Arkansas’ Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort announced Monday that it will be increasing minimum wage for non-tipped team members from $9.25 an hour to $13.00 an hour beginning at the end of September. Both seasonal and year-round tipped team members will increase to a $6.00 an hour minimum.
“Oaklawn’s success is because of our team members,” Oaklawn President Louis Cella said. “We are making this change to show that investing in our employees is just as important as the investments we’re making in our facility.”
The increase will impact approximately 970 Oaklawn employees in total.
The 115-year-old racetrack and casino, located in Hot Springs, is open year-round for traditional gaming and runs live racing cards annually from January to May. The track hosts the $1 million Arkansas Derby every April.
“This move is another element of our vision to bring excellence to everything we do when it comes to our team,” Oaklawn general manager Wayne Smith said. “We’re focused on a new level of action in both the racetrack and the casino. We’re the only legal sports book in the state, we’ve added live craps and blackjack earlier this year, and we’re getting ready for four $1 million stakes races during the 2020 race meet.”
Oaklawn is currently undergoing an expansion project that will see the racino add six new barns, a 28,000-sq-ft casino expansion, additional dining options, including a fine dining restaurant, and a 200-room, 7-story luxury hotel offering both standard rooms and suites. Half of the new hotel will overlook the racetrack.
The resort is adding an outdoor pool with event lawn area, a state-of-the-art spa and fitness center, and a 14,000-sq-ft event center including meeting rooms and a ballroom that can accommodate 1,400 for a concert and 1,000 for a banquet. The project also includes valet parking and a redesigned and expanded parking area.
