ECA announces the winner of the 2022 European Dealers Championship: Christoph Boo from Casino Zurich

In a press release, the ECA reported that Christoph Boo of Casino Zurich, Switzerland demonstrated his skill across all disciplines, beating Daniel Rhodes (Hippodrome London) and Zoltan Horvath (Casino Györ), second and third place respectively, to win an exciting final and be named as the winner of the European Dealers Championship 2022

The 14th edition of the ECA’s European Dealer Championship took place on the biggest stage and grandest theater in European gaming, the fabulous Casino de Monte-Carlo in Monaco. Société des Bains de Mer welcomed a record number of participants, jury members and a crowd of hundreds of spectators who witnessed Europe's finest dealers in action.

Reflecting on his performance, Christoph Boo stated: “This is amazing. I never expected to win when I came to this amazing place, with all these fantastic dealers. I am so proud to have won this competition and to be crowned European Dealer Champion 2022.”

In addition to the main prize, in which participants had to prove their talents in the traditional and most popular casino games of American Roulette and Blackjack, a variety of side competitions focused upon special disciplines to find croupiers that have mastered chipping, card handling, cutting chips, pushing stacks and mathematics.

The following winners showed their skills in these specialty events:

• Best Card Handler: Christopher Conceicao, Monte-Carlo Casino.
• Best Cutting Chips: Noemie Serra, Monte-Carlo Casino.
• Best Pushing Stacks: Paul Gaitan, Casino Cosmopol.
• Best Mathematician: Marzen Zdanowske, Casinos Poland.
• Best Chipper: Paul Gaitan, Casino Cosmopol.

Each of the side event prizes was sponsored by London Gaming for €400. The third-place prize of €750 was sponsored by CTC Holdings. The second-place prize of €1,500 was sponsored by ICSE and the main prize of €3,000 for the champion was sponsored and presented by Light and Wonder. A special surprise was also awarded to the champion at the Winner's Party on the final day, of a cruise provided by Carnival Corporation.

Since its inaugural event in 2007, the European Dealer Championship has visited 13 countries and welcomed over 400 contestants and 2,000 spectators from across Europe and beyond. The much-anticipated Monte-Carlo event was an extra special occasion as the industry gathered with friends and colleagues after so long apart in an extraordinary location.

At the end of the event, Pascal Camia, Executive Vice President of Gaming Activities, Monte-Carlo Société des Bains, stated: “The competition was intense, thrilling and most importantly, fun. It was a great achievement for Casino de Monte-Carlo to have two finalists in this year's competition in Noemie Serra and Christopher Conceicao. All the participants created an atmosphere of competitive rivalry, sharing their skill and know-how with their peers in a fabulous final that found a worthy champion in Christoph Boo”.

It has been a pleasure to witness the skill and determination of all the dealers taking part in Monaco this year. The participants acquired themselves with the same great composure and professionalism that they show every day in their home country casinos. Congratulations to the winners and my thanks to all the competitors for making this event such an incredible and memorable tournament, and to our host, Casino de Monte-Carlo, for providing the most remarkable location for the championship,” stated Jaana Ruokamo, EDC 2022 Tournament Director and Chain Operations Manager, Veikkaus Oy.

“I would like to thank our hosts, Monte-Carlo Société des Bains dear Mer for providing the perfect picture backdrop to this year’s event,” said ECA President Per Jaldung.

In addition, he valued the role of croupiers for the in-person gaming industry and said: “. We are an industry built on the talent of our dealers, who are the first point of contact with our customers. Our dealers are the essential ingredient in our live gaming environments.”

The ECA is grateful to the sponsors of the EDC 2022: Abbiati Casino Equipment, Casino Helsinki & Tampere, Clarion Events, Casino Locking Systems, CTC Holdings, Dallmeier, Galaxy Gaming, Hippodrome Casino, Holland Casino, ICSE, Light & Wonder, Matsui Europe, Smart Rota and Tangam Systems.

The European Dealer Championship will return in 2023 in Cyprus hosted by City of Dreams Mediterranean.