After many months of discussion, Cambridge College and Wynn Boston Harbor announced on Thursday that the two organizations have partnered to offer a Gaming Institute on the Charlestown campus that will teach prospective employees table games and security.
Philip Page, vice president of strategic partnerships, and Mark Rotondo (an Everett native), vice president of innovation and strategic initiatives, appeared before the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) on March 29 to announce that they would be offering a Gaming Institute with Wynn. The new partnership was one that both organizations hailed as a natural fit, and seemingly replaced a Gaming Institute partnership with Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) that never really got off the ground last year.
“We have engaged with Wynn in a partnership to create a Gaming Career Institute (at our Charlestown campus),” said Page. “We are excited about what is transpiring with our conversations and the relationship developing with Wynn because the core principles of this relationship mirrors the mission of the college, including training for underrepresented populations, diversity goals and careers with outcomes and advancement.”
Page said it was a great fit because Cambridge College merged and consolidated its old campus into a new facility on Rutherford Avenue in Charlestown last year – just a few minutes down the road from the Wynn development.
Rotondo said they would focus on gaming training and surveillance/security training.
“We are committed to this gaming institute, training in all aspects that includes not just the experience at the table, but also how to manage oneself in that environment,” he said.
Because Cambridge College has just moved into a large new space at Hood Park in Charlestown, they said they have ample flex-space available for the Institute. They will be working with Wynn to get the proper equipment needed, and they will be procuring the curriculum for the programs as well.
“We would like to be operational in the summer of 2018,” he said.
He also said they would need to gain approval from the state Department of Higher Education.
MGC Commissioners were concerned about the cost of the program, as a similar Gaming Career Institute in Springfield operating to train workers from the MGM casino has run into affordability problems.
Page said the cost is a little more than Springfield, but they hope to be able to tap into scholarship opportunities. Already, Wynn has committed to providing 50 scholarships to the Institute.