University Business: Higher ed casino programs mirror trend

It wouldn't be a foolish gamble for IHEs to place their bets on casino management programs, say industry experts. Casino management is a growing industry, with 445 commercial casinos in 11 states in need of qualified professionals. More and more IHEs across the country are adding casino management courses and degrees to their schools' offerings including one Mississippi university.

A judge gave permission last month to the University of Southern Mississippi to create a curriculum for a casino management concentration within the College of Business. Previously, a state law prohibited Mississippi IHEs from offering such classes. New courses will be offered in the areas of financial analysis, legal issues, marketing, operations, technology, and others, as they relate to casino management.

At least 17 other colleges and universities across the nation offer either courses or programs to prepare students for casino work, according to data from the American Gaming Association (www.americangaming.org). "Clearly, the gaming industry has expanded so much in the past several years, well beyond the traditional gaming destinations of New Jersey and Las Vegas" and has become a nationwide industry, says AGA Director of Communications Holly Thomsen.

Studying casino management at the college-level gives students an edge when applying at casinos for jobs, says Cheri Becker, chair of the department of tourism management at USM. There is also an abundance of jobs available, all requiring different skill sets. Currently, the industry provides some 350,000 people with jobs. But what matters is that a job candidate knows how casinos work.

Prior, the only education a would-be casino employee would have received was the dealer training provided by the casinos themselves, says Thomsen. That's not enough, she adds.

Casinos now house restaurants, hotels, shopping centers, and entertainment attractions. "It is like running a major entertainment resort. So you need people that are good at resort management just like at a regular hotel," Thomsen explains. "In addition, there are a lot of regulatory issues that are very specific to the gaming environment. It is valuable to have managers with high-level expertise that are trained with these issues."