OK, we know it is tough to find solid, hard-working tech employees around Seattle.

But a stunt today by Double Down Interactive, the social gaming company that was acquired by gambling giant IGT for up to $500 million earlier this year, is really taking the cake. Or should we say the ice cream.

In order to celebrate the hiring of the company’s 100th employee, Double Down plans to give away free Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in front of its headquarters at 505 5th Avenue South in Seattle’s stadium district. The promotion goes from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., and it marks the latest stunt by a company looking to hire top talent.

You can see how desperate the company is to find talent by going to its home page where a huge banner declares: “We’re hiring.” It currently is hiring for as many as 50 new staffers.

Will ice cream do the trick? It probably can’t hurt given the demand for engineers around this town.

As we’ve reported in the past, the job market for software engineers and developers is extremely tight in Seattle, made tougher by the arrival of companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Zynga and Salesforce.com which have opened new engineering centers in the region.

In addition to the ice cream, the company is treating the new staffer, Brian Gershon, like a king. Decorations have been placed all over the office welcoming the software developer, and he’ll get some undisclosed surprises at the company’s Beach Party happy hour.

“We like to have fun here,” notes president Glenn Walcott.

That’s an understatement. You may recall that maker of casino-style games on Facebook flew the entire company to Mexico for a getaway earlier this year in order to celebrate hitting a company milestone.

UPDATE: Here’s a photo from the scene today outside the company’s offices. Walcott reports that they will likely give away 1,000 ice cream cones.

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