Why did Century Casinos build a new casino in Central City, a gaming town that still struggles to compete with its sister city, Black Hawk?
A: We have been active in Colorado – in Cripple Creek – since 1994. We know the Colorado gaming market. We are very comfortable with the regulatory environment. When we heard about the new road – Central City Parkway – we looked around and found what we believe offers the most convenient and fastest access from Denver to any casino in the state. That … convinced us that (the Central City casino is) the right choice.
Q: Will your casino, which opened this month, pave the way for more activity in Central City?
A: At the moment, there is one large casino in Central City besides us, and a handful of smaller ones. I do believe that Central City offers a more charming atmosphere, a better small-town main-street experience, than Black Hawk does. I do believe, in the long run, that this main-street atmosphere together with better access from Denver will lead to more activities, to more development and to more visitors.
Q: What kind of impact will the crackdown on Internet gambling have on the gaming industry in Colorado and across the country?
A: For the most part, the customers of virtual casinos are not the same as the customers of real traditional casinos. What we have found many times is that people are using virtual casinos (to) learn the game on the Internet, and sooner or later they are ready for the real thing and visit our casinos. If they cannot gamble online, it will definitely not hurt our business.
Q: Should the U.S. ban Internet gambling or embrace it?
A: I don’t have a comment on that.
Q: Century owns and operates casinos in the U.S., South Africa and Prague, Czech Republic. What does the company look for in a new market?
A: My co-CEO Erwin Haitzmann and I, we did nothing but develop and operate casinos all of our professional lives. We did so, even before we formed Century Casinos, with other European gaming companies. We did that in 20 countries, and we had over 100 casinos under management. So we have a great deal of experience in setting up casinos in different cultures and different regulatory environments. We select our location simply by the market’s demographics, disposable income and, of course, the regulatory environment that’s in place … and (we look for) where we can set up casinos that cater mostly to the local people.
Q: You’re building a casino in Edmonton, Alberta, and have plans to acquire 33 percent of a casino in Poland. What other markets are you targeting?
A: Other than growing our existing operations, we see two main ways to grow our company further. One way is to apply for new casino licenses, if and when they become available. We don’t see much of it in the U.S., but there is more possibility for new licenses in the U.K., in Canada and, further down the line, in Asia. The second way we can grow our company is via acquisitions. We constantly screen the market to find underperforming casinos that we can acquire at an attractive price, and we do see such opportunities in the U.S., Canada, Europe and South Africa.
Q: How much traveling do you do?
A: Between my co-CEO and I, we have the following separation of duties: Erwin is in charge of all existing operations; I’m in charge of all new development and new acquisitions, as well as investor relations. Therefore, we are both traveling a lot. The company has two main offices: one in Colorado Springs, which deals mostly with finance and accounting issues, and one in Vienna, which deals mostly with operational issues.
Q: What are your thoughts about the $5 bet limits in Colorado?
A: I do believe that sooner rather than later that the market – the people in Colorado who are interested in casinos – will be ready to have the limits increased. It was a perfect way to start the industry in the state. But after more than 15 years, I believe the time has come to think about increasing the limits. We know that this will increase the number of jobs that the industry creates and the revenue that goes to the state.
Q: How did you first get into the gaming business?
A: In 1986, exactly 20 years ago, straight after I finished university (Johanes Kepler University in Linz, Austria), I joined a European gaming company where I met Erwin Haitzmann. In 1993, we formed Century Casinos together.
Q: What do you like to do in your free time?
A: I like to spend time with the family. I have a great wife and three kids. I like playing golf and do a little snow skiing.
Q: Do you ever gamble?
A: I only gamble a little, when I check out other casinos.
Edited for space and clarity from an interview by staff writer Andy Vuong.
