Las Vegas NowLas Vegas Casino Terminates Employees

Las Vegas Casino Terminates Employees

Employee's at the Lady Luck Casino and Hotel have run out of luck. From front desk clerks, to card dealers, 125 employees were terminated from their jobs on Monday and hundreds more will lose their jobs in the coming weeks.

The Lady Luck casino says the terminations are necessary because of a massive remodeling and renovation project that will close the entire hotel and casino for at least one year.

Dozens of employees were called together Monday morning to attend a mandatory meeting. Many of them left with their walking papers. At the meeting, 125 employees were told they were fired effective immediately.

Many received letters warning them of the terminations, but never anticipated it happening so fast.

Debbie McKinney was one of the Lady Luck employees who received her pink slip. She fought back tears after learning she no longer had a job.

"I walked in for the 10 a.m. meeting and they said 'sorry everyone here is terminated immediately' and I got my walking papers," McKinney said.

Emotional after the news, McKinney thought she would have been given more notice. "I feel sick to my stomach. I had no idea this was going to happen. The only thing I thought I was going to get at least two months to look for something, but no it was bam."

The Lady Luck Hotel and Casino says the firings needed to happen, to comply with the downtown revitalization project.

In a written statement, Andrew donner, CEO for the Henry Brent Company, which is the owner of the property, said the substantial closure of the property was a difficult yet necessary business decision. "We looked at every scenario possible to keep the property fully open during the renovation, but in reality it would be difficult to provide quests with a good experience or attract the number of visitors we'd need to maintain our staff during the renovation."

Mayor Oscar Goodman is a longtime supporter of downtown growing to bigger and better, but is sorry to hear about people losing their jobs.

"I really feel terrible if they feel the downtown revitalization cost them their job, that's not our intent." The Mayor says, if the Lady Luck Hotel and Casino needs help in finding these former employees jobs, he's willing to make some phone calls to other casinos and see if some of those fired workers can apply for jobs there.

A total of 689 employees at the Lady Luck will be laid off by February. A number of local venues next to the Lady Luck casino and owned by the same company will remain open. The Lady Luck was bought by The Henry Brent Company in April of this year.