March 19 (Bloomberg) -- Dealers at a Harrah's Entertainment Inc. casino in Atlantic City voted to unionize, giving the United Auto Workers their first victory in an effort to organize casino- floor workers in the New Jersey resort city.

The vote at Caesars Atlantic City was 572 to 128 to form a bargaining unit that includes blackjack dealers and roulette croupiers, the union said in a statement yesterday. Virtually all other workers at the casino are union members, the UAW said.

The UAW is attempting to organize the gambling-floor workers at Atlantic City's 11 casinos, and a vote at Trump Plaza is scheduled for March 31. The labor group, best known for representing employees at General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co., also has members at Detroit's three casinos.

Harrah's, which has agreed to be purchased by buyout firms Texas Pacific Group and Apollo Management LP., also owns Harrah's Atlantic City, Bally's and the Showboat in the New Jersey beach resort.

Harrah's wouldn't oppose the employees' effort to form a union, company spokesman Alberto Lopez said in a statement e- mailed to Bloomberg News.

Shares of Harrah's rose 24 cents to $83.82 at 4:22 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. They've gained 12 percent in the past year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Oliver Staley in New York at ostaley@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: March 19, 2007 17:58 EDT