TIVERTON – Marcus Dobberfuhl rolled with the dice his whole life.

He made a career of gambling, from Oregon to Nevada, on to Atlantic City, and finally to Lincoln, Rhode Island.

Tiverton is next. He was there Saturday, looking for people who want to learn how gambling can become their career, too.

He was at the table games station for Twin River as it held a job fair for those interested in working for the Twin River Tiverton casino.

“I’ve been doing this since 1973. That is a while,” Dobberfuhl said. He stood at a roulette table as he spoke, occasionally, and expertly, tossing a pair of dice. “We are looking now for people who want to train on table games.”

Those people hired and trained will be on the floor of the casino when Twin River opens, in September or October of this year.

Twin River held the latest of its job fairs Saturday in its construction office at 15 William S. Canning Boulevard. A casino, hotel and cluster of restaurants are being built in the woods right behind the office, just 400 feet from the Fall River line.

The company expects to hire 350 new people to fill the 550 jobs the casino will require, according to Jenn Reagan, the regional human resources director for Twin River.

“We expect to see about 250 people today,” she said. “We are getting 200 to 300 people at every job fair.

“We are thrilled, not only with the turnout, but with the caliber of people we are seeing. Very fine people are turning out.”

Applicants were told to apply on line and then keep track of their application through the Twin River website, twinrivertiverton.com.

At the job fair Saturday, the room was divided into sections of interest. Applicants to be table game dealers met around a roulette wheel, food service at a poker table, food preparation at another table for cards.

David Sousa of Cumberland, the slots manager at Newport Grand, was at a gaming table, interviewing applicants to help him oversee the 1,000 slot machines that will be in the Tiverton casino.

“We are seeing new people at every job fair,” he said. “It is not the same group of people going every time.”

Though the application is done online, Sousa said it is good for candidates to come meet their employers in person.

“My philosophy is that the smile and the personality are critical. I want to see those,” he said.

“I can teach anyone the job. Personality is the most important attribute. You can’t teach that.”

Susan Lebert and Lisa Nicholas, both of Fall River, arrived smiling and left the same way after speaking with managers in the hotel section. Both of them work in the hotel business now.

“We went to learn as much as we can about the hotel business,” Lebert said. “We learned a lot today. This is really a great opportunity.”

“That is what the city needs," Nicholas said. “Fall River needs more jobs and more opportunities.”

For Carlton Page of Fall River, curiosity got him to the job fair.

“I’m a cook,” he said. “I’ve cooked in some really big institutions, some hospitals in New York. I know the business.

“I’ll go in and talk with them and show my face. I figure a smile goes a long way.”

Email Kevin P. O’Connor at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .