“I've seen Frank Sinatra, seen everybody,” Monroe said. “Fifteen years ago, this place was jumping. Hottest place in town,” but it started to go downhill in the past decade or so.

The workers will not be left to sink or swim on their own, managers of both the Sands and Pinnacle Entertainment said Tuesday.

Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. is offering employees two weeks of severance pay and Atlantic Coast Entertainment Holdings Inc., Sands' holding company, is providing an additional week of severance pay for every year of service.

“In fact, the severance package is the most generous severance pay ever in the casino industry,” said Pinnacle chairman and CEO Daniel R. Lee.

But that's not good enough, said customer Debbie Geary, of Philadelphia, who got angry when she heard the news of the Sands imminent demise.

“I think it stinks. I think it's really rotten what they're doing to their employees,” Geary said. “You've got people who have been her 25, 26 years and losing their jobs.”

Geary said management should offer employees two years severance pay and health insurance, relocation assistance and assurance they won't lose their seniority if they get new jobs in other casinos.

“It's all fine and dandy for (Sands President) Mr. (George) Toth,” Geary said. “He doesn't have a mortgage to pay.”

Local 54 of UNITE-HERE would rather Pinnacle keep the casino running until the new facility is built, and worries that many workers won't find new jobs.

Barring that, Local 54 President Robert McDevitt said the union will push for a contract that guarantees worker benefits such as health care and pensions and gives re-hiring assurance to employees. The union also will use the successorship clause in its most recent contract with the Sands to ensure Pinnacle operates the new casino as a union property.

As employees weighed their next career moves, customers also were unsure as to which gaming halls would now get their business.

“Where my casino host goes, that's where you'll find us,” said Geary, a frequent visitor to the Sands for the past15 years.

Dice player Lou Galgano, 81, of Lynbrook, N.Y., said he frequents other casinos in town, and he'll give them more action. But he'll still miss the Sands.

“I feel sorry for the people who work here,” Galgano said, adding that one dealer was almost in tears when she heard the news Tuesday. “I've gotten to know a lot of them throughout the years.”

Mary Anne Riccio, of Woodbridge, said she used to come to the Sands with her late mother, and she liked the casino's promotions to lure gamblers inside. But she also plays at Bally's Atlantic City, so it will probably get all her gambling action when the Sands closes.

Ruth and Ralph Lodato, of Springfield, learned of the sale and closure from a reporter. The couple said they make a weekly bus trip to the casino from a stop near their home. Once the Sands shuts down, they'll go wherever that convenient bus takes them.

Some patrons will miss more than the casino.

The Poseidon Bar & Grill on the corner of Kentucky and Pacific avenues will likely be a casualty of Pinnacle entertainment's plans for the site. Many of its regulars travel to Atlantic City by bus and come to the tavern to relax, bartender Phil Bonelli said.

“There are not enough places in Atlantic City, on Pacific Avenue, where they can walk from the casinos, grab a burger and watch sports on TV,” he said.

Bonelli, 40, said he will probably be looking for a new job in the not-too-distant future. In the meantime, plans such as buying a new car will have to be put on hold.

“Keep your eyes open, and keep reading the classifieds,” Bonelli said.

For a fortunate few, the announcement came at the right time.

Sands security guard Cissy Bailey said she'll use the casino closing as a chance to begin her “long overdue” retirement. But she leaves with sadness, having started the job the day the casino opened as the Brighton in June 1980.

“I came with the building, and I'll be leaving with the building,” Bailey said. “I'm going to miss the friends and customers and relationships we had here, but you can't stand in the way of progress.”