Penn National Gaming Reviews

Pros

The other employees, treat each other like family.
Everyone Boss is welcoming and professional and are true leaders
the employee dining room.
the rate of pay and the tips
the clientele is spot on!
I have almost worked in all departments after 2 months
I have learned a lot about casino's
If you want to work, they will help you out!

Cons

the black out dates( but these days you normally make the most money)

Advice to Senior Management

Keep up the great work, Zia Park is a great place to work, dine, and be entertained. I love my job here.

Pros

They have a great toke rate. The people you work with are excellent. Its in a -beautiful location close to dc and baltimore

Cons

management doesnt promote based on company guidelines but rather by favortism or i jst dont know--floor person A no college 20 yrs in business 2 games ro and bj and Weak---Floorperson B Hospitality Management degree 15 years in busness-all games offered but one (Cr-Ro-Ba-Bj)knowledgeble and proven trainer- pit boss pomo goes to----employee A

Advice to Senior Management

Check your communtication with management and listen to them they are on the front lines.Promote by merit not favortism.

Pros

Good tips and money
Easy work
Nice Staff, like family
Free soup and salad
Benefits
Great place to learn bartending, as all servers have atleast one bar shift a week

Cons

Obsessive "big brother" attitude
"At-Will" clause allows a VERY high turnover rate due to firing over the tiniest thing--without warning
Too much favoritism and bias from management
Customers are very demanding and sometimes extremely rude; allowed to make up own items that are not on the menu; complain about everything
Twelve+ table sections make it difficult to provide quality service
Required to work doubles every Saturday with no choice
Random drug testing

Advice to Senior Management

Give employees a little more slack and stop firing people for every little thing.
Smaller table sections will allow better guest service.
Treat all employees equally and not favor some by letting them break rules everyone else has to follow. Also be more fair with money shifts.
Provide better waitress training or atleast hire somebody who knows how to train new employees. Also go over rules at the beginning and not when you are firing somebody.

Pros

They pay more than min. wage.
They have free drinks and food.
They give Christmas gifts to all the employees.

Cons

Lack of communication between Upper Management and Lower Management.
Lack of communication between Departments - everyone on different pages.
Lack of appreciation.
Only some positions are first open for the internal employees, giving the workers less of a chance to advance.

Advice to Senior Management

Without the employees on the floor the casino would completely flop. Customer service is all up to the workers and if they are not treated well then they do not treat the guests well. Keep in mind that the hourly paid workers are very important. Upper management can be on vacation for a week but we can't. A little more credit would be nice.

Pros

Helps pay for your college bills up to $2,000 a year.

Cons

No free time off, including holidays. Very litttle room for advancement. No recognition for hard work. Bad and unprofessional management. No open door ppolicy allowed without being made to look like a bad employee. Raises come once a year and are not worth your wait. You'll have a better chance of making more in fast food then you would at this particular casino ina year. Customers are extremely rude and management and security never do anything to defend you. You can get pushed and the guest won't be kecked out.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep a better eye on your management workers in your casino. They are given to much freedom and authority to do as they please and not as the company needs.

Pros

The best reasons to work at Penn gaming (Argosy Casino are:
1. Great coworkers. They treat each other like family.
2. Well above average pay for casino dealers.

Cons

Some of the main downsides are:
1.All new dealers must work at least a year or two before getting full time status w/ benifits
2. Second hand smoke is unbelievably terrible.
3. Work schedules are lousy. The hours are terrible and they bounce around alot.
4. Management is much more strict about following procedures exactly than other casinos
5. Dealer, especially experienced dealers, all feel that management is trying to fire them so they can hire part time dealers w/ no benefits.
6. Lots of write ups.

Advice to Senior Management

Please select different shift hours to better suite peoples lives.

Pros

PTO is Paid Time Off. You earn PTO per pay period. The longer you've worked for the company, the more PTO you earn per pay period. You max out at approximately 8 hours of PTO per pay period. We get paid bi-weekly so that's approximately 5 weeks of PTO per year. It takes about 5 years to start earning the max of 8 hours per pay period. In addition, it's fairly easy to take time off and there are two times a year where you can sell your PTO back to the company for more money in your pocket. It's like exchanging unwanted vacation time for extra cash. And if that wasn't enough, you actually earn PTO while you're on PTO. Took a two week vacation? You just earned 8 hours of PTO for being on vacation. Nice!

Most of the employees, especially those that work back of the house, have worked there for many years. We're all friends and generally get along well. It's a nice environment to work in.

There is an on-site clinic that you and your immediate family can visit for FREE. Medication cost no more than $5 and can be payroll deducted.

Free meals! Lunch is provided in our employee dining room, or EDR for short. If the food on the line doesn't look appealing to you, one of the chefs will be glad to cook something for you. Beverages and snacks such as popcorn and icecream are available at any time of the day as well.

Cons

**Does not apply to my department**
Departments other than IT seem to have horrible experiences with their schedules. Most people have random days off and schedules for them sometimes aren't posted until the last minute. In addition, schedules ten to change for them - A LOT. For them, you litteraly have to check your schedule every day so can make sure you arrive for your next scheduled shift.

**Does not apply to my department**
People that work on the casino floor are usually scheduled to work during holidays or special events because that's when we are busiest. This means you may work six days or receive an altered schedule during those times.

Parking sucks. There are two different locations for employee parking. You don't get to choose which one to use, you are told wich one to use. The location depends on the day of the week and how crowded management expects the casino to be. So, for starters, you have to do some research to know where to freakin' park each day. Secondly, both locations are not employee friendly. One lot is directly across the street from the casino. When parking there, you have to walk to the casino. It's a long walk and since we are on the water, there is always this unbelievable breeze blowing your way. By the time you get to the building, your hair is all messed up, your legs are tired, and your freezing cold (winter). A shuttle bus is provided during incliment weather. The other lot is down the road a bit. When parking there, you have to wait for the shuttle. Sometimes, you can wait forever for that bus. If it's cold, raining, or you're late, you don't want to wait - especially for five or six minutes for the shuttle to arrive. It should be noted though, that any employee can valet their car except during busy times. I wouldn't recomend it because the valet drivers get fired often for automobile accidents. I would never trust one of those teenage kids to park my car.

Advice to Senior Management

Standardize parking and scheduling. These two items alone would make most of the employees extremely happy. Of all the things people complain about at work, it's usually parking and scheduling. I would also offer more rewards for hard workers and provide departmental raises to the IT department. We are making much less than the IT staff at other casinos in our area (I know because I applied for one and know some people that work in IT at other casinos).

Pros

Penn is a good company that strives to treat people fairly and compensates based on performance. There is a realistic approach with sincere concern for the people that drive the organization. Penn focuses on supporting a decentralized approach to management of local operations.

Cons

Diversity of the company inhibits communications and standardized practices.

Advice to Senior Management

Maintain the balance between rapid growth and organic growth.