I received a tour of Casino Wien from Mr. Dieter Türmer, recently promoted to Assistant General Manager. “Casino Wien has the most visitors, the highest revenues, and the most employees of any Casinos Austria property. About 50% of our customers are international customers; most live in Vienna and have an international ID. Sunday through Thursday, we attract roughly 1,100 customers daily, rising to 1,400 on Friday’s and Saturday’s. This increases to about 2,000 on special days, such as Friday the 13th
customers are of Asian ancestry. During 2010, Casino Wien attracted approximately 400,000 visitors, 42% of whom were women.
“Gaming revenues are roughly even for table and slot machine gaming with the slot machines slightly ahead. We have slots, Blackjack, Punto Banco, Sic Bo, Tropical Stud Poker, American Roulette, a ‘no cash betting’ table used to show customers how to play American Roulette, and have one of only four French Roulette tables in all Austria. There’s also a poker room separated from the main casino area to allow our guests to seriously concentrate while playing. It provides our guests with a sophisticated atmosphere in which to play poker.” During my early evening visit, the poker room was busy, testament to the successful poker marketing of Casinos Austria.
Mr. Türmer has worked with Casinos Austria since 1997. It was obvious during our walking round the casino that he knew every one of the staff and pretty much every guest in person: “Customers like the personal recognition they receive at Casino Wien. We refurbished the property in 2009, which doubled the size of the gaming and F&B areas. Before the refurbishment, the focus was mostly on gambling. After the refurbishment, with the increased space, we have been able to introduce more F&B offerings and broaden the entertainment we offer our customers.
“During the refurbishment, we chose to recreate the atmosphere of an English Gentleman’s Club while retaining original features of the Palais Esterhàzy. This Club atmosphere is greatly appreciated by our guests. We focus on delivering a very high level of customer service as we know each guest, their preferences, what drinks they like, and so on.”
The refurbishment allowed for some original features of the Palais Esterhàzy to be highlighted in the ‘new’ Casino Wien, such as a changing room dating from the 17th
Century that still has
the original wall paintings; now branded the Schlumberger Bar and available for exclusive
—a lot of our
rental—this room was developed during the refurbishment in cooperation with Schlumberger, a local speciality sparkling wine.
Cooperating with known brands is also in evidence immediately one enters Casino Wien; the staircase was created in partnership with Swarovski Architecture. An eye-catching piece, there are Swarovski crystals located in both the ceiling and in specially-lit wall recesses. This memorable architecture, coupled with the focus of all the staff on personalised customer service, helps explain why Lady Gaga complemented the casino during her live concert in the city in November 2010 when she said words to the effect that: “Vienna can be proud. It has a great casino.”
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