Turnaround at Casino
first profits in ten years

Target for 2020: $200 million in revenues

Casino du Liban’s revenues increased 12 percent in the first half of the year, compared to the same period last year, according to Roland Khoury, General Manager.

This increase came after a ten percent year-to-year drop in revenues since 2010. “Within one year the casino was able to make profits after several years of losses,” he said. Revenues reached $165 million last year, of which $2.5 million are net profits.

This growth is due to several measures and procedures that were recently applied. The casino invested in new games that are trending worldwide such as poker and black jack. It also flew in some big gamblers worldwide and gave them free hotel accommodations. The casino also renovated some of the gaming rooms and installed screens that enhanced the gaming experience. The casino also forbade lenders from operating in the casino.

The casino also organized several holiday activities such as a Christmas Village for the children, and hosted several concerts with well-known singers. “We worked on transforming the casino into a destination for youth and families,” said Khoury.

Casino profits will be used to renovate its restaurants, theater, and for installing LED screens at entrances.

Casino du Liban has the exclusivity on gaming and gambling. It signed an agreement with the government in 2007 to increase the taxes from 40 to 50 percent on revenues, under the condition that the government would close all other gaming and amusement centers. But the government didn’t commit to the deal.

Casino du Liban didn’t dismiss any of the employees to reduce the cost. “We only did early retirement (60 years) for the employees working in the parking. It outsourced parking management to a private company, because it was incurring losses.

“Our target is reaching $200 million revenues in 2020,” said Khoury. The casino gets around 200,000 gamblers annually.