Four Winds Casino needs workers for big plans

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - It has officially been one year since Four Winds Casino in South Bend reopened during the pandemic and there are some new improvements on the way. But an industry-wide worker shortage could make it a challenge for the casino to till the jobs needed to make it all happen.

The pandemic stole time away from gamblers and in this case, time is money.

“They were lost without it," Thor Turner, one customer said. "They’ll put up with the mask and pretty much anything they need to to get back in there.”

But players are back and a 23-floor hotel and more than a dozen table games are on the way.

“We will have craps, roulette, baccarat, blackjack, and carnival games," Jolene Straka, the Table Games Shift Manager at Four Winds Casino South Bend said. “That’s my number one question every day is ‘when are table games coming’ everyone is very excited. We get a lot of traffic from Fort Wayne and they are all excited to come play table games here," Straka said.

And these new additions will mean new jobs - a lot of them.

“We’re looking to hire 100 for table games," Straka said.

But with a severe worker shortage across dozens of industries, can Four Winds fill those spots?

"We continue, are continuing to hire for our dealer school and we have a dealer school that’s running approximately 6 weeks. It is a paid training with a $2,000 sign-on bonus to come join our team and we will teach you blackjack and carnival games," she said.

The bonus is just one incentive four winds is using to recruit workers.

"We do have a job fair coming up in portage Indiana on June 22nd from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern at the Holiday Inn and also in Michigan City Wednesday, June 23 from 11 to 3 p.m.”

And customers are left hoping that come August, Four Winds will have enough staff to work the new table games.

“Everything being open again, getting things flowing. These places must get a lot of money so little things like this get stuff going again," Turner said.

Table games again should be coming potentially by August, ABC57 did ask about information on the hotel but they don’t have a timeline they can talk about as of now. Stay with us.