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Century Casinos
Century Casinos was founded in 1992 in Colorado Springs by Austrian gaming executives Erwin Haitzmann and Peter Hoetzinger.
Century Casinos
Century Casinos was founded in 1992 in Colorado Springs by Austrian gaming executives Erwin Haitzmann and Peter Hoetzinger. The company started with a small casino in Cripple Creek, Colorado, then expanded through a distinctive cross-border strategy: acquiring and operating casinos in secondary and tertiary markets across North America and Europe. The founders' Central European roots shaped the firm's operating playbook, which layers Austrian management discipline onto undervalued casino properties in markets like Missouri, West Virginia, and Alberta. The corporate strategy centers on buying regional casinos at low multiples, renovating the physical plant, and improving operations before harvesting cash flows. The portfolio spans 17 casinos in the United States, Canada, and Poland as of May 2024. Notable properties include the Mountaineer Casino in West Virginia, the Century Casino & Hotel in Edmonton, Canada, and a cluster of casinos in the Polish cities of Warsaw, Krakow, and Wroclaw. The company operates slot machines, table games, and sports betting where legally permitted, with an increasing emphasis on local-market gaming rather than destination-resort plays. The firm completed a transformative acquisition in December 2019, purchasing three casinos from Eldorado Resorts for approximately $107 million, which effectively doubled its US footprint. In September 2023, Century Casinos finalized a deal to acquire the Rocky Gap Casino Resort in Maryland, further extending its US mid-Atlantic presence. The co-CEO structure — with Haitzmann overseeing European operations and Hoetzinger leading North American — remains operational, though the company has publicly discussed succession planning as both founders approach retirement age. The company's structural differentiator is its listed public-equity format combined with a family-run governance model. Unlike most casino operators, Century Casinos trades on Nasdaq under ticker CNTY, giving it permanent access to public capital markets. Yet the dual-CEO structure and European holding-company framework create a governance hybrid that allows for both quarterly accountability to public shareholders and multi-year acquisition theses that private family offices would typically pursue.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
1992
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Colorado Springs
Corporate office
Colorado Springs, CO, United States
Additional offices
Vienna, Austria · Warsaw, Poland · Calgary, Canada
Principals
Erwin Haitzmann
Co-Chief Executive Officer
Peter Hoetzinger
Co-Chief Executive Officer & Vice Chairman
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who makes investment decisions at Century Casinos?
Co-CEOs Erwin Haitzmann and Peter Hoetzinger jointly oversee capital allocation and acquisition strategy. Haitzmann focuses on European operations while Hoetzinger leads North American expansion, a structure in place since the company's founding in 1992. Major acquisitions require board approval, but the co-CEOs identify and negotiate all targets.
What is Century Casinos' acquisition strategy?
The firm targets underperforming regional casinos in secondary markets, typically buying at 5-7x EBITDA and improving margins through operational upgrades. The 2019 purchase of three casinos from Eldorado Resorts for $107 million exemplifies the approach — acquiring divested assets from larger consolidators at discount pricing. The strategy relies on the co-CEOs' ability to source off-market or lightly marketed deals through long-standing industry relationships in both North America and Europe.
How is Century Casinos' European operating model different from its US operations?
The Polish casinos operate under a concession-based regulatory model with limited licenses, creating a durable moat in markets like Warsaw where Century Casinos holds one of a small number of permits. These properties generate higher operating margins than comparable US assets. The European division is managed from the firm's Vienna office, which provides centralized financial controls and compliance oversight across the Central European footprint.
Does Century Casinos own its real estate or does it lease?
The ownership structure varies by property. Century Casinos owns the real estate at several properties including the Mountaineer Casino in West Virginia, but leases other locations. In 2023, the company entered into a sale-leaseback arrangement for certain real estate assets to generate liquidity for the Rocky Gap acquisition, a capital-allocation pattern the co-CEOs have used repeatedly to fund expansion without diluting equity holders.
What regulatory risks does Century Casinos face across its operating jurisdictions?
Each jurisdiction imposes separate licensing and compliance requirements. The company operates under the oversight of the Colorado Division of Gaming, the West Virginia Lottery Commission, the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission, and Poland's Ministry of Finance. Expansion into new US states, such as the 2023 Maryland entry, requires fresh licensing approvals that can take 12-18 months — a regulatory timeline that acts as both a barrier to entry and a constraint on the company's pace of acquisitions.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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