The Hard Rock Casino has gifted its 3,300 employees with $100 gift cards to ShopRite while the employees are out of work.

Thousands of Atlantic City casino employees are currently without a job after the pandemic forced the casinos to shut down.

A team of volunteers greeted the workers and presented them with the gift cards.

“I’m still struggling with unemployment right now and hoping I get through with that,” says Hard Rock employee Anthony Corvo.

Thousands of New Jerseyans are currently dealing with a major backlog in the unemployment office.

“We heard some stories that some are not getting unemployment checks and stimulus checks as quickly as others and we know how important it is to feed your families if you can’t have those dollars” says Hard Rock Atlantic City president Joe Lupo.

“As far as me, I had some money saved so I was OK, but there’s a lot of people that don’t, so this gift card helps them out a lot,” says room service attendant Dora Dupeles.

The local casino workers union also handed out boxes of food to the workers.

“A lot of families are two-income households in the casino, so it’s pretty devastating not having the income,” says Caesar’s lounge server Jeffery Payne.

Payne is a member of UNITE HERE Local 54 – a union of about 12,000 Atlantic City casino workers. He says that many are eager to get back to work – but cautious as to what Atlantic City casinos will look like post-COVID-19.

“We don’t’ know what is going to happen, but I do know that the safety is not there. If things don’t feel comfortable, I personally won’t go back and a lot of people won’t go back because it’s not worth my life,” Payne says.

Both the Hard Rock and the union says that they hope they can do these drives again soon and that they recognize the great need for help during the pandemic.