Live casinos in Romania are struggling to survive. First of all, they face an explosion in the number of slot-machines parlors.

Tens of thousands of machines in thousands of parlors have attracted thousands of people. The slot machines business has had a spectacular growth. The industry producing the software dedicated to this kind of entertainment has increased from one year to the other. Moreover, the producers of components have also developed profitable businesses.

And then, the legislation, as promising as it was in the sector of gaming parlors, it proves as restrictive with regard to live casinos. A certain number of tables, a proportion of the games, a safety system taken to the extreme, things that generated a certain rigidity with respect to the organization, conjectural fit-out of the parlors, moving the tables, etc.

In the last year, live casinos, in line with all the other economical structures in the gambling industry – and the entire economical domain – are facing the third wave of major obstacles – the crisis.

Worldwide, the gambling industry took a serious hit. All the business plans of the great companies were turned upside down. Any wrong step, any lack of strict foreseeing were sanctioned immediately and severely. The most notorious example – putting out for sale the famous American casino, Bellagio.

The more pessimistic wondered whether we are close to witnessing the end of this classical form of entertainment, all the more since the church and the administration of many states have cast and anthem over or even outlawed casinos, over-emphasizing their negative side.

It seems that the solution is only one – the radical improvement of the casino image as a place of entertainment. This transformation, through a professional promotion, in the social mentality, from the status of illfamed places to that of decent, elegant clubs or even that of luxury galleries, host to exhibitions of exceptional works, the casino itself being inside an architectural monument, a luxury hotel, etc.

Quality, decency, civilization and elegance can be the four aces with which the Romanian casinos can hit the jackpot.

Casino Palace Casa Vernescu in Bucharest organized in the middle of month October a meeting with the press, on the occasion of celebrating 14 years of activity.

The meeting guests included Olguta Ganciu – chairman of the board of directors, Joseph Hadad – executive chef, Matei Miko – chief operations officer and Andrei Frimescu – marketing and public relations director.

Master Nicolae Maniu, the best selling Romanian painter on the foreign market, was the special guest of the event. His works are now decorating the saloons and lobby of Casa Vernescu.

The events that marked the celebration were presented, as well as the novelties offered by the restaurant of Casa Vernescu. The new gourmet menu, realized by Joseph Hadad – executive chef – was launched as a tasting dinner in which participated, as guests, specialists in gastronomy, representatives of the great restaurants and hotels in Bucharest.

The website of Casa Vernescu Restaurant was also launched by Chairman Olguta Ganciu, together with the two entertainment options – Café Vernescu, respectively Aristoclub Lounge & Bar.

“Only” at its 14th anniversary, Casino Palace is operating inside one of the oldest, most elegant and most famous building of modern Bucharest: Casa Vernescu

HISTORY

Casa Vernescu has a respectable age of a few centuries and its story reunites beauty, passion, adventure, mystery and the elegance of Little Paris. It also signifies a symbiosis of Oriental and Occidental arts.

Its history begins with the second reign of Constantin Racovita, in the land Tara Romaneasca, when, at 1763, the count Jean-Baptiste Linche, a French from Marseille, became the French language secretary of the said ruler. Linche gets married with a Romanian and has a son – Filip Lens, who would become a Romanian aristocrat. He builds the house in 1821, and then marries Lisaveta Balotescu-Carpinisanu, whom he offers, as wedding gift, the wonderful palace.

A year later, he restores the building after it goes through a violent fire, turning it into the most beautiful house of Bucharest, at that time.

Filip Lens dies in 1853, the year the Crimean War bursts out. In this period, the house is successively host to the Military College, the Ministry of War, and the Major State of the Russian army. The writer Lev Tolstoi, visiting Bucharest at that time, also stopped by Casa Lens. The building burns again in 1882. In 1886, the heirs of Filip Lens sell the house to Guta Vernescu, lawyer and politician, founder of the Liberal Party. He hires, between 1887 and 1889, the great architect Ion Mincu to restore the building, which will make the former Casa Lens, currently Casa Vernescu, the most beautiful building on Calea Victoriei Street, the place for romantic meeting of the high society of the time, for the unrivaled balls and the glamorous Bucharest evening parties.

The harmonious play of the marble and golden decorations bursting out of the walls and ceilings, the superb stained-glass windows and the massive mirrors gave the interior an impressive grandeur.

The eclectic style, generally employed in that time, the care for details, all will be completed in 1890 with the paintings of G.D. Mirea. The state takes over the house in Vernescu’s late years, installing there, until the end of the Second World War, successively the Ministry of National Economy, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and even the headquarters of the Romanian Government.

In 1944, Casa Vernescu is confiscated by the Red Army which destroys many of the wall paintings. In 1945, the house is taken by Groza Government and operates until 1990 as headquarters for protocol services affiliated to various ministries. In 1990, it becomes the headquarters on the Writers’ Union in Romania.

After 1993, Casa Vernescu, restored and modernized, hosts a five-star restaurant and a select club – Aristoclub Lounge.

Casino Palace was already functioning at the upper floor, being the biggest casino in Romania.

All this time, Casino Palace has extended its surface and has developed, just like the restaurant of Casa Vernescu. In addition, starting with 2008, both are part of Queenco Leisure International, a group specialized in leisure entertainment, with activities all throughout Europe and Africa. The most important entertainment center it owns is Club Hotel Casino Lutraki in Greece.

Thus, Casa Lens-Vernescu has come through centuries of history, remaining a witness of high life of old and new Bucharest.

For Palace Casino’s manager, Umit Or, the casino meant “The New World”. “I got in touch with this industry accidentally and now I feel like I belong here. It’s really fitting me”, says Umit Or, perfectly convinced that this job changed his life.

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CONTACT WITH THE GAMBLING INDUSTRY?

My first contact with gambling was in 1988, in winter time, in Bursa, Turkey. I was a student of the hotel management school, practicing how to be a receptionist and studying about all segments of the hotel industry. There I met the owner of a casino, who offered me a job. Back then, I didn’t even know what a casino means. Until that year, there was no casino opened in Turkey. So, in 1988 I started within the slot machine department and I worked in slot operations until 1991; in March 1991 I became a casino dealer.

I worked in several casinos – Princess, Polat Renaissance Casino, Seven Seas Casino, Barbarosso Casino, Almira Casino and then I came to Romania, and joined Five Seasons company as General Manager of the recently open Kings Casino Bucharest. I came back to Romania in 1998 and I’m here ever since. So, I’ve been working in the casino industry here for 13 years.

WHEN DID YOU START WORKING FOR PALACE?

I started with Casino Palace in 1998 and I remember that my first job here was casino dealer. When they closed all the casinos in Azerbaijan, I came back here to marry my wife – she’s a Romanian.

We came here, I met my exmanager and he told me that there will be open poker in the casino, which nobody knew how to deal, and he offered me to be a dealer and teacher in the same time. I said “why not?” and I started as a dealer and then I started to teach open poker to the other dealers A while after, I became inspector for two months and then I was promoted as pitboss. After less than one year I became assistant manager, then casino manage and in the last five years I’ve been casino director.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE THE MOST ABOUT THIS INDUSTRY?

Actually, I have studied for working in all the departments of a hotel, and this was the last one I’ve considered. I got in touch with this industry accidentally and now I feel like I belong here. It’s really fitting me. I love what I’m doing, every day brings me more experience, more adrenaline. It’s a very special business because the customers are very demanding and it’s difficult to keep them happy. When we see that they are really pleased about what we are offering in terms of service, then we feel comfortable.

We try to be unique and different from all the other casinos because, generally speaking, casinos are very similar: the layouts, the tables, the chairs, the colors, even the payouts are the same. What really make a difference are the quality and the service standards.

It makes me feel very powerful and happy when I see that everything is matching and that the ambiance has been kept. This is very important, because for the last 10 years we are number one in Romania.

I can say this easily, and it’s not only my opinion, but also the feedback that I’m getting from our customers.

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY THE MOST ABOUT CASINO PALACE? WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO WORK ALL THIS TIME FOR PALACE, BECAUSE – YOU KNOW – IN THIS INDUSTRY PEOPLE ARE NOT USUALLY SO STEADY…

Until I met this company, I used to travel a lot. I worked in Cyprus, Turkey, Russia, and Azerbaijan…

When I came here, I saw that this is a very different and a very professional environment. For me it was an opportunity to refresh what I already knew. It was like after the academy, a post-graduate or something…

I have learned and keep learning here, and that is making me very happy here. We have very good relationships between departments, we have a very strong management team, professional staff, and we create special things that other casinos usually try to copy from us. For instance, we created a new lottery system, which I know that is unique in town right now and all our players like it a lot.

WHY IS CASINO PALACE DIFFERENT THAN THE OTHER CASINOS?

Over here we have less stress, everything is well organized, is based on specific casino mathematics, and everything is planned and calculated from the very beginning. We do things following a plan and calculating correctly and we always do things from our customer’s perspective. If they are happy, we are happy… The rest is mathematics. As long as we manage to keep them pleased, we know that the profit will come.

We have a game mix, one that doesn’t allow our customers to get

WHY DO YOU LIKE DICE?

In roulette there is no limit and this may be dangerous, while in dice there is more fun, more noise and you don’t have to risk too much money to enjoy it.. Even though you bet more or less the same amounts, it’s not the same pressure. And on the other hand when you touch the dice it’s another feeling. Because I was a dealer I like to have control when I’m gambling.

Dice I like right now, but tomorrow I might enjoy Ultimate Poker or maybe Texas Hold’em… But, anyway, I can say that although I love the games I’m not a real gambler. I’m gambling only when I visit other casinos in other countries. I believe is very normal, once a year…

WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES?

I was practicing aikido for about thirteen years, in Turkey, Azerbaijan and Romania. But in the last six months, because of the crisis, I was more concerned about my role here and at home, so I didn’t find any time for this hobby. I hope to start again soon.

WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN 10 OR 15 YEARS?

I love casino business and I would like to be the coordinator of all casino operations in this company. If not in this company, maybe in another one, but I’d like to manage more than one casino. I don’t like other business than casinos, because this is the only business I know, one that I’ve learned for the last 20 years.

I really love my job, and I’d like to see myself in a higher position. I keep learning, every day new games show up… I even have some new games projects myself. I’m waiting for the license from the Romanian authorities, and if they will give it to me maybe I’ll start to sell my own game, Pasumi Poker. The casino gave me a lot of things: while I was here I got married, had children, got a house, I have a very nice life, so it’s time to pay back.

We have to focus on the new things, because the new things keep people happy and the casino business will continue to grow up. What we also focus on, right now, is changing totally the image of the casino industry. Casino means fun, it means entertainment, ambiance and high society meeting places and not only gambling.

Fun and entertainment is the base, and the adrenaline makes things complete.

Master Maniu is already an international painter. He has worked in Romania, Germany, and France. He has sold his art all the way from Seoul to Dubai. Now he is back in Romania to exhibit his paintings to Casa Vernescu Palace Casino.

WHEN DID YOU LEAVE FROM ROMANIA, MR. MANIU?

In April 1983. I left at an exhibition in Germany and I didn’t return.

AND WHEN DID YOU RETURN?

First time I came at the end of 1995, beginning of 1996. I was in Cluj and Bucharest. Some time before, I had had a personal exhibition at the Cultural Center of Romania’s Embassy in Paris and there I saw Mr. Roveanu whom I had known from the 70s when he was a much appreciated photographer, a member of the Union of Plastic Artists. He asked me if I wanted to open an exhibition in Bucharest and told me he had a spare space and that it would be a hit. I told him I was very happy with his invitation and that I would come because I was going to go to Cluj, at the museum, to see how it looked after the renovation. And so I spent four months in the country.

Then, starting with 1996, I began collaborating with a very powerful gallery that has 11 subsidiaries around the world in Miami, New York, London, Paris, Venice, Monaco, Geneva, Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore and Dubai, which prevented me from returning with new works in Romania. But I came for the holidays to see my family, my friends.

HOW DO YOU FIND ROMANIA FROM ONE VISIT TO THE OTHER? FROM A CULTURAL STANDPOINT?

It’s difficult to say. Sadly, I can’t watch a Romanian TV station in order to keep up to date. But, overall, I know what happens in the country from my brother.

In 2007 I was invited in July to the Calatis Festival at the exhibition of the Romanian artists from the diaspora – 20 artists from various countries. I spent a month there. I hadn’t been to the seaside ever singe I had left the country. Then I left for Cluj and there I met a gen tleman who expressed his wish of buying one of my works. I agreed and in the end he bought three.

And I said “Well! There’s something about Romania. I had already seen the cars, the villas. I thought that this country could use some of my works, as long as there are people with financial possibilities. After the first person interested in my works, two more came along, them too quite wealthy. I say that because my paintings are expensive, especially the large format ones. For instance, a 1.5m x 1.8m work – this is the maximum size that I do – sells for about ?100,000 – ?110,000, gallery price.

And these people with fancy cars, villas and jewelry, even if not very keen on art, have come to the point when they need to hang something on the wall. Well, this is how competition came to be – if one has a Grigorescu, so must the other… That was the moment I entered the Romanian market. And I decided then to put together an exhibition in Bucharest at the end of 2008. I thought this could be a true hit. Sadly, crisis struck at that point, it brought a lot of trouble and I focused on my clients in Cluj who have already bought 13 important pieces from my works.

HOW DO YOU SEE THE COMBINATION OF CASINO AND ART – THAT IS PAINTING – ESPECIALLY THINKING OF THIS SITUATION, CASA VERNESCU, CASINO PALACE?

I’ve known Casa Vernescu for a long time and I can say that my painting suite very well the interior design of this building. My works which are shown here will remain a property of Casa Vernescu, as permanent decorations. It’s true that they are prints, but I cared for them to be of exceptional quality. I had them done in Paris and the frameworks are executed in Cluj. I had 20 pieces that blended beautifully with the atmosphere and the style here. This project began at the beginning of month June, at Mr. Miko’s initiative, on the occasion of redesigning the interior of the casino.

But I feel sorry that I couldn’t also bring some original works. It remains to be seen whether I may be able to open a small exhibition here.

THAT WOULD BE JUST FINE. CASA VERNESCU’S CLIENTS INCLUDE MANY POSSIBLE BUYERS.

Definitely. I was very happy with the proposition I was presented.

Because here the crisis looks different, it has another aspect. It can be the place to meet with all those interested in what I do. There are events going on, many people with generous pockets. You can stay at a table, talk about art. I’ve always said that the best spot for opening a gallery or the place to talk to a potential buyer is a fine restaurant. Inside a gallery people come, stay a while and then leave. It’s difficult to talk to them.

ARE YOU A PLAYER?

Just at the lottery.

WHAT ABOUT IN LIFE?

Indeed. I am a keen player in life. I took a chance, I had the courage to leave the country in 1983, I had a family, a special situation, I had good sales in Romania.

Well, I left with $150 in my pocket, a suitcase and some colors to paint with, not knowing what lay ahead. Sure, it wasn’t a blind adventure, I had friends in Germany, where my painting were already being sold. In 1993 I took on another adventure, leaving for Paris. I had a gallery there. And I was lucky. My work and my art have made my destiny. My paintings cleared the path for me on the social scale, which I happily climbed. I met people who bought my painting because they liked them. It wasn’t my name that initially sold, but the quality of the work, of the image. Leaving the gallery, people wondered who the author was and showed interest in me.

Thus I met the financial secretary of the King of Brunei who bought two paintings. And since you mentioned casinos, one of the guys from Deng Xiaoping who is the owner of a series of casinos and hotel chains in the area of Macao, Hong Kong, Singapore, bought three paintings. “James Bond”, Pierce Brosnan, bought one in London. One of the biggest architecture offices in the USA, Alabama, bought some of my works. And so did an American, owner of a casino in Las Vegas.

WHAT ARE YOUR SOURCES OF INSPIRATION AND TO WHAT STYLE DO THEY BELONG?

I could say that they belong to a surreal style. It’s a visionary art, an execution sending back to trompeuse – that is a certain mislead of the eye, a certain three-dimensional nature -, the heritage of a unique experience for me as a painter. I graduated Plastic Arts in Sculpture and at that time I didn’t really like painting. In painting I have been an autodidact. I rediscovered everything by myself, starting with the Renaissance. I was stubborn enough to follow that road, against the flow, although many said that people nowadays like other things. I think that the decadent, contemporary art has opened the doors of galleries for many amateurs. I remained true to my style, still highly appreciated by many people.

The glamour and style of New York have found their way in Las Vegas too, and its true tumultuous life can also be felt in the Nevada desert, in the no less famous Vegas.

One of the most famous casinos in Las Vegas, New York New York, brings a glimpse of the charm from the Big City in the paradise of gambling. A statue of liberty half the size of the original, a richness of sky-scrapers and many other attractions of the famous Big Apple are reproduced here, in order to be admired by the players of dice, roulette, blackjack or poker.

FROM NEW YORK TO VEGAS

A brotherhood between the magic in Sin City and the agitation of true New York, the New York New York Casino, a property of MGM Mirage, covers a surface of nearly 8,000 square meters, without counting the sport betting center.

The vibrating life of New York is recreated in the casino in Vegas, the theme of which reminds of Central Park. The more than 80 playing tables offer the newest and most attractive games in the world, including all versions of poker.

Among the games that fans can choose from there are also Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Mini Baccarat, Pai Gow Poker, Caribbean Stud, Let It Ride, Big Six, Casino War or Keno. In addition, the casino offers more than 2,000 slot machines, some of the most famous around the world – Wheel of Fortune, Monopoly, Megabucks, Jeopardy, Slotopoly, Blazing 7′s Dollars, Empire Slots, Elvis or Moneytime.

The sport and race betting center is equipped with 45 TV screens and 12 huge displays, currently having 40 seats available. It is open to fans of all sports including football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, tennis, hockey, car racing, golf or boxing, and it includes special offers for special events and also the possibility to bet in the Super Bowl, World Series, the NBA Championship, Stanley Cup.

THE SYMBOL COLLECTION

Situated just above the northwestern side of Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue, New York New York Hotel&Casino is one of the most renowned places in Vegas.

The exterior façade of the property reminds of the Manhattan horizon, with the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, the Statue of Liberty or Brooklyn Bridge as main attraction points.

Attached to the entire structure there is a roller coaster, completely functional, initially called the Manhattan Express. The roller coaster small trains, running around the entire façade of the hotel, especially around the casino, are the perfect image of the New York style cabs. In front of the property there is a pool representing the New York Harbor, as well as a replica of the Whitney American Art Museum, Ellis Island or the Grand Central Terminal and other buildings, famous around the world. And because pursuing the attack on September 11th people started sending to those from New York New York various tributes for the employees of the police, fire and ambulance departments around the country, eventually the owners decided to set up a permanent memorial for the 9/11 victims.

New York New York opened its doors on January 3rd 1997 and the project – announced as early as 1994 – was a joint venture between MGM Grand Inc. and Primadonna Resorts. New York New York is tied by a platform to the sister property of MGM Grand (to the east) and to the Excalibur (to the south).

The experience gathered over 20 years of business in the casino industry has helped Sorin Constantinescu make Regent Casino one of the biggest and most elegant casinos in Romania.

IT’S BEEN MORE THAN SIX MONTH SINCE THE REOPENING OF REGENT CASINO – ONE OF THE BIGGEST CASINOS IN BUCHAREST AND IN THE COUNTRY. HOW DID THE PUBLIC SEE THIS EVENT?

I tried to make a different kind of casino as compared to what the market currently has to offer.

The competition is fierce so you need to be different, to come up with something new. So I managed to open Regent Casino which features many original elements, starting from the design to the games, to facilities and services, everything is unique and new. As such, I fitted out a gaming saloon for VIP customers with direct access from the street and I was amused of the fact that, following our example, older casinos copied this idea and made their own separate entrances – they even built exterior elevators if they had VIP saloon on upper floors, in order to ensure direct entrance from the street.

All in all, I am happy that the appearance of a new competitor makes them concerned, which is a positive thing. It’s not a minor thing to be copied by casinos which have been on the market for 1-12 years, given the condi- tions that we had only been opened for a few days.

OTHER ORIGINAL ELEMENTS?

The performance stage built on top of the bar – which s unique in Bucharest and which allows us to offer live music to our clients each evening. And then, the atmosphere is very civilized. After 20 years of business I reached a level at which I am no longer willing to act as a prostitute, to let everyone in, people who spit, curse and offend my employees.

Many casinos make compromises and accept this kind of deviated behavior. There have been cases when people pulled knives in casinos. I care very much for my people together with whom I have worked for years, we respect one another and I will not stand anyone offending them. As a consequence, the atmosphere is extremely civilized; clients come here to have a good time, to listen to music, to play, to go to the bar or to the restaurant. It’s different from what the other are doing and we like to keep up to that standard. If we lose big customers because I don’t let them manifest like that, it can’t be helped! I assume that risk and I will continue on this direction of a civilized atmosphere and common sense.

A NEW STYLE OF ENTERTAINMENT…

Exactly. And by doing that we are attracting lots of delicate and decent people who wish not to be disturbed by the inappropriate attitude of other clients. I feel good when in go there in the evening and see everyone smiling and having a good time, in the proper sense of the word. I care very much for the intimacy of my clients.

SINCE YOU PRESENTED US THE VIP SALOON, TELL US ABOUT THE GAMES WE CAN FIND THERE!

You can find everything you want. In fact, this saloon is a casino within a casino. One can find there everything that is to be found in the main saloon – from the bar, buffet, cash desk, reception. In terms of games, one can find here Roulette, Blackjack and all sorts of poker.

BESIDE THE VIP SALOON, REGENT CASINO HAS A BAR, A RESTAURANT AND THE BIG PLAYING ROOM. WHAT CAN WE FIND HERE?

The latest trend in terms of games is the Ultimate Texas Poker, very well received by clients. We bought the license from the company which holds exclusive rights for this game and everything is going great. For the rest of it, we have classical games that you can find in any casino – Stud Poker, Roulette, Blackjack, Texas Hold’em, etc.

WHAT IS ULTIMATE TEXAS POKER?

It’s the classic Texas Hold’em but played with the dealer.

ARE YOU ORGANIZING ULTIMATE TEXAS TOURS?

The only tours we are organizing are those of Texas Hold’em Poker. Now, according to the new legislation, you can have as many Hold’em Poker tables as you want, the limit of 10 percent represented by poker tables out of the total number of the games no longer applies. If you have success with the tours, you can install as many tables as you want.

CAN WE HOPE TO HAVE POWERFUL POKER TOURS ANYTIME SOON?

Some attempts are being made but the issue in our country is that we have a very restrictive situation and, when you cash a participation fee from a player, it’s considered as gamble and you need a license and therefore you need to organize it inside a casino. This is the reason for which we haven’t had any major tours. And if you organize a tour for a certain number of tables, you need to have a license for them valid for five years and the frequency with which you organize such tours is very low. From a financial standpoint, you don’t get any return on such an investment and, as such, a compromise solution has to be found.

DOES THE PROMOTION WITH THE EUR 100,000 AWARD CLASSIFY FOR THIS CATEGORY?

Yes. I’m tired of these classic raffles in which all clients put their tickets in an urn and then a semidressed lady comes and extracts a ticket and one of the clients wins a car or a certain amount of money. Well, I wanted to do something more interactive, something like a show-raffle. That’s why we have come up with this totally original concept. People have the chance to win the ?100,000 award ay any given moment and so the psychological impact is quite high. I noticed that around midnight, when the extraction takes place, everybody forgets about playing and becomes very interested, participating by applauding and encouraging.

HOW ARE YOU GETTING ALONG WITH THE CRISIS? DO YOU THINK THE YEAR 2010 WILL MAKE FOR A FRESH START FROM THIS POINT OF VIEW?

The crisis, just like in the case of all the other sectors, is also affecting casinos. You can really feel its effects and you can see that people are much more reserved.

The number of clients has also dropped. If, before the crisis, the average in a Bucharest casino was in excess of 300 entries a day, now the average is somewhere around 200. Just as interesting is the fact that the client structure has changed. If until now we had 60% of Romanian clients and 40% foreign, now the situation is completely reversed. Perhaps the crisis is over in other countries. Casino tourism is also down in this period. It is no longer organized because there are no requests. We no longer get clients from Israel, nor from Greece. It’s rare when we have organized groups.

HOW DO YOU SEE THE FUTURE OF THIS INDUSTRY, BOTH AS A CASINO OWNER AND FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE ASSOCIATION OF CASINO ORGANIZERS?

On short term, it’s difficult to make a prediction because of this general chaos that we have in our country – in economy, politics, social life. The new legislation is also difficult and twisted.

On the long term, I hope it will be fine as casino gaming has a long tradition; basically, people have been playing in casinos since the 1500s. Still, there is trouble everywhere. For instance, Bellagio is being put on sale. The MGM group made a mistake when they built such a large complex in the vicinity. When crisis struck they realized that once the new resort would be finished, Bellagio would loose a great deal so they put it on sale. Who would have thought?!

But you can’t cut down expenses too much because it reflects in the service provision sector – food quality, personnel -, so we keep on going on the same coordinates.

When the general situation is restored, those who are left will have a better life. Unfortunately, a war is bound to make victims too.

Draw poker is, usually, the first poker game most players learn, otherwise being very common among house games.

Although it has lately become scarcer in casinos and tours, Draw Poker, with its versions, is still a living classic. Five Card Draw is its most common version.

The game of gold-seekers

Although Texas Hold’em is the great winner over the five-card Draw Poker, the former has not always been the most popular game. Until the beginning of the 20th century, the Draw game held the supremacy among poker games, which had been the case for hundreds of years. Although its origins lie somewhere in Asia and Europe, it was only when it made its way across the Atlantic and “landed” in the USA that the true history of this game began. It was back then the favorite game of gold-seekers, a perfect way to relax for miners at the end of a hard day’s work. In time, the game became a symbol of masculinity and toughness and even villains started taking pride in their poker abilities.

At the beginning of draw poker, there was only one betting round. Five cards were distributed and each player had to place his bet, the game only being played with 20 cards, from 10 to Ace. The winner combinations were pairs, two pairs, three of a kind, full and four of a kind. The best hands were four Aces or four Kings with Ace. The game with the entire deck of cards appeared in the 1820s and Draw Poker was then given a fresh start both in terms of popularity and game options. It was also when the card changing was introduced and when two more winner hands were included – flush and straight flush. The game was also highly popular on the river boats sailing on Mississippi and which gradually became genuine floating poker parlors.

Game rules

The modern Draw game can be played by two to eight players initially given a complete hand – five cards. The purpose of the game is to form the best hand combined from five cards, after a single card exchanging round. Before distributing the cards, the first two players on the dealer’s left place two blinds – a small blind and a big blind – which will be included in the value of the bet. Each player then receives a full hand, made up of five cards distributed face down. Now the first betting round is held, after which players may or may not choose to change their cards (one may change between 0 and 5 cards). After changing the cards a new betting round is held and in the end – if more than one player remain in the game – cards are shown, a moment which is called showdown. The prize goes to the player with the biggest hand made up of five cards. If there are two or more hands with the same value, the prize is split.

Other rules

Beside the general rules of Draw Poker, there are also various other rules applicable to this game, depending on the place where it is played. Among these, the most notorious “rule of the house” can be considered replacing three cards and not all the cards initially given. This rule is mostly applicable in low-stake games and it is not a mandatory rule in casinos or in high-stake games. Another rule, however, which is used in many casinos, is that a player is not allowed to draw five consecutive cards upon dismissal, out of the remaining deck. Thus, a player wishing to replace all the initial five cards will only receive four in turn and will only receive the fifth after the cards of the other players are changed as well.

Another rule states that the last card in the deck is never used to change cards in order to prevent a person who may have seen the card while mixing to use that information. If the deck ends at changing cards before all players have received their new cards, the player with no cards will receive random cards from those dismissed by the others.

Beside five-card Draw, other known versions of this game are Gardena Jackpots, Badugi, Baduci or California, Johnson, etc.

For many of the great tennis players, the biggest challenge after ending their career was to find a new lead, outside the tennis field.

For many of them, life after tennis meant… tennis, whether we mean senior tours, tennis academies or sports comments on TV. But for Boris Becker, the second stage of his life is marked by poker.

The former glory of world tennis, the German Boris Becker is once more famous, this time for his new hobby – playing poker. Moreover, Becker decided to take this hobby seriously and after a year of poker as entertainment, the former tennis player decided to switch to professionals.

Becker signed a sponsorship program with PokerStars at the end of year 2007, officially becoming an Ambassador PokerStars. On the occasion, the famous portal organized for him a live poker tour, entitled “Boris is Back”, in which some of the world’s best poker players participated.

Recently, Boris Becker has also become the image of a new PokerStars advertisement campaign, thanks to his celebrity and charisma.

POKER, FOR RAINY DAYS

Becker declared in an interview for the German publication Die Welt that he learned to play poker within a ATP tour and that he practiced mostly during the rainy days at Wimbledon. Furthermore, he adds that he often played poker on tennis tour to help him focus better. He says that in poker he is mostly interested in the mental component and that he would now like to know how his former adversaries on the tennis course would handle the pressure of this game and the necessity to keep a clear head.

Becker started to play tennis seriously when a sponsor paid him to be part in a tour. “First time, next to world’s best 1,000 players, I reached the final table.

It’s probably luck, although it may seem impossible. It was an incredible rush of adrenalin”. Then he adds proudly: “I got to ESPN Sports News thanks to poker, not tennis”. Asked if the two sports that made him fa mous had anything in common, Becker says it was all about “discipline, as well as concentration”.

“Not the first cards are the winner, but the last. You study your opponent’s body language; you have to read it, when he’s playing, when he’s bluffing… “.

Now, Boris Becker, once famous for the tennis tours around the world, is part of poker tour involving serious amounts, in Vegas and Monte Carlo. “A poker tour is much like a tennis tour: you travel from city to city. Very competitive.

It reminds me of the period when I was 20 years old” says the former German sportsman.

Aged almost 42, Becker confesses he had tried hard to find another way after withdrawing from tennis. “Eight years later, I think I pulled it off.

I have poker and business, which are going well. The challenge was for me to be known not for the triumph at Wimbledon 25 years ago, but for something I did this or last year” concludes Becker.