VOA慢速英语2020 More Women Lead Atlantic City Gambling Operations

More Women Lead Atlantic City Gambling¹ Operations

For many years, women have served alcohol to gamblers in casinos, but they rarely supervised the whole operation.

Women now run four of Atlantic City's nine casinos. Some industry officials say that could be the future of the gambling industry.

The gambling business Caesars Entertainment hired Jacqueline Grace last week to run the Tropicana casino as its senior vice² president and general manager. She is one of two Black women running casinos in Atlantic City. She joins Melonie Johnson, who took over leadership of the Borgata this year as its president.

Terry Glebocki, CEO of the Ocean Casino Resort, and Karie Hall, senior vice president and general manager of Bally's, also head casinos in Atlantic City.

"I hope I live to see the day where this is not considered news," Johnson said. She added: "it's probably going to be another 10 years before we get all the inequity out of the workforce³."

The American Gaming Association is the national trade group for the casino industry. It does not keep information about how many U.S. casinos are run by women. Several casino officials and experts, however, say Atlantic City has more woman-led casinos than any other area of the country.

The women agreed that the number was far less than the number of men who hold those jobs. Several estimated it was about 10 percent.

"I think it speaks to the...changes in the gaming industry, which was traditionally very male-oriented, over the past few years," said David Schwartz. He is a gambling historian with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

He explained that women were not permitted to deal cards in Nevada casinos until the 1970s, so they had a late start in the industry.

Debra Nutton was one of the first craps dealers⁴ in Las Vegas at the old Sands hotel. At the time, her male bosses were not happy and often insulted her. She was so successful, however, that she became a manager. Nutton later became a senior vice president at the Wynn and MGM casino companies.

She said women executives help employ women.

"When women have a seat at the table...the more opportunities we will get," she said.

New Jersey⁵ began legal casino gambling in 1978. It opened up new possibilities for women, said Virginia McDowell. She is vice president of Global Gaming Women, which supports women in the gambling industry.

"I can think of at least a dozen women trained in Atlantic City who went on to lead very significant careers in the industry," said McDowell. She served as executive vice president of the Trump⁶ casinos in Atlantic City, and CEO of Missouri-based Isle⁷ of Capri casinos.

Grace of the Tropicana said it is not a surprise that nearly 50 percent of Atlantic City casinos are run by women. She said the businesses are "being thoughtful about a workforce that looks like their communities."

Hall, the Bally's general manager in Atlantic City, said she is looking to the future.

"This is a progression," she said. "We want to keep it moving forward."

Words in This Story

gambler– n. one who plays games of chance and bets money on cards, sports and other games

casino– n.a place for gamblers to play and bet

inequity– n. the state of opportunities being available to some but not others

deal cards– v.to give playing cards to gamblers during a game

oriented –adj. related to a certain kind of person, aimed at a kind of individual or group

craps– n. a casino game involving dice⁸

opportunity– n.a chance or conditions that are favorable

dozen– adj. 12 of any object

significant– adj.important

1 gambling   

n.赌博；投机

参考例句：

• They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
• The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

4 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

5 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

6 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

7 isle   

n.小岛，岛

参考例句：

• He is from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.他来自爱尔兰海的马恩岛。
• The boat left for the paradise isle of Bali.小船驶向天堂一般的巴厘岛。

8 dice   

n.骰子；vt.把（食物）切成小方块，冒险

参考例句：

• They were playing dice.他们在玩掷骰子游戏。
• A dice is a cube.骰子是立方体。