Our View: Bring on the casino
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It seems the first pull of a slot machine and yells of “Jackpot!” are right around the corner.
Bristol, Virginia’s dream of trading out its decrepit, abandoned mall for a gleaming, Las Vegas-style casino resort is quickly moving toward reality. Construction has started on the building, and just this week Hard Rock officials were in town hiring dealers for the table games.
Hard Rock plans to hire 700 people for the temporary casino. The permanent casino will employ more than 1,000 workers. That’s good news for the side of State Street that has seen its share of disappointing economic developments over the past several years.
“This area needs so much. Our economy needs this so much. People need jobs,” Amy LaPrade of Kingsport said Monday after the truck driver was hired by the casino.
Some people may argue that there are plenty of jobs out there, and during this time of labor shortage following the pandemic, they would be correct. But many of those jobs are part-time positions where workers have to juggle two or three jobs or have a working spouse to make ends meet. The casino positions have an average starting pay of $40,000 per year.
Officials have said all along the casino would be a game changer for the area’s economy. We are just beginning to see some of that come to fruition.
In addition to the jobs, a parcel of land near the casino is being rezoned for a boutique hotel. Another piece of property is up for rezoning from residential to business.
Things are happening quickly.
This is what we have all been waiting to see since the referendum to have the casino passed overwhelmingly. It is exciting to see people hired, the mall beginning to reshape into a casino and that part of town experience much-needed renewal.
This is what we have been waiting for. Bring it on.
