Strasbourg thinks about opening a casino

Jean-Jacques Gsell, chairman of the Strasbourg Tourist Office and deputy mayor (PS) in charge of tourism, does not rule out the possibility of setting up a casino in Bas-Rhin. He reckons that setting up a casino in European capital seems a completely logical thing to do.

Moreover, contacts have been made, even if they are in their teething stages. In order to benefit from the provisions of the Chaban law dated 1988, the urban community of Strasbourg should contain a few thousand inhabitants more, Gsell told Journal des Casinos this week.

The urban community of Strasbourg now counts 470,000 inhabitants, and 500,000 are needed. However, within the context of a euro-district, these 30 000 inhabitants could come from the border German town of Kehl, situated on the other side of Europe’s bridge, assuming that the French administration gives its approval.

There is one casino called Niederbronn-les-Bains at Bas-Rhin, 52 kms north of Strasbourg. Ribeauvillé, in the Haut-Rhin, is 66 kms away. Both casinos belong to Groupe Lucien Barrière. In Germany, the casino of Baden-Baden is 66 km away.