Frank Simpkins said he came to Tennessee Avenue on Thursday looking for a security or cleaning job in any of the city’s casinos.

In collaboration with the American Legion, the state Casino Control Commission held its annual veterans job fair. About 1,800 positions are available in the city’s nine casinos, including housekeeping, bartending and security positions.

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City accounted for more than a third of those jobs, and the casino held its own job fair Tuesday to start filling the positions.

Simpkins, a 60-year-old Barnegat Township resident, worked at Tropicana for 32 years. On March 26, he began a six-month furlough period from Beach Haven Public Works.