60 Years of Gauselmann: 2,600 Guests at a Huge Anniversary

60 years of Gauselmann: 2,600 guests at a huge anniversary party

By Vanessa Beyer Published on: September 11th, 2017 Updated on: May 13th, 2021

The rise of the Gauselmann company began in 1957 with 17 jukeboxes. An empire of 30 subsidiaries with around 11,000 employees was created. Founder Paul Gauselmann celebrated this success with an anniversary party lasting several days. Guests were treated to entertainment from stars such as David Garrett and the band PUR.

At the 50th anniversary celebration, Gauselmann and organizer Nils Vormann had already decided to hold the next milestone anniversary at the headquarters in Espelkamp, North Rhine-Westphalia. In 2015 they began planning a three-day festival including a company tour for the interested public. More than 2,500 guests accepted the invitation and visited the specially constructed tent city. The required area was already leased a year ago. The goal is to show guests “where we come from and where we grew up.”

View of the party tents from the specially erected Ferris wheel. ( Image source )

In addition to an exhibition center where the group's subsidiaries presented themselves, there were also a number of gaming stations and a restaurant decorated in the style of the 1950s. Anyone who wanted to get an overview could line up in front of the Ferris wheel.

The event was hosted by the Tagesschau's chief spokesman, Jan Hofer. Musical entertainment was also provided: The “Hermes House Band” was present and the cuddly rockers from PUR also did the honors. Star violinist David Garrett in particular made the most of the event - he came with a 40-piece orchestra and presented excerpts from the new program.

In addition to looking back on the history of his company, Paul Gauselmann himself used the stage for a real surprise. Lukas Podolski was presented as the new marketing ambassador. The former Bundesliga professional was connected live from his new place of work in Japan and confirmedigte that he would be active as an advertising medium for Gauselmann from 2018. Big names from politics and business were also present. The fashion entrepreneurs Gerhard and Ralf Weber as well as Hermann Gärtner from PORTA Möbel were among the guests. The former state economics minister of North Rhine-Westphalia Garrelt Duin gave a keynote speech.

A remarkable rise

Paul Gauselmann next to his first “Merkur B” machine.

The Gauselmann group is primarily known for its moneySpielautomaten and the Merkur gaming arcades it operates. However, the company, with annual sales of around 1.5 billion euros, started small. The trained telecommunications technician Paul Gauselmann began his path to becoming a “game maker” in 1957 as a part-time slot machine operator. The first in-house productions were music boxes. The production of gaming machines began much later - in 1977, the first slot machine, the “Merkur B”, came onto the market. The company boss still remembers the success of the machine today: “It immediately achieved a gaming volume that was twice as high as the competitors’ machines.”

The young entrepreneur had already founded his first Merkur arcade in Delmenhorst three years earlier, which laid the foundation for enormous expansion - today Gauselmann operates more than 400 arcades across Europe and has produced more than two million gaming machines. With around 6,000 employees, the headquarters in Espelkamp remains the company's largest branch, which is owned by a family foundation. The founder's children and grandchildren are involved in management positions. The unique track record of the entrepreneur, who is one of the largest employers in North Rhine-Westphalia, also led to political recognition. In 2003, Paul Gauselmann received the Federal Cross of Merit, First Class, from then Federal President Johannes Rau.

However, the gambling empire is also regularly exposed to allegations. Years of party donations were the subject of investigations and there were also indications of manipulation in the UMGAng with the competition. Above all, the game principle of modern slot machines is fundamentally criticized.

Paul Gauselmann received the starting capital to found the company through a loan of 100,000 DM. It was the only moment when he “put everything on one card, and then never again.” And yet the company's empire thrives largely on its willingness to take risks. Especially that of their customers. And while the old “Merkur B” was a rather leisurely device with three mechanically operated reels, a game round on the current fully electronic devices only takes 2.5 seconds. Critics see this as having increased addictive potential because there is hardly any time left to think. It is possible to gamble away significant sums of money within a very short space of time.

However, the company founder does not see himself as responsible for the behavior of a few. According to our own research, the proportion of problem gamblers is less than 1% and we cannot punish those who gamble for entertainment in order to protect these people. The now 83-year-old once said on a talk show that if the proportion of addicts increased, he would close his business immediately. This is unlikely to happen in the near future; 600 employees in the development department alone are currently working on new devices.

60 years of Gauselmann: 2,600 guests at a huge anniversary party

60 years of Gauselmann: 2,600 guests at a huge anniversary party

A remarkable rise

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