Lasell College of Newton, Massachusetts will offer a degree in Resort and Casino Management this fall, reported the Boston Herald.
The addition will expand the school's hospitality and event management Bachelor of Science degree program with two additional new degrees: Event Management and Hospitality Management.
According to the Herald, no east coast college offers a degree program in casino management, but this addition is part of a job creation plan by the state.
According to the Newton Tab, Massachusetts is building three new casinos and schools across the state are offering new programs, like the ones at Lasell, to prepare students for the 10,000-plus jobs the new casinos will offer.
Massachusetts' Gaming Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby told the Boston Herald that job creation and professional development were primary objectives in the state's gaming act of 2011. The new casinos are not required to hire local residents, but Crosby hopes they will.
"Local employment is one of our evaluation criteria, so there is tremendous incentive for them to put real numbers to paper," Crosby said.
Many colleges in the state are offering these new casino management degree programs so the new casinos do not have to look outside the state for help.
"One of the concerns about casino job generation is that skilled jobs will go to people out of state because we won't have a trained local workforce," Crosby said. "So creating a pipeline of people with the specific skill sets for the higher-end jobs is fabulous."
Lasell College president Michael Alexander told the Herald he's confident the new degree program will catch on.
"The college already has a strong program in hospitality and event management, which has been growing fast," president Michael Alexander told the Herald. "And seeing what's going on in the state of Massachusetts and New England in the gaming industry, it made sense for us to give our students an opportunity to prepare to compete for the thousands of jobs that are going to be created in the industry."
The New England Casino Dealer Academy also opened a new 6,000-square-foot facility in March to train potential casino floor workers in blackjack, craps, poker and roulette.
In addition to the casino-related courses, as part of a Public Health Department concern, UMass Boston College's school of Advancing and Professional Studies will offer non-credit courses in gambling addiction counseling.
