Now first-class gaming culture in XXL format – Merkur Casino celebrates grand opening of biggest electronic casino in Prague

Remodeling and successful expansion in the Czech Republic

Prague/Espelkamp – Only a few weeks after the remodeling the Merkur Casino in one of the biggest and most modern local shopping centers in the heart of Prague, Cerny Most, saw a glamorous reopening. More than 500 guests from politics, culture, sports, and entertainment had accepted the invitation of Rolf Klug, member of the board of Gauselmann AG, Rolf Falke, managing director of Merkur Casino, and country director Patrik Flaisinger and celebrated the reopening of the Merkur Casino until the small hours. The gaming center was given a totally new look and the gaming surface was expanded from 600 square meters to almost 1000 square meters. The moderator of the entertaining evening with live music and attractive dance acts was Leos Mares, who is similarly famous and popular in the Czech Republic as Thomas Gottschalk in Germany or David Letterman in the US.

The exceptional event started with the cutting of the blue band by managing director Falke and country director Flaisinger. The grand finale saw the presentation of a first donation in the form of a check to the Kapka Nadeje Foundation – A drop of Hope. Vendula Svoboda, widow of the famous late composer Karel Svoboda, and patron of the Foundation accepted it gratefully. Thanks to the commitment of many famous sponsors, Kapka Nadeje is also known in Germany and in other parts of the world. “In total“ says Rolf Falke “Merkur Casino will donate CZK 500,000 to the Kapka Nadeje foundation.“ The second symbolic check was presented to the charity on November 17, 2008, a public holiday in the Czech Republic, during evening primetime on the CT 1 TV channel (national terrestrial TV).

According to Rolf Klug “The new Merkur Casino in the Cerny Most shopping mall is our largest location in a European country outside Germany so far. In addition, the site is the biggest electronic casino in the Czech Republic!“, the member of the board of Gauselmann AG underlined proudly.
Almost 150 gaming seats are perfectly integrated into 1,000 square meters of exclusive ambiance. The new design also takes account of the diverse wishes of the players: VIP area, relax-zone or casino atmosphere – our guests are always in the center of the services concept. It is the first Merkur Casino to feature a special event zone. From now on the new stage area will offer live performances in perfection: in addition to regular shows of talented young bands there will also be song contests.
In a nutshell, this shows that like no other Merkur Casino knows how to combine cutting edge products and unique architecture into a distinct entertainment design.

During several weeks of remodeling a cross-media marketing concept targeted at increasing the visibility, recognition and positive image of the arcade chain in the Czech Republic. A skilful quiz imparted the most important messages about the quality and quantity of the Merkur Casino brand playfully and lastingly – And also as part of the thought-out marketing strategy – the first class entertainment center Cerny Most will give away a brand new AUDI A5. To be the lucky winner you only have to guess the right amount of money in a glass column. The secret will be disclosed right before X-mas and the lucky winner will be determined!

As early as 1992 operation of entertainment centers “made by Merkur“ started in the Czech Republic. Today, the number has risen to 22 Merkur Casino, seven of them are located in the capital of Prague.

Merkur Casino is a subsidiary of the family managed Gauselmann Group based in Espelkamp in the German federal state of North-Rhine Westphalia. The Gauselmann Group that proudly looked back to its 50 year old history in 2007 currently operates a total of approximately 300 entertainment centers in all of Europe.

In FY 2007 the divisions of the Group generated aggregate consolidated revenues of EUR 1.061 billion with a total business volume of EUR 1.28 billion. Today, more than 5,000 highly motivated staff contribute to the success of the company with their creativity, flexibility and dedication.