Gary Smith can thank Resorts Casino Hotel for both his and his mother’s careers.
Marge Washburn, Smith’s mother, was a first-day employee as a waitress at the buffet in the casino, then named Resorts International, when it opened May 26, 1978, and went down in history as the first casino hotel in Atlantic City and the first legal U.S. casino outside Nevada.
Smith’s mother suggested he should apply for a job as a buffet and beverage server at age 24, six months after the casino opened. Smith’s brother also worked at the casino as a dealer. Smith worked in the buffet until it was closed in the early 2010s and switched to being a banquet server, which he still does today.
