Casinos Austria presents Casino Beograd at Gaming Expo Belgrade

Set in a prime location on the Danube Promenade, Casino Beograd is set to transform the former Hotel Yugoslavia into a real highlight in the Belgrade entertainment scene. The casino will feature state-of-the-art gaming entertainment on two levels at 25 tables and 250 slot machines on a total floor space of 5,500 square meters.

The complex will also offer a full range of other entertainment facilities including world cuisine and fine dining restaurants, an ultra lounge bar, several cocktail bars and a multipurpose function room, with raised terraces taking the entertainment outdoors in the summer months.

Partnering Casinos Austria International in this project are the renowned Greek gaming and entertainment company, Club Hotel Loutraki, and the highly successful local gaming experts, the State Lottery of Serbia. Representatives of all three partner companies spoke about their plans with local media and journalists at a Press Conference immediately after the official opening of the Expo.

"Casino Beograd will be a strong product that combines great gaming and entertainment with our customary total commitment to the highest levels of quality and security," said Casinos Austria International CEO Paul Herzfeld.

"The Serbian market is more than ready for a top class, modern casino, and we anticipate that the Casino Beograd complex will soon be welcoming around 500,000 guests a year and assuming a position at the top of the Belgrade entertainment scene," Herzfeld added.

Roni Aloni, General Manager of Club Hotel Casino Loutraki, explained some of the ideas behind the design of the Casino Beograd complex: "We will be applying a lot of the experience gained in the development of the highly successful Club Hotel Casino Loutraki complex near Athens. Belgrade is similar to Athens in many ways: it is a vibrant city and a place where people like to go out and enjoy themselves. In the summer months, for example, we will be taking some of the entertainment outdoors to fit in with the Belgrade lifestyle."

The launch of Casino Beograd will also bring a positive economic and tourism impulse to Belgrade and Serbia. Europe’s newest entertainment venue will create some 300 new jobs for the region, establishing Casino Beograd as one of the most important employers in the entertainment sector in the Serbian capital.

"The vast majority of staff at the casino will be local hires, confirmed Bojan Kristo, Director of the State Lottery of Serbia. "And experience also shows that for each job created in a casino or entertainment venue, a further 0.8 jobs are also created outside the industry. In the case of Casino Beograd, this translates to a further 240 additional jobs for Belgrade."

Gaming operations will begin as planned in July 2007, with Casino Beograd subsequently considerably expanding its capacity in phases. An extravagant gala event with national and international stars is planned to mark the opening of this one-of-a-kind, luxury entertainment venue and will put Casino Beograd firmly on the European casino map.