Students employed at Soaring Eagle provide mixed opinions of work environment

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Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort brings many people to Mount Pleasant, but as Drew Roy found out, it can also be quite crazy.

The Mount Pleasant sophomore knows a couple of crazy stories from his work experience there.

“While people were waiting in line to get into the Firefly Buffet a man exposed himself, (and) the tribal police came right in to arrest him,” he said. “Then two people had heart attacks while in line. This all happened in one day.”

Montrose senior Joe Yancho has been working at the casino, 6800 Soaring Eagle Blvd., since October 2009.

“I have a lot in common with my co-workers since the majority of them are students,” Yancho said. “I serve at Isabella’s and the Water Lily Lounge.”

He said the casino has been a decent place to work while in school because of the money, good management and convenience.

“It’s hard to have an outside life because I work up to 40 hours a week,” Yancho said. “But I think it’s a great job to have. I don’t think you can find a better job for the money.”

Yancho said a lot of people do not understand the patience necessary when dealing with customers. Serving can be very repetitive because people are always asking the same questions, he said.

Kelsey Uphold’s job as a guest room attendant can also be repetitive. Uphold works second shift, taking care of any leftover rooms, and running things like microwaves and fridges to guests.

Her duties also include cleaning the spa and packing mobile cleaning carts for other shifts.

“Because packing the mobile carts can take all day, you’re never bored,” the Mid Michigan Community College sophomore said. “You’re never standing around wondering what to do next.”

She has worked more than two months at the casino after applying for many different positions. When offered a job, she said she jumped at the opportunity.

After someone has been working at a department for six months, they are allowed to move to different areas as well.

Uphold works four to five days a week, eight hours a day. The days she attends school, she is up from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.

After working as a food and beverage cashier for three years, Mount Pleasant senior Devin Cole decided to leave.

“I loved the pay and I was always busy, but I hated that the casino wasn’t non-smoking,” he said. “I was always getting sick and run-down from the stress of the mean customers and the work environment.”

It was difficult for him to balance working four to five days a week with school and a social life.  He noticed being around many people all day resulted in anti-social behavior ocassionally.

“Overall, the job was okay,” he said. “I never loved it, but it pays well and wasn’t difficult to get a day off when I needed it.”