SERVICE SECTOR Gibbs cashes in on casino management BY TIM LEHNERT

The steady push to bring casino gambling to Rhode Island may be stalled for now, but that’s not stopping Gibbs College from offering a new program in casino management. Starting in January, the Cranston location of the vocational school will offer an associate’s degree in Business Operations with a concentration in Casino Management.

While lucrative for their hosts and the State of Rhode Island, the growing number of video lottery terminals at Lincoln and Newport require few management positions. Local prospects for graduates are therefore slim, but Gibbs officials feel that for those who are willing to drive, or relocate, strong job growth in the gambling industry augurs well for casino management education.

Gibbs’ President Wynn Blanton says that about 25 people have registered so far for the degree at the Cranston school. Students will take general education and business courses, but will also enroll in seven gambling-related classes, including "Introduction to the Casino Industry," "Gaming Management (I and II)," "Cash Management and Cage Operations," and "Legal and Regulatory Aspects of Gambling."

The establishment of a casino in Rhode Island, long sought by the Narragansett Indians, would naturally be a huge plus for the program. Blanton maintains, though, that an associate’s degree with a concentration in Casino Management is viable even if a Rhode Island casino never materializes, because of the proximity of Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, in Connecticut. "We would have never introduced this program if its success and the ability of the graduates to go to work was contingent on a local property," he says.

Gibbs promises more than dry lectures and dusty texts. "We’re going to have a micro-casino within the school," says Blanton. Students will become well versed in casino games including blackjack, roulette and craps. While program graduates will likely still have to begin their casino careers working at the tables, the combination of casino management course work and hands-on experience could boost their ability to move up.

The school consulted with the deputy inspector general at Foxwoods and Nevada-based Casino Creations in developing the program. Gibbs also looked at a program offered by the University of Nevada, Reno, as well as the casino management curriculum of community colleges in Nevada.

Locally, Johnson & Wales has the lock on education in the hospitality field. Its Culinary Arts degree is well known, and it offers hotel and restaurant management, and other travel- and tourism-related programs. Johnson & Wales does not, however, offer courses specifically related to gambling. Says Blanton of the Gibbs program, "We think it’s unique for the region."