Looking to the future
BUILT as a grand romantic folly in the second half of the 19th century, the Dragonara Palace is one of Malta’s most extraordinary and imposing properties.
This impressive palace, built by the Maltese banker and merchant Marquis Emmanuele Scicluna as his summer residence in 1870, has been the seat of the Dragonara Casino since July 15, 1964. So last month it celebrated its 50th anniversary.
Over the years the palace has retained much of its original grandiosity, even though its gardens and grounds have been redeveloped to suit the tourist industry. The palace provides an impressive visual landmark, situated in a strategic location. With more than 1.5 million tourists visiting Malta each year, the Dragonara Casino is a great entertainment venue for both the avid player as well as for leisure players visiting the island of Malta.
We caught up with Johann Schembri, the managing director of Malta’s most famous casino, on the eve of the 50th anniversary.
InterGaming: Your company took over the management of the Dragonara Casino in June 2010. What are your thoughts about these four years at the helm of the casino?
JS: Operating the Dragonara Casino bestows a great sense of pride and responsibility. The casino is situated within one of the most prestigious properties in Malta and contributes in no small measure to Malta’s economy. When we took over the casino we had a very specific plan to execute within the context of preserving the past and investing in the future. Four years ago, when we took over the casino, it was not in good shape. Since then we have invested more than €15m to ensure that the casino regains the prominence that it truly deserves, not only as the leading casino in Malta but as one of the best casinos in the southern Mediterranean.
We are proud that as the first fully-owned Maltese company at the helm of Malta’s foremost casino we managed to turn around the casino in a short span of time. This is reflected across the most important key performance indicators for our casino, including growth in market share by patron value as well as the number of visitations to the casino year on year. Nearly 400,000 patrons entered our casino in 2013 and this year we are experiencing even better results.
Read the full article in the August issue of InterGaming
