Bad neuenahr casino

There's a red carpet at the entrance, the ball is rolling at the roulette table, the slot machines are flashing, and cards are being dealt at the blackjack tables: The first casino in Germany to be licensed after the Second World War is back where it started in with the first gold-plated ivory ball whizzing through the roulette wheel - in Bad Neuenahr.

Instead of being housed in the plush, traditional Kurhaus building directly on the Ahr, the casino is now located in the railway station, which was built in in the neo-Gothic style. Since Wednesday, after a two-year forced break, the motto there has been: Place your bets.

"Immer heiter, Gott hilft weiter, froher Mut, gesundes Blut," (always cheerful, God helps, cheerful courage, healthy blood) it says on the façade of the railway station where the casino now has its home. "The long wait is finally over. Two years have passed since the devastating flood disaster in July , and we too had to overcome many problems and unknowns. So we are particularly grateful and happy that we can now operate our casino in the historic train station," said a delighted casino boss Michael Seegert. He is the managing partner of the casino operating company, which holds shares in other casinos.

The floodcausedgaming operations in casinos to collapse

One of the offshoots is the casino at the Nürburgring. When the flood disaster cut its path of devastation across the Ahr valley, the casino's gaming operations collapsed. Thanks to quick reactions and the prudent behaviour of the staff, no people were harmed: The halls were evacuated and all casino guests were escorted to safety. But the devastation left behind by the masses of water and the contaminated mud it carried was enormous.

Seegert realised at the time that there would be no return to the old building for him and his team. There was too much worry that such a catastrophe could happen again. "I also have a responsibility to the staff," Seegert had told the GA at the time.

Twelve possible locations for the new casino

Over the following months, twelve possible locations were looked at, initially without success. Then came the proposal to build the casino in the station. The small railway travel centre will remain in the western part of the building for train passengers, but the rest of the building will be used for gambling. The casino has had to downsize considerably, but Seegert is confident that the Spielbank Bad Neuenahr will soon become a top address in the casino world again.

75 slot machines have been set up, two roulette tables and two blackjack gaming areas are available to visitors. This is about half of what was offered at the old casino, but there is still room for expansion, depending on how demand develops, says Seegert.

Staffneeded for catering and gaming operations

The operating company of the Bad Neuenahr casino is still looking for employees and junior staff for the catering area of the new casino as well as for the gaming operation.

While the previous casino with its slot machines, roulette and blackjack tables had an area of about 1, square metres, the new casino in the Bad Neuenahr railway station building is considerably smaller at square metres. Managing director Michael Seegert hopes to be able to generate about 40 percent of the former turnover at the new location.

Operators consciouslyforego a pompousopeningceremony

While roulette and blackjack are some of the classic games on offer, the slot machines are among the newest and most modern devices currently available worldwide, explained Seegert, who has been the head of the casino in Bad Neuenahr for more than 20 years. Players with a certain amount of luck can win 15, euros from the high-tech machines with the wildly flashing names "Cash Connection", "Mighty Cash" or "Luxury Line"; at the roulette wheel - as with blackjack - it is considerably more.

Seegert and his 50 employees expect to welcome up to one hundred guests daily in the square-metre station rooms. After the two-year break, many of the regulars might have gone elsewhere, and the aim is to make a completely new start with a lot of development work. They deliberately refrained from having a big and ostentatious opening ceremony.

"We are doing this in particular with consideration for the many people in the region who have lost so much in the flood disaster and whose future is still uncertain," Seegert told the General-Anzeiger.

(Original text: Victor Francke; Translation: Jean Lennox)