Casinos. “We will lose a third of our revenue”

Three questions to…

Olivier Tessier, director of the casino Luc-sur-Mer (Tranchant group), near Caen.

How did you organize the reopening of the casino?

Only electronic table games and slot machines are allowed. Table games are banned at this time. In order to ensure compliance with sanitary and distancing rules, teams of two people took turns to move all the machines in order to respect a distance of one meter. When this was not possible, we installed plexiglass partitions to avoid contact between people. But with these health obligations, only 120 of the 147 electronic games will be in service. Customers and employees must wear masks. And the games will be disinfected after each client.

What do you expect on June 2?

I hope customers will come back. Before confinement, we had an attendance of 16,000 people per month. For most regulars. And the casino employs 58 full-time people on permanent contracts. We will have to wait to see the attendance in July and August. If at the end of the summer, there is only 50% of the attendance, it will be necessary to ask questions.

Have you estimated the financial losses?

After reopening, we will lose about a third of the revenue. The volume of games is 11 million euros per year. But 55% is donated to the state. So our annual turnover is 5.5 million euros and 6 million with the restaurant. But by the time we get everything in order, the restaurant won’t open until Thursday or Friday. And we will have to remove 40% of the 30 tables we had.

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