cook

security officer

bartender

line cook

surveillance operator

Gateway Casinos & Entertainment

Your work day will generally start off with smiling faces of other employees for the most part and happy greetings. You'll enter dispatch and a warm sense of belonging will hit you. You'll have short mostly cheerful officers with interesting personnel antidotes to share with others on shift that night. You'll begin your shift with a short informative briefing and special duties to be carried out along with routine procedure's that must be followed . You'll receive a schedule outlining you stations and breaks for that shift.  A typical shift with include door duties ,escorts ( funds transfers, people and contractor escorts ). Sensitive facility checks and gaming floor patrols. You'll want good customer relations repour with casino patrons ( vital ). A clear understanding of your mission and duties as well as a good working knowledge of the patrons ( regulars ) and the patrons who have history with the casino ( good and bad ).  With all of this in check ,you will enter the gaming floor and put on your friendly game face and prepare yourself for the following 8 hours with optimism and a cheerful disposition. The floor is a place of constant change and mood swings of the cliental ( drinking ,gambling ups and downs as well as those with mental health issues) and ever changing circumstances. Be prepared to switch your strategies on the fly to best handle any situations that may present themselves. Management is crucial for a consistent peaceful and smooth flow to the gaming floor. Gateway thrives on having top notch managers filling their roles and a reassuring  approach to staff and any problems or concerns they may have. Quite often they will have valuable knowledge and insight to better handle new experiences that may arise. You must keep in mind that they have a job to do and appreciate those who work as a team to carry out their tasks and will always have an open mind to possible improvements and concerns the employee might have. Never forget that the purpose of the patrons attending the casino is to win and win big! Understanding that most will leave down on there luck and some are bitter and will find ways to blame everyone but themselves for why they lost. Be understanding and show empathy towards them. some will carry this attitude with them while they are gaming and you will need to have the ability to recognize " red flag behavior " and your training in " responsible gaming " will need to be exercised to best handle these concerns . Gateway prides itself on continuous learning modules for their staff in a variety of areas that arise on the gaming floor and the culture it produces. Be prepared to learn and excel with the knowledge and the tools provided by Gateway.  Being willing to listen and grow will make your time at the casino much more enjoyable and fulfilling .   Should you join Gateway in a security role, will prove to be invaluable for those who wish to seek a career in law enforcement and crucial on your application to the agency you are applying to. Detail oriented patrols and compliance to policies mandated by such agencies as AGCO , LLBO , OPP and the OLG and strong detailed report writing and investigation skills will most definitely make you a person of interest to such agencies as Federal, Municipal and Provincial policing as well as CBSA and Corrections Canada. Invaluable experience you will have learned on the job as a security officer for Gateway.  As a Gateway employee you have the opportunity to excel with work place promotions in other areas with the casino. They offer career advancement with there careers advancement training programs that are part of your accessible in-house online learning software at no cost to the employee. Ambition to advance is the only motivation required.  The hardest part of the job is dealing with the less fortunate at the door trying to enter the casino ( homeless, obvious substance abuse individuals and the mental well being of some unfortunate individuals with these health challenges). Understanding and some empathy will go along way in dealing with these circumstances as they arise. Gateway will never turn there backs on these individuals and are quick with outreach contacts and informative pamphlets at their resource center in the main lobby and to aid the officers at the door with possible options for all in need. By far the most rewarding part of the job is seeing smiling faces of patrons and staff whos lives you have touched in one way or another by the effort you have put forward in carrying out your duties as a member of Gateways family. This makes for a much better ending to your shift on your journey home for the night. 

I would never recommend working here. The turnover is absolutely ridiculous. Expect to work 6 days a week consecutively on a regular basis because  this department cannot keep staff. Staff are constantly and consistently undervalued and underappreciated. The managment  is a complete joke and I have attended several food and beverage meetings where the staff are talked to in a very negative manner. Instead of addressing things appropriately and praising the staff for their hard work the food and beverage manager discussed all the negative things that she heard. Honestly being told " hey you are doing great job" goes a long way but the manager of that department cannot even do that. Staff members that have been working at this casino  for more than 10 years have left because the environment  has become so horrible. Gateway really needs to look at why they are losing staff in this department at such an alarming rate. I am happy that I was able to find a way better job my home and family life  was suffering because I could never get any time off. My vacation days were constantly denied because of understaffing. There is no work/life balance. Its really awful when a place of employment drives  out great employees all because they do not know how to manage a department. Teamwork is a thing and treating your employees like they are all disposable will get you no where. I know many people that have literally had a supervisor walk them out half way into their shift because they were treated  so poorly that quitting their job here was way better than getting paycheque. If you are thinking about applying to any jobs at gateway i would think again... because this job with leave you feeling exhausted and miserable and youll more than likely be treated very poorly. I am greatful that I did have some great coworkers  to get me through  the bad days but that even wasnt enough to keep me working at such a bad establishment. Best of luck to anyone that works there... you'll  definitely need it. Avoid working here at all cost.....

Casino Rama was a great place to work there was a lot of good people to work with and tons of excitement. A typical day at work really depends on what shift you were assigned too since the Casino was a 24 hour operation.

During the day it was make sure the bar was fully stocked also making sure that you had enough freshly cut fruit to last for day and to also put in orders or supplies. In the evening which is the most busiest time of the day it was keeping up with demand. Making sure there was enough ice, beer and fruit but also helping out the bartenders and servers with whatever they needed. At night that's when all of the cleaning happened and re-stocking of the bars happened. A main priority was to help the servers of the night shift.

What I learned while working at the Casino was how to managed my time and utilize slow points during my shift. How to keep it cool and collective during some of the busiest and chaotic times and working to a near perfect rhythm with bartenders and servers.

Management at Casino Rama was great, when it got to the point where some barbacks or bartenders could no longer keep up with customer demand they jumped in and helped whether is was serving drinks or lifting kegs it didn't matter. Co-works on the most part were great specially with the barbacks. If a barback was having trouble with anything other barbacks helped right away. Bartenders were patient with the new barbacks since many of them were at one point barbacks also at the Casino.

The hardest part of the job was keeping up with customer demand but it was also the most enjoyable because it was a challenge. It was a challenge because you're trying to look after a bar that could be serving a couple hundred people a night on a slow day to a couple thousand on a show night. But at the end knowing you managed to keep the bar running and keep your cool is nice.

Starting at Gateway Casino's seems promising at the start, but it went downhill very quickly.

Everyone I worked with was demoralized and hated the job. New hires would seldom last more than a few months and most people left after a year. While you do get a steady salary increase for the first year you get NOTHING after that. There are senior staff who haven't had a raise in over 5 years. They also don't compensate for minimum wage increases, meaning you basically get paid less every time the cost of living goes up yearly.

Schedule was the worst I've ever seen. My shifts were changed constantly, removed or shifts added out of nowhere. Because of this I couldn't have a life outside of work as I had to check my schedule everyday for shift changes. Good luck if you're part time and have another job, they WILL NOT accommodate you at all.

There is no career advancement at this company. Every new person is hired as part-time only and the opportunities to move to full-time are almost impossible unless a senior quits. Company intentionally takes advantage of part-timers to save money and abuse them with scheduling. If you make it to a supervisor position there's no further advancement, that's it for the rest of your career unless you know someone in Head Office.

The most frustrating part of this job was how aware Gateway Casino is and how they don't care. They made no effort to improve any aspect of complaints we had. In fact, things somehow got worst during my time there, like reducing staff discounts for meals.

Be very cautious during the interview process and get everything in writing. They will absolutely tell you what you want to hear during the interview and then blatantly retract it all once you start.

 



The overall environment was very difficult to thrive in. There was a noticeable lack of inclusivity and cultural awareness from leadership, and concerns about fairness or equal treatment were often dismissed. Recognition, workload, and growth opportunities seemed to depend more on personal relationships than on merit or performance, which made the workplace feel unbalanced and discouraging. As a result, the HR department experienced low morale. 

On one occasion, when I brought up an inappropriate comment made toward me, the situation was not handled with empathy or understanding. Instead of support, the response from leadership felt defensive and dismissive, which made it difficult to feel safe addressing future concerns.

While the company’s stated values emphasized teamwork and respect, the reality often fell short. Feedback was not well received, and leadership communication could come across as condescending or unsympathetic, creating unnecessary stress for employees who simply wanted to do their jobs well.

Advice to Management:

Revisit the company’s values and ensure they are genuinely reflected in leadership behavior. Build a culture that promotes fairness, inclusion, and psychological safety for all staff. Provide better support for HR and frontline employees by addressing turnover patterns and implementing unbiased leadership training.

Listen when employees raise concerns, not defensively, but with a willingness to understand. People want to feel respected, valued, and treated equitably. Until that changes, it will continue to be a revolving door of good employees leaving because they no longer feel safe or supported.


The majors problems are twofold.  One has the potential for an effective solution, the other will require a radical upheaval. 

Management.   Gateway notoriously underpays supervisors and offers very little to enhance skills.  Talented people do not usually stay for long.
Only those with limited management education are willing to accept the dollar above minimum wage salary.  This approach of "just about good enough" hinders the quality of managers/leadership and is observed by patrons regularly. 

Unionized environment.   The union is as useful as a rotary dial phone.  A majority of the long term workers will gleefully educate any listener "..the only reason I stay here is because the union protects my hours.."
The result of the position being guaranteed is one of apathy and arrogance.  There is no incentive for team members to achieve excellence nor support each other.

For both reasons, the customers ultimately pay the price for an astonishing lack of customer care.

Leadership requires a major shake up, for better and for worse.  Screen out those whom lack passion and prefer rest on their laurels.
Increase the base salary to attract better qualified people.
Raise the standard of internal training to continually refresh customer/people skills and management styles.

Dissolve the union.  Start from scratch.  Cherry pick those whose talent and passion separate the sheep from the goat.
Train those members to be solution oriented and continue higher training, should they demonstrate management potential. 

Ultimately, these two items deeply impact the customers' experience.
After all, isn't it because there are customers that the lights stay on?

As an interviewer it was very rewarding to see that the best individuals were hired for the startup of Casino Rama in 1996 after my retirement from the military in 1995.  As a Slots Supervisor I enjoyed helping the Slots Technicians install the slots at the facility prior to opening.  I also enjoyed teaching Slot Attendants and Slot Change Attendants their new duties prior to opening and continue to coach and mentor them during the years I supervised them at Casino Rama.  I also enjoyed working with the Beverage Servers, Housekeeping staff, Security Officers, Coin Impressment employees, Redemption employees, etc. to ensure that we always had customer satisfaction.  This environment required Managers and Supervisors to always be vigilant in monitoring the gaming floor to quickly resolve issues that did arise from malfunctioning slots equipment, to complaints of poor service, patrons accusing others of stealing, etc.  I focused on developing employees, recognizing those in each Department on a monthly basis who showed potential and possible future leadership qualities.  Bravo Awards were presented to  the best employees each month.  If not for it being a smoking Casino, and I being an asthmatic, I would have remained in that work environment however I had to quit that career too early for my health.

What is the best part of working at the company?
i really enjoyed interacting with the customers 


What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
well the most stressful part of this job is the cleanup big big job  taking down everything lots of hard work involved but you know I actually enjoyed doing that too even if it was stressful it was still fun and enjoyable.unless we had another event to do the next day and we were told we had to get everything done and get ready for the next event we would have to go in to work early but me I loved that kind of job when we would have to go into work very early to finish up and set up for the next event it was all good


What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The environment was  pleasant as well as the culture there were different cultures that did their events and I really enjoyed the experience with all these different cultures its great meeting different people and getting to know them and show them a enjoyable time I love to make people feel very comfortable and relaxed  and make sure  they are enjoying themselves and check see if they need anything etc.... my job to keep our customers happy and make sure they come back again.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
well a typical day for me at the company would be if other workers never showed up for work and only two of us show up then we would be scrambling to find a few more people to work with us and it was hard at times because it was last minute notice for that person to come into work.

I worked here for the last 3 years and was just given a sketchy "resignation memo" when the reopened after COVID. Myself and 2 other guys were screwed around with and I personally had "quit" placed on my ROE when I did no such thing. This is typical of Gateway and I'll tell you why. 

When Gateway bought out the casino from OLG in 2017 they fired the majority of full-time staff. They sugar coated it in the media mentioning layoffs but that's an outright lie. Guys working there 20 years (since the place opened) were given severance and a boot out the door. After this, they reduced the number of staff on site during a shift and overworked us. Morale sank, everyone was miserable and it never got any better. We did get a 15 cent raise though at one point.

The only good thing about working security here part time is I had a lot of time to work on my side business and the schedule is given 3 weeks in advance so you always know what you're working and can swap with other employees. The benefits and pension were great, considering I was only part time. My benefits were terminated immediately after my last day worked even though the hiring package that was signed and completed in 2017 stated that the benefits would continue for a year after the last day worked.

If it were still run by OLG I would highly recommend this job, but Gateway destroyed everything about it. Even the patrons are unhappy.

Gateway is a terrible company to work for. Many full time employee's that have been here for 10+ years have been receiving buy-out packages and are being asked to re-apply for their jobs back. However, at a lower wage with no benefits and they have to start back out on the bottom of the totem pole again. No one's job is secure and everyone is on edge because of that. Many employee's that have also been here for 10+ years make the same wage as new hires meaning there are absolutely no incentives to stay. They currently make every department work understaffed while making employees work over 44+ hours each week WITHOUT overtime. They will make you work 3 different shifts (Days, Afternoons, Overnights) all within a span of 3 days with little to no time off. Therefore, getting time off is unheard of - even if you request time off they WILL NOT give it to you. They will also change your schedule multiple times with little to no notice. Even if you had time booked off - they do not care. Be prepared to work every single weekend as well, no matter how long you have been here for. To Gateway you are just a number, nothing else. They are not accommodating what so ever to fit a healthy work/life balance. All they care about is saving as much money as possible. Very toxic work environment, I would recommend to stay away. DO NOT get trapped here like many others, its not worth it. Only Pro to this company is the decent stating wage and other friendly employee relations.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Cook 196 salaries reported	$21.42 per hour
Security officer 76 salaries reported	$21.99 per hour
Bartender 75 salaries reported	$17.77 per hour
Line cook 19 salaries reported	$24.14 per hour
Surveillance operator 37 salaries reported	$22.89 per hour

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Working at Gateway Casinos &amp; Entertainment: company overview and reviews

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Gateway Casinos &amp; Entertainment ratings

Popular jobs at Gateway Casinos &amp; Entertainment

Salary satisfaction

Working at Gateway Casinos & Entertainment: company overview and reviews

Gateway Casinos & Entertainment ratings

Popular jobs at Gateway Casinos & Entertainment