New management team to run Vittoriosa casino

A new management team is to run the Casinò di Venezia, which lost Lm1.2 million in five months.

Casino managing director Armando Favaretto said the members of the new team were expected to arrive on Saturday.

Ten managers were sacked on Monday but the company planned no further discharges in the foreseeable future, he said.

The casino employed just over 100 people and its turnover amounted to about Lm250,000 per month, with a management team of 11 people.

The two casinos owned by Venice council in Venice employed 600 people, have a turnover of Lm6 million a month and are run by just four managers.

"The board of Vittoriosa Gaming Ltd felt the need to restructure operations at the Maltese casino," said Prof. Favaretto. Venice mayor Paolo Costa has described the management at the Maltese casino as `disastrous`.

"As a result, reports were commissioned and after considering the situation for a month, the board of Vittoriosa Gaming Ltd took the necessary decisions.

"We now need to relaunch the company and contain costs. We aim to break even by December. We have several ideas about how to increase the number of casino users and we intend to keep monitoring the situation so that there will not be any unpleasant surprises," he said.

Prof. Favaretto said he had spoken to employees and reassured them that the "job termination phase was over" and that the company looked forward to consolidating its position.

"There is a certain professional level in our staff which we need and appreciate," Prof. Favaretto said.

Some of those discharged met close to the casino yesterday and discussed the matter with representatives of the General Workers` Union and the Union Haddiema Maghqudin.

They said six of those discharged were foreigners and four were Maltese, all of whom were given a short letter, signed by Prof. Favaretto, saying the company was in financial difficulties and that their employment was being terminated with immediate effect.

They said they were not members of any union and that the management had paid them the termination benefits due.

"All we can say is that the casino management did not use the norm of last in, first out when discharging people," the union representatives said.

They said they were there to lend moral support to the employees and would be following their case.