2008 EUROPEAN DEALER CHAMPIONSHIP A RESOUNDING SUCCESS

For immediate release

Brussels, 8 April 2008 --- From 2-3 April 2008, top dealers and representatives of the European casino industry gathered in Venice, Italy for the finals of the European Casino Association's (ECA) prestigious European Dealer Championship.

In a highly competitive yet friendly two-day exhibition of their skills and craftsmanship at the Blackjack and American Roulette tables, the winners of the national heats in 16 European countries offered a top-class demonstration of the superior levels of dealer professionalism in Europe's casinos. The competition remained captivating right to the end, with Mauro Zaia from Casinò di Venezia in Italy finally emerging the winner in an intense final round and taking home the top prize of a trip to Las Vegas. Runner-up was Bob van der Heul (Holland Casino, the Netherlands), closely followed by Klara Kiss (Casino Cosmopol, Sweden) in third place.

"We are extremely proud of Europe's dealers and what we are achieving with the European Dealer Championship," said ECA Chairman Ron Goudsmit. "The skills and expertise of all the finalists offer a superb reflection of the professionalism in European casinos. We would like to congratulate Mauro Zaia and all the team at Casino di Venezia on their beautiful casino and thank them for their tremendous support and perfect organization of this event."

"We were highly honored that our casino was chosen to host this key event," said Carlo Pagan, CEO of Casinò di Venezia. "Venice is a beautiful city and we were delighted to have this opportunity to show off our dream location to the European gaming world. And, needless to say, we could not have wished for a better result, with our own Mauro Zaia emerging a deserved home winner!"

Launched in 2007, the European Casino Association's annual European Dealer Championship is now a key event in the European gaming calendar. The championship aims to demonstrate the high levels of professionalism among dealers in Europe and celebrate best practices in creating a welcoming, fun, safe and fair environment in European casinos. Participating dealers are judged in a range of categories, including hospitality and communication skills, technical expertise, discretion and control of the game. The venue for the 2009 event will be announced in the near future.

The European Casino Association (ECA) and its members understand and recognize that high quality training is crucial to learning the skills needed to become a good and qualified dealer. The ECA actively promotes training and supports its members in their ongoing efforts to improve professionalism in Europe's casinos. The European Dealer Championship underlines this policy and also provides members with an ideal opportunity to get together, exchange information and expand their networks.

The ECA represents the interests of over 900 casinos and almost 80,000 employees in 22 countries across Europe. Founded in the early 1990s as the European Casino Forum, the ECA has grown steadily over the years and today includes members from the majority of the EU's member states and from Switzerland. In 2006, ECA member casinos welcomed 130 million guests and generated aggregate total annual revenues in excess of 10 billion euro.

For further information, please contact
European Casino Association
Phone +32 2 777 05 06
info@europeancasinoassociation.org

Ron Goudsmit, Chairman, Phone +31 653 130 335
Hermann Pamminger, Press Coordinator, Phone +43 1 534 40 524