Fremont Street Experience hooks candidates for SlotZilla jobs

It was a hiring process unlike any other: Go through an interview, take flight on a zip line and see if you get the job.

Fremont Street Experience held a hiring event Thursday afternoon for its SlotZilla zip line attraction where job seekers were interviewed on the launch deck.

After the interview, applicants took a zip line 1,700 feet along the Fremont Street Experience canopy at 11 stories high to the other end. Only then did they learn minutes later if they would be extended an employment offer.

“It’s the world’s first of its kind,” Andrew Simon, CEO of the Fremont Street Experience, told the Review-Journal about SlotZilla’s so-called fly-in interview.

Some applicants said they were more nervous about taking the plunge on the zip line than participating in the interview.

Billy Hill, 50, of Henderson, was among the dozens of applicants. Hill, who retired from the U.S. Postal Service after 21 years, said the SlotZilla opening for ride operators offered a perfect position for him to “stay busy.”

It also gives Hill a chance to interact with guests as many vaccinated Americans look to vacation hotspots this summer, like Las Vegas. Hill said he hopes to see crowds and concerts back in the city. “With everything (opening) up, it means there’s an end to everything (pandemic-related), hopefully, and everything gets back to normal and Vegas gets back to Vegas,” he said.

Hill learned he landed the ride operator job after taking the speedy trip along the zip line. The experience, he said, was unlike any other. “I’ve never had an interview like this before,” he said.

Simon, of Fremont Street Experience, said it took some time for him to think about elevating the hiring experience, but ultimately, he took a page from Circa casino owner Derek Stevens’ playbook.

“(The idea) came about a month or two ago, I was sitting here going, ‘What can we do to be competitive while everybody’s trying to get jobs in the city?’ and Circa — my friends over here with Mr. Derek Stevens — had drive-in interviews,” Simon said Thursday. Circa held drive-thru job interviews at sister property Golden Gate Casino throughout April.

“I was like we’re going to have fly-in interviews and up Derek by one step, my good old buddy over here. I wanted to do something a little bit crazier here at Fremont and give people a $60 free ride on the zip line and find out if they got a job in 1-2-3,” he added.

Having applicants ride the zip line also gave future ride operators a chance to see firsthand what the job entails. Simon said the company is looking to fill 30 full-time positions for SlotZilla, buoyed by strong demand for the ride ahead of the summer season.

“We’re already seeing it,” Simon said of SlotZilla’s demand. “As we get ready to open up to 100 percent on June 1 and with capacity restrictions gone, we wanted to staff up because it’s crowded …”

Additionally, the company is offering a $2,000 bonus in which applicants who take a ride operator position will receive $500 per quarter.

Nationwide, companies have added new incentives and bumped up base wages, salaries and bonuses to woo employees back to the workforce.

Readers can search and apply for open jobs at Fremont Street Experience at VegasExperience.com.

Contact Jonathan Ng at jng@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ByJonathanNg on Twitter.