Alessandro Messina crowned 2023 European Dealer Champion in Grand Casino Brussels
The European Casino Association’s European Dealer Champion 2023 has been crowned at a spectacular finals event staged at the Grand Casino Brussels: VIAGE. Two days of intense competition, starting on June 13, saw 36 participants from 20 different European countries showcase the industry’s finest talent in the ‘art of dealing’ in the Capital of Europe. Proving their skill across all disciplines, Alessandro Mesina from UK’s, Les Ambassadeurs, beat William Gosnold from UK’s Metropolitan Gaming and Katarzyna Bielawska from Sweden’s Casino Cosmopol, into second and third place, to win a thrilling final to rightfully be named this year’s European Dealer Champion.
The 15th edition of the ECA’s European Dealer Championship took place the Grand Casino Brussels VIAGE, the largest entertainment space in Belgium’s capital, situated at the heart of the Capital of Europe. The 2023 event welcomed a record number of participants, jury members and a crowd of hundreds of spectators who witnessed Europe’s finest dealers in action. With the number of participants, countries and spectators growing every year, this year’s event was among the largest Championships ever organised by the ECA and was universally proclaimed as one of the best yet staged.
Reflecting on his performance, the winner Alessandro Mesina stated: “I can’t explain how happy and excited I am after winning this championship. It was my first time participating in both the UK Dealer Championship and the European Dealer Championship, and to win them both is an ecstatic feeling - adrenaline at 1,000 per cent, constant suspense, I slept probably three hours in the last four days, but it was all worth it!”
Winner interview by Light & Wonder
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 Black Jack, a variety of Skill Challenges 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 in Pushing Stacks: William Gosnold, UK, Metropolitan Gaming
Best Chipper: Antonis Spyrou, Cyprus, City of Dreams Mediterranean
Best Cutting Chips: William Gosnold, UK, Metropolitan Gaming
Best Card Handler: Fernando Ivanoff Gomes, Finland, Veikkaus
Best Mathematician: Agata Litwinienko, Poland, Casino Poland
The prizes for this year’s event were sponsored by leading industry suppliers. The second runner-up prize was sponsored by CLS Casino Locking Systems. The runner-up prize was sponsored by TCS John Huxley, and the main prize for the EDC champion 2023 was sponsored by Light & Wonder. This year’s Skill Challenge prizes were sponsored by Matsui Gaming, Cammegh and Marton Gaming.
The ECA Dealer Championship is the longest-running competition of its kind in Europe, with croupiers chosen at the national level to compete in a knock-out tournament that involves technical skill, control of the game, hospitality and nerves of steel. Since its inaugural event in 2007, the European Dealer Championship has visited 14 countries and welcomed almost 500 contestants and 2,500 spectators from across Europe and beyond. This year’s event was originally planned to take place in Cyprus, at the City of Dreams: Mediterranean, but delays in the completion of the project meant that Grand Casino Brussels VIAGE stepped in as a stunning replacement venue. The ECA would like to thank VIAGE CEO Mark Banks and Grand Casino Brussels VIAGE casino management team, Michelle Cummins, Siham Makrache and Danny Kaljee for their time, energy and help staging the competition at such short notice.
The ECA is grateful to the sponsors of the EDC 2023: Abbiati Casino Equipment, AGEM, Aristocrat Gaming, Cammegh, Casino Helsinki & Tampere, Clarion Events, Casino Locking Systems, CTC Holdings, Dallmeier, Galaxy Gaming, Hippodrome Casino, Holland Casino, ICSE, IGT, Le Casino Monte-Carlo, Light & Wonder, Marton Gaming, Matsui Europe, Smart Rota, Tangam Systems, TCS John Huxley, JD Supplies and Grand Casino Brussels VIAGE.
