Valley Forge Casino Dealers To Train At MCCC

By Joe Zlomek September 12, 2011

KING OF PRUSSIA PA – It’s been five years since groups of residents from Lower Pottsgrove, Limerick, and elsewhere successfully chased a casino project proposal from land near the Sanatoga interchange on the south side of U.S. Route 422. It’s been two years since Pennsylvania awarded a slot machine operator license to a facility only 16 miles further east.

Now the Valley Forge Casino Resort, to be located within the Valley Forge Convention Center, 1160 First Ave., King of Prussia PA, is preparing to open in Spring 2012. And on Sunday (Sept. 11, 2011), Montgomery County Community College announced it has partnered with the resort in training potential job candidates to become card dealers there.

“If you play your cards right you could end up with an exciting casino career,” an almost quarter-page, full-color advertisement focusing on the college proclaimed in the Sunday edition of The (Pottstown PA) Mercury newspaper. “If you’re accepted into the program, you’ll learn everything you need to know to become a dealer and begin a potentially lucrative career in the exciting Casino industry,” its ad boasted on the newspaper’s Page A7.

Not all who apply will be enrolled, it cautioned. Those who register must be age 18 or older, and must first attend any one of five free, three-hour application and information sessions to be held during October at the convention center. The sessions are scheduled for:

Oct. 10 (2011; Monday) from 6-9 p.m.;
Oct. 11 (Tuesday) from 9 a.m. to noon;
Oct. 12 (Wednesday) from 6-9 p.m.;
Oct. 13 (Thursday) from 9 a.m. to noon; and
Oct. 13 from 2-5 p.m.

These events have been added to The Post calendar.

Seating is limited, according to the college, and must be reserved by no later than Oct. 5. Walk-ins will not be allowed, it warned. Reservations can be made online, here; or by calling 215-641-6550; or by sending an e-mail, here. The ad also included a square QR code which, when read by properly equipped mobile phones, would allow their web browsers to immediately connect to the reservations page.

“Don’t delay! A new career could be only weeks away!,” the ad urged.

On its website, the college says its “state of the art mock casino training center is equipped with 14 tables where you can acquire the gaming skills leading toward obtaining a dealer license. Courses include: Introduction to Table Games; Blackjack/Carnival Games; Craps; Roulette; Mini Baccarat; and CPR-AED.”

Neither the ad or the website specified if any of the training sessions, once begun, would be held at the college’s Pottstown campus. They also did not indicate a price for the courses; whether the cost would be paid by enrollees or the resort; or if tuition assistance would be available.

The ad, however, in fine print, noted that obtaining a college course “Certificate of Completion does not guarantee employment with Valley Forge Casino Resort.”

When initially approved during 2009 by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, the license for Valley Forge permitted the operator to install up to 500 slot machines. At the time it estimated gross revenue from the slot machines would top $74 million annually over five years. Gaming in Pennsylvania has since expanded to include table games.

The board’s granting of the license to Valley Forge Convention Center Partners L.P. had been opposed by Parx Casino in Bensalem PA. Parx lost its legal battle over the issue in a state Supreme Court decision during March (2011).

The convention center is said to maintain 488 hotel rooms on 850,000 square feet of property located across Route 422 from the Valley Forge National Historical Park.

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