HCC, STCC to launch Gaming School, open registration for training classes Dec. 6
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Anyone interested in working as a professional card dealer or croupier at the soon-to-open MGM Springfield will have their first opportunity to sign up for training classes on Wed., Dec. 6, at a downtown event launching the new MCCTI Gaming School.
The event will be held on the first floor of the MassMutual Center, 1277 Main St., in the exhibit hall pre-function space, beginning at 10:30 a.m.
Holyoke Community College and Springfield Technical Community College, through TWO, their Training and Workforce Options collaborative, and MCCTI, the Massachusetts Casino Career Training Institute, will operate the gaming school on the ninth floor of 95 State St., Springfield.
Classes begin Feb. 26, 2018.
Details about the Gaming School, its training programs, and a schedule of upcoming information sessions will be shared at the Dec. 6 event.
All are welcome. Light refreshments will be served.
Speakers will include HCC president Christina Royal; STCC president John B. Cook; Springfield mayor Domenic Sarno; Alex Dixon, general manager of MGM Springfield; and Robert Westerfield, vice president of Table Games for MGM Springfield.
Jeffrey Hayden, HCC’s vice president of Business and Community Services, who also serves as executive director of TWO and MCCTI, will introduce the day’s program, during which registration for Gaming School classes will be opened.
Computers will be available for prospective students to register on the spot for training programs to run six different types of casino games: blackjack, poker, craps, roulette, carnival games, and mini-baccarat-PGP. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis.
Participants who successfully complete training programs for at least two different table games will be guaranteed an “audition,” or tryout, to work at the $960 million MGM Springfield casino, scheduled to open in September 2018.
“One of our goals as community colleges is to provide a quality workforce for area employers,” said HCC president Christina Royal. “HCC’s collaborations with STCC make this a top priority and this partnership with MGM Springfield aligns with our long history of helping people in the community find career pathways.”
"A core value for us as a community college is to help strengthen our regional workforce,” said STCC president John B. Cook. “Through our MCCTI collaboration, we are absolutely ready to contribute to this new and important aspect of economic development."
For more information, please contact:
Jim Danko, STCC coordinator of Media Relations, at (413) 755-4812 / jdanko@stcc.edu
Chris Yurko, HCC manager of Media Relations, at (413) 552-2259 / cyurko@hcc.edu
About the Massachusetts Casino Career Training Institute (MCCTI). In 2012, the presidents of the state’s 15 community colleges signed a memorandum of understanding with the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to work collaboratively to provide training for casino jobs in each of the state’s three defined casino regions: Greater Boston, southeastern Massachusetts, and western Massachusetts. In the western Massachusetts region, MCCTI is operated by Training and Workforce Options (TWO), the workforce development collaboration between Holyoke Community College and Springfield Technical Community College. For more information, go to mccti.org