MGM National Harbor to Begin Hiring 3,600 in First Quarter of 2016

By MARY ANN BARTON (Patch Staff)

PHOTOS: Robert Stowe, vice president of Facilities at MGM National Harbor, shows the progress being made on construction of the $1.3 billion casino resort overlooking the Potomac River. Photos by Patch

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Ten huge cranes loom over a sprawling construction site of concrete and steel perched on a hill along the Potomac River in Prince George’s County, where the $1.3 billion MGM National Harbor is taking shape.

A security gatehouse stops all vehicles and guests must sign in and out. The site is humming, as construction continues around the clock with about 1,000 workers coming and going in hard hats and neon vests. A food truck is parked on site where workers stop by for a bite to eat.

On Thursday afternoon, as thunder clouds rumbled across the Potomac, Robert Stowe, vice president of Facilities at MGM National Harbor, showed a group of journalists around the site, where construction is well under way and on schedule for what MGM has in store: A sleek resort offering every amenity, from 125,000 square feet of gaming space and top-shelf restaurants overlooking views of the river to a spa and salon, a 1,200-seat theater and a 24-story hotel. The hotel will offer 308 guest rooms, 234 deluxe rooms, 74 luxury suites and a 3,500-square foot-plus size presidential VIP suite.

The resort is built into a hill with parking underneath for just under 5,000 cars. MGM National Harbor will be surrounded by a three-lane, one-way road designed with traffic flow in mind. The resort plans to add a new road on the east side of the property that will connect Harborview Avenue to National Avenue, to relieve traffic at Oxon Hill Road.

The casino resort is set to open in the second half of 2016 and looks to begin hiring 3,600 employees in more than 100 job classifications beginning in the first quarter of 2016. The grand opening date has not yet been announced.

“We’re developing our dealer schools now as we speak,” said Bill Boasberg, general manager of MGM National Harbor, who is a hospitality industry veteran who moved to the area from Las Vegas. He comes to the new position from MGM’s ARIA where he was senior vice president and CFO, since 2010.

Boasberg and Lorenzo Creighton, president and COO of MGM National Harbor, previously worked together at Bally’s Casino in New Orleans.