Casino Zurich: Briton Henri Cammiade gambled away 1.5 million

• Nathalie Taiana

  1/13

  Henri Cammiade (31) gambled away 1.5 million francs in Casino Zurich.

• f6s.com

  2/13

  Now the Brit is demanding a million back.

• Keystone

  3/13

  The Brit played mostly blackjack …

• Serge Baumeler

  13/13

  He does not buy anything from the money won. No luxury cars, no watches. He prefers to invest.

If you bet 100 francs on red at the roulette table, you will feel a slight tingling sensation. Henri Cammiade (31) puts 10,000 francs on black – and feels nothing. “When I play, I’m emotionless,” he says.

Cammiade is a professional, a so-called high roller. He gambled away or won tens of thousands of francs in a few minutes. “I’m not nervous, I show no joy, I show no anger,” he says VIEW.

Now he’s still angry. It’s about 1.5 million francs. Cammiade lost it in one night at Casino Zurich, as reported by the “NZZ am Sonntag”. And he accuses the casino of not stopping him – player protection is their duty. It is even in the law! He claims 1 million back. The casino contradicts: Cammiade played with previously won money and even made a profit of 200,000 francs.

BLICK meets Cammiade in Zurich in Seefeld, it’s a cold Monday, the English are upset. He was called a bad loser in the comment columns of the media, of all people – “Bullshit!” And he was a “rich kid” from London, a spoiled youth. He hisses: “I’m a self-made man!” Everything worked out by myself.

Cammiade is a man who thinks analytically, he likes numbers, and he quickly breaks down complex relationships. His language is precise, he never fills pauses with “Er”. The Schlaks earned his money in London, he invested, developed apps, at some point there were millions in his account.

High rollers are popular guests. They win high – fall just as low. They must disclose their financial circumstances before they can go beyond the limits of the ordinary guests. Then the doors are open to them. Cammiade says that in Liechtenstein he sleeps in a five-star hotel at the expense of the casino, in Zurich he has already been paid for dinner or limousines – even a flight to South Korea. A spokesman denies the flight, but speaks of amenities for regular guests.

Cammiade pays back by always coming back. He played over 30 times in Zurich in 2019. He announces his visit, is received in person, sits down at his private table, receives chips from his personal token account (“I had up to 4 million on it”).

But the fragile relationship between guest and casino has its limits: If the guest wins more than 500,000 francs in one evening, they have to stop. Immediately. Cammiade experienced it himself. “They’re watching you, calculating what you could win with your next bet. Then suddenly it is said that the game is over. “

And how do you gamble away 1.5 million francs in one night? Cammiade begins with a banal sentence: “Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.” A golden rule hides behind the banality: never chase after your losses. It is the moment when fathers of families use up their savings, plunder the reserves for the children – just one more game, one single win, a saving straw, then things will look up again. This panic reaction rarely goes well.

A professional knows that. Cammiade can lose. He doesn’t panic, he plays by his own rules. He wants to defeat the casino, it is a challenge for him: “If I sit down at the table, there will be war.”

Of course, even a professional has quirks. In roulette he never bets on the black 6. He hates the number. Too many bad experiences. He bets thousands of francs on the black 29, some columns, other playing fields – up to 100,000 francs are on the table.

For others it’s an annual wage, for him it’s just a bet.

Cammiade has been playing for twelve years, which is how he now earns a living. He’s not addicted to gambling, he says. He likes the ambience, the carpets, the click of the chips, the muffled voices. He does not buy anything from the money won. No luxury cars, no watches.
He prefers to invest.

“People now claim that I can’t lose. In January I lost 900,000 francs and didn’t talk about it. ” At that time he got into a frenzy, through gambling, but also through alcohol. He bet and bet, was no longer in control of his senses, got new money – and lost. “I don’t blame the casino,” he says. “You warned me, but I wanted to keep playing.”

After that he was disciplined, stayed sober, only water at the table, followed his rules. Until that fatal Tuesday in August. Cammiade sits down at the roulette table. And everything goes wrong. “That evening I was loud, cursed, was beside myself.” He, the otherwise emotionless, is out of control. When he has already lost hundreds of thousands, he bets 100,000 francs eight times in a row – and loses.

And why should the casino stop him? The lawyers are now arguing about this. According to Cammiade, he told those responsible that his personal limit was CHF 500,000. One should prevent him from continuing to play. The casino doesn’t want to hear about it. They would have intervened if he had gambled for his existence. But Cammiade played with money already won from his token account, filled to the brim with 1.7 million. A spokesman: “His existence was never endangered.” At the end of the day he was still in the black with 200,000 francs.

The Brit swears that he said: “Please don’t bring me any more chips!” He demands that the audio recordings be released at the table. These recordings are there, confirms the casino to BLICK, but they could not be published for data protection reasons. Cammiade: “I was alone, there is nobody to protect.”

Cammiade has now been blocked by Swiss Casinos. Why? He has enough money. A spokesman says he wanted the lock himself. The Briton also contradicts this, demanding reasons for his suspension. The parties have been arguing for a year. The exit is open.

Mr. Cammiade, do you still enjoy playing? He thinks about it for a moment, smiles. “Well, it’s my job now. One that I like. “