PB bank building new home of casino job center

PINE BLUFF — A former Bank of America building on Main Street in downtown Pine Bluff is the new home of a Saracen Casino Resort job recruitment and training center.

Carlton Saffa, program manager for Saracen Casino Resort, said the company is looking to fill about 1,000 positions for the new casino once it opens.

“Those jobs range to everything from food service, security, to a whole host of other options,” he said. “When you look at interviewing hundreds of people, it’s a heck of an opportunity, but it’s also a daunting task. We needed a bigger space … a larger venue to safely accommodate folks coming in and out for interviews.”

Saffa said people interested in jobs with Saracen Casino Resort may apply online at https://saracenresort.com/ or at saracenannex.com.

“Once we’ve hired our folks we’ll be doing a phased orientation process there,” he added. “We’ll bring in folks at a level we determine will accommodate social-distancing needs, whether that’s 50, whether that’s 90, I’ll leave that up to someone else, but the Bank of America building’s large lobby offers us that opportunity.”

Last week, the Pine Bluff City Council approved a resolution authorizing Mayor Shirley Washington to execute an agreement.

Under the terms of the two-month agreement, Saracen officials will lease the first-floor lobby and the Main Street annex for two months until Sept. 30, with an option to renew on a monthly basis until Dec. 30, 2021. Saracen officials agreed to pay $2,000 a month for the property, to pay all utilities and to pay for cleaning of the premises.

Saffa said Saracen officials had considered some other short-term lease options in the local area. But he said the Bank of America building was what he considered to be the best option, not only for its size and central location, but also for aesthetic reasons and because the lease is in keeping with the Quapaw Nation commitment to the area.

“It’s a beautiful building and someone ought to be using it, for one thing,” he said. “Second, the city is carrying the cost of it, and anything we can do to help defray that cost is something we want to do.”

Saffa said that when hiring began for Saracen Casino Annex, which opened in September, far more people applied for jobs than there were positions available, and he advised those people who were not hired to reapply for a position in the big casino.

“If you didn’t get a call from us, by all means, go online and resubmit your application,” he said. “It’s the easiest way to do it. It moves your application right back to the top of the stack.”