Gaming briefs for June 20, 2003

Friday, June 20, 2003 | 10:57 a.m.

Casino resort opening July 3

ATLANTIC CITY -- The Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa will open July 3, in time for the three-day Independence Day weekend, its owners announced Thursday.

The $1 billion casino, under construction for nearly three years, will be the first new one in Atlantic City in 13 years.

The 2,002-room casino hotel, located in the city's marina district, is a joint venture of Las Vegas companies Boyd Gaming Corp. and MGM MIRAGE.

No time for the opening was announced and no details were given about any planned ceremonies.

Casino operators and employees had been awaiting word on the opening, widely anticipated to be in time for the July 4 holiday because holiday weekends are traditionally the most lucrative of the year for Atlantic City casinos.

Casino workers reject union representation

The Industrial Technical and Professional Employees union has lost a second election to represent workers at Randy Black Sr.'s three Mesquite casinos -- Oasis, Casablanca and Virgin River.

The union's efforts to represent 1,160 housekeeping, food and beverage workers in a National Labor Relations Board-held election on June 13 and 14 were rejected by a vote of 664 to 393.

The union's first NLRB-held election in the Southern Nevada town in December 2001 to represent 1,276 workers was also rejected by a vote of 640 to 464.

Ruthie Jones, the ITPE's vice president in Las Vegas, could not be reached for comment on the election results and whether the union intends to challenge the results. Black could not be reached for comment.

Mike Chavez, the NLRB's resident officer in Las Vegas, said there haven't yet been any unfair labor practice charges filed with the board and that the union has until June 23 to challenge the election results. Under labor law, the union can't file for another election petition for another 12 months.