Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Casino in Biloxi won’t open until next year, but they are already looking to fill positions:

Key jobs are being advertised for Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Casino and Restaurant, which is under construction in East Biloxi, and casino officials hope to fill many of them with local talent.

“We’re just starting to look for these positions,” said Karen Sock, who recently was named general manager of the casino. She said the jobs are being advertised in the Sun Herald and online.

Among the positions that are being reviewed and filled are directors of food and beverage, marketing, human relations, gaming operations and surveillance along with manager of information systems.

Sock said they expect to bring on these managers in January and the bulk of the staff will go to work in April or early May.

In November the casino will launch a web site and begin posting jobs for people to work in the casino and restaurant, Sock said.

Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Casino in Las Vegas is looking to hire at least 250 workers and several positions are already accepting applications:

The minicasino, which replaces a steakhouse in the Flamingo, will be the first to boast Buffett’s brand and is expected to include a 15,000-square-foot casino floor, 22 gaming tables, 220 slot machines and a centerpiece “Five O’Clock Somewhere” bar. It will build on the existing Margaritaville bar and restaurant that anchors the hotel.

Job descriptions call for employees who can “ensure that every Parrothead leaves with a change in their attitude, if not their latitude.”

Positions currently listed include bartenders and table games dealers.

To apply online, go to Caesars Careers, then search for both Flamingo Las Vegas and Margaritaville under Select Properties.

The Margaritaville Casino gaming area at the Flamingo is scheduled to open in October.

Jimmy Buffett is hoping to get approval for a third casino project, this time in Louisiana:

The casino would be built on what used to be the city dump, located just north of Louisiana Boardwalk — if state regulatory agencies approve it and Bossier Parish voters agree to an expansion of gambling in Bossier. That election is tentatively scheduled for November.

Developers of the proposed casino, who want to relocate a casino license now held in Lake Charles, said they want to build a Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville casino and hotel. The complex, which would cost $170 million, would include a 400-room hotel and Margaritaville restaurant. It would include parking for 1,500 vehicles and an entertainment facility for concerts.

The development is relatively conservative when compared to other casino developments. A new one planned for Lake Charles is estimated to cost $400 million, state regulators said.

A Margaritaville Casino is currently under construction in Biloxi and a Margaritaville-themed gaming area at the Flamingo in Las Vegas is also being built.

Bossier City is a suburb of Shreveport in the northwestern part of Louisiana.

A Margaritaville-themed gaming area is coming to the Flamingo hotel, site of the Margaritaville Cafe, in Las Vegas.

The new gaming area will be adjacent to the Margaritaville restaurant in the former Steakhouse 46 location. Plans call for a 15,000-square-foot addition to the Flamingo’s casino with 22 table games and 220 slot machines.

“The Margaritaville brand eludes nothing but fun … that’s what gambling is about,” said Rick Mazer, regional president for five Caesars Entertainment properties in Las Vegas.

The $10 million addition is scheduled to open in October. Mazer said the companies have been partners since 2004 in the Margaritaville restaurant — a partnership he called “extremely successful” for both companies.

The master plan for the Margaritaville casino also includes the 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar — named for a 2003 Buffett song “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” — with direct access to the Strip.

“We have this great restaurant experience. We intend to extend that experience into a themed (gaming area),” said John Cohlan, chief executive officer of Orlando-based Margaritaville Holdings.

It was the final hurdle for the Margaritaville Casino & Restaurant in Biloxi, and on Thursday the Gaming Commission unanimously approved the plans for the $51 million project.

Jimmy Buffett was in Biloxi and attended the meeting:

“I obviously am very pleased to be back here and be part of this,” Buffett told the Gaming Commission and a room full of people, including several local casino general managers.

Buffett said he asked to ride down U.S. 90 along the beach on his way to the meeting to see how the area has recovered from Hurricane Katrina and the Gulf oil spill.

“No’s not a good answer for me,” he said, He developed a new partnership with local casino veteran Tom Brosig and other developers.

“Now we’re on the Back Bay,” he said, “and I like it.”

In the first phase of the casino off Fifth Street in East Biloxi will be a small casino, a Margaritaville restaurant and lounge, a store, an events center and a full-service marina, said John Cohlan, chief executive officer of Margaritaville Holdings. He said the cost is $50 million and the resort will create 650 permanent jobs.

Phase II will add 20,000 square feet to the casino, create a Gulf Coast museum, highlighting local musicians and history, and enhance the marina at an estimated cost of $35 million.

Gaming Commissioner John Hairston said the small size of the casino proposed in Phase I won’t create any additional benefit to the local market, but the Margaritaville brand will bring more visitors and jobs to Biloxi.

“I have a great deal of professional and personal interest in growing the economy of the Coast,” he said.
“We’re ready to start shoveling,” Buffett said,