Wichita ? A new casino being built near Mulvane will hire 400 to 500 employees before the first phase of the project opens next February, and the general manager is promising that 90 percent of the new hires will be from Kansas.

Most of the jobs at the Kansas Star casino do not require casino experience, but do require a positive attitude and an outgoing personality, said general manager Scott Cooper.

“A lot of people think the casino business is this one-of-a-kind, strange animal that’s so much different than any other business, but our business is governed by the same principles as others,” Cooper told The Wichita Eagle.

“There’s very few people that really require casino experience, except for what I’d define as senior executive leaders who have specific expertise in slots or table games. Half the directors and the rest of the work force will be local.”

Nearly 1,000 people have filed online applications for casino jobs and applications are still being accepted on the website, kansasstarcasino.com.

The first phase of the project will be an interim casino in a building that eventually will become a convention, events and equestrian center. When the permanent Kansas Star is completed in 2015, it will employ nearly 1,000 people, with an average salary of $38,000.

The casino will be operated by Peninsula Gaming, based in Dubuque, Iowa. Cooper, formerly the general manager at Peninsula’s Diamond Jo Casino in Dubuque, has opened 10 casinos in New York and Las Vegas, and in regional markets in Illinois, Missouri and Louisiana.

Peninsula will send out e-mail updates with job information to those who have applied at least once a month until the Kansas Star opens. Peninsula also is looking for locations to hold several job fairs in Sumner and Sedgwick counties.

Training for those who want to be dealers will start four months before the opening. Classes will be held twice a day for five days a week. Graduates will audition for jobs at the Kansas Star.

Peninsula is looking for a human resources director, and the hiring process will accelerate when that job is filled, Cooper said. Most of the hiring will begin about three months before the casino opens. Those who are hired must pass background checks by the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission.

Peninsula offers all of its employees 401(k) plans, health insurance, paid vacations and recognition programs.