Hundreds turn out for 2-day UltraStar job fair

Harrah's Ak-Chin UltraStar multi-tainment center held its first of a two-day job fair Wednesday and there was a line of attendees including members of the Ak-Chin Indian Community and other Maricopa residents applying for 200 jobs.

 “As Maricopa has grown, many people from the tribe have left to other cities for jobs, and this will help keep members here,” Ak-Chin Community member Davidson Vgalde said.

The casino already has done plenty for the tribe, he said, adding the multi-tainment center is good for the Ak-Chin Community. He said the center will help by giving local jobs and pushing education for tribe members.

 “When I was growing up here, I didn’t care about education at all, but since Maricopa has grown, the tribe pushes students to continue their education,” Vgalde said.

“It’s going to offer so many jobs for people here, it will just be so much more convenient,” Vgalde said.

Positions include: shift managers, vault cashiers, a sous chef, bartenders, janitorial porters, line cooks, cast members, servers, bus persons and hosts. The center is scheduled to open Nov. 15, offering restaurants, movie theaters, a bowling alley and laser tag.

Other Maricopa residents at the job fair said they also were happy at the prospect of working closer to home.

“I want to find something to start a career out of, and later buy a house out here,” Matt Armstrong said.

“It will help Maricopa in keeping residents; I’ve had trouble finding a job since I’ve been in Maricopa,” he said.

The Ak-Chin Indian Community has promoted this fair to its residents.

Vgalde said many of his family members already work at Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino, and he saw the job fair as big opportunity since he has been unemployed for two months.

“I just want something here, and this is walking distance from my house,” Ak-Chin member Lorenzo Mejia said. 

Mejia worked for the casino for 19 years until he had to quit because of back problems.

“I heard about this job fair, and I decided I could work as a greeter or something like that,” he said.