At the end of October, Victoria Gate retail revealed that the work on the next development stage of its Leeds-based casino has already been in progress. The project is planned to be brought to an end in 2017.
The Director of the new Victoria Gate Casino hub Patrick Noakes said that the Victoria Gate Casino brand was focused on building a first-class venue that would cover not only gaming, but also dining and entertainment, as well as game sports action and corporate hospitality. Mr. Noakes added that the brand would like to provide its team with the best training possible.
As already reported by Casino Guardian, the investment is expected to result in creating the third largest casino in the UK. It is planned to feature an overall capacity of 1,400 people and is to be situated on a 50,000-square feet area. This would also be the first “super casino” in the north regions of the country.
The new casino venue in Leeds is expected to generate more than 200 full-time jobs across a large number of positions.
Since then, over 1,000 people have filed jobs applications at the casino, so the Victoria Gate has now been appointing the first employees. In addition, special training programmes have been started for the new members of the casino staff. Currently, a total of three “Casino School” training courses are running, with around 35 new employees being included in the programmes. Each of the courses is to run for six weeks.
The course would run for 180 hours. It covers three main games, including blackjack, roulette and poker. The new employees of the company would also be made familiar with the current gambling legislation and odds-based mathematics, as well as a variety of matters, related to customer service, safety, health, and social responsibility. The courses are carried out in person as well as via an online learning portal called Moodle. In addition, video assessment of the employees’ knowledge would be scheduled on a regular basis.
The new employees at the casino have been included in the National Gaming Academy courses that are currently being led by Victoria Gate’s qualified staff from Blackpool and the Fylde College. All new casino employees who finish the course will be issued a Level 2 NVQ Diploma in Gambling Operations.
The Victoria Gate brand revealed that all employees are residents of the Leeds area, with half of them being chosen from the Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) category. Earlier this year, the company has revealed that it would be seeking to choose at least 90% of its new employees from within the region.
- Author
Daniel Williams
