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Unemployed for three months, Michael Ripnick came to Arundel Mills mall Thursday hoping to find work at the yet-to-be-built slots parlor adjacent to the sprawling shopping complex.

"I just wanted to explore the opportunities to see what they have available," said the Brooklyn Park resident, who was laid off from his job as assistant store manager at Brookstone in the Westfield Annapolis mall.

Just one hitch: The Anne Arundel County Council has yet to sign off on a zoning bill that would allow for development of a slots casino projected to create 4,000 construction and permanent jobs and reap millions of dollars in local tax revenues.

Nearby residents have vehemently objected to the project, saying it will increase traffic and crime and decrease property values, and council members appear split on whether to side with the Cordish Cos., which would develop the venue, or with area homeowners.

They are scheduled to vote Dec. 7 on two proposals — one that would allow for the proper zoning to build at Arundel Mills and another that would push any casino south of Route 32.

The Cordish bid is the only proposal under consideration by the state Video Lottery Facility Location Commission, which appears poised to give its approval, perhaps as soon as its Dec. 17 meeting.

Critics of the proposed slots complex said Thursday's job fair was a political ploy designed to exert pressure on council members to pass the zoning legislation.

"Have you ever heard of a company who has not received approval to even build try and go out and hire people?" said Rob Annicelli, president of Stop Slots at Arundel Mills, who lives about one-third of a mile from the mall.

He suggested that the career and vendor information fair was a "pretty cruel" public relations stunt designed to gather support from prospective employees who will come testify at the upcoming council hearing.

But mall officials and company executives who organized the fair said they had long planned to hold it in November, by which point they hoped to already have local and state approval.

"We have to be prepared to hit the ground running," said Joe Weinberg, a managing partner for the Baltimore-based Cordish Cos., which has developed casino facilities in Florida and Indiana. The company envisions breaking ground in the spring and opening its doors in the summer or fall of 2011.

It was also important to have the fair now so contractors interested in procuring work have enough time to get the proper certification, said Gene Condon, the mall's vice president and general manager. Additionally, officials said they wanted to refute claims that the facility would only create low-paying jobs.

Weinberg expressed confidence that the Anne Arundel council will approve the zoning legislation because of the projected jobs and revenue the project will bring, as well as the heavy support that the slots referendum received in Anne Arundel last year.

"I don't think it could be any clearer that the vast majority want this project to happen," he said.

Tables set up around the perimeter of the mall food court displayed opportunities in information technology, general contracting, design and engineering, security, accounting and finance and more. Each table also had pre-addressed postcards that fairgoers could fill out and have sent to individual Anne Arundel council members.

The turnout signaled that plenty of people are looking for work.

Michael Bryant, who owns a concrete company in Mitchellville, was hoping to find out more about opportunities that might be available at a time when the recession is hurting business. So was Ed Gowda, who owns framing stores in Glen Burnie, Ellicott City and Lutherville, and has previously done work for other Arundel Mills tenants.

John Ciaravella of Stevensville, who was laid off from his job at Coca-Cola seven weeks ago, was eager to find any work and said it seemed logical for politicians to support a project that would create so many jobs.

And Ripnick saw it as his chance to beat other job seekers to the punch, even though he acknowledged that the event may have been as much about political influence as employee recruitment.

One other upside for Ripnick: He and his wife occasionally play slots.

"It wouldn't break my heart not to have to drive up to Delaware," he said, laughing.