Tumas Group to open second casino

The Casino at Portomaso, incorporating the Casino Brasserie at Portomaso, sees its grand gala opening night this week.

This is the second casino to be opened in Malta by Tomino Ltd, a Tumas Group subsidiary, after the Oracle Casino in Qawra, and represents a Lm2 million investment.

Wednesday's opening includes entertainment by jugglers, dancers, singers and magicians, with lights and lasers guiding guests to the venue, situated beneath the 23-storey Portomaso Business Tower.

The work of architects Demicoli Associates, the Casino at Portomaso occupies an area of 1,100 m2 and employs over 130 full-time staff and 15 part-timers.

The top level management team at the casino is headed by casino director Laurie Galea and casino manager Georges Naticchi. Mr Galea, a 30-year veteran of the industry, worked his way up from croupier to area director for Rank.

He joined London Clubs International as club director for the Golden Nugget in Piccadilly and the Palm Beach in Mayfair, before moving to Lebanon as vice-president for gaming at the Casino du Liban in Beirut. He joined the Tumas Group in 2001 as director of the Oracle Casino.

Mr Naticchi is also a veteran of casinos. He worked with Mr Galea in London clubs and casinos on many occasions. He was casino manager at the Casino du Liban for four years, executive director of foreign marketing in South Africa and director of Grand Casinos' operations in Tunisia.

Mr Naticchi has also been with the Tumas Group for five years and the two have again teamed up to open the Casino at Portomaso.

The Casino Brasserie will be managed by Salvatore Sammut, who prides himself on having worked in some of the most prestigious restaurants in Tuscany such as Relais Chateau La Suvera, Ristorante Guido and Osteria La Loggia.

Chef Oliver Grech, who was previously employed by the five-star Hilton and Corinthia hotels in Malta and the Dorchester in London, will be preparing a variety of exquisite flavours from the Mediterranean. Special attention will be given to the use of the freshest ingredients.

An exclusive line-up of the best Maltese singers and dancers will perform daily and on the weekend a special continental buffet breakfast will be served on Saturdays and Sunday from 2 a.m.

Thanks to its proximity to the Portomaso Conference Centre and the Hilton, the casino is expected to prove another attraction for Hilton customers. A spokesman for casino told The Sunday Times that the new venue is not expected to cannibalise business but to expand it.

"We are expecting Hilton customers who are casino players to choose Malta for their gambling time. Also, casino players who normally visit Malta for their gambling weekends now have another place to choose," the spokesman said.

Service training was conducted in house at the Oracle Casino and Brian Speight of Europa Management Training, an expert in service training, was brought over to polish up on what had been taught.

The company has also been running a Full Time Continuous Croupiers Training School, in a scheme with the ETC, started last October, which is planned to run for at least another 12 months.