The likes colourful works of art. But not only for that reason, the Herman Brood painting hangs in the study of Erwin van Lambaart (Rotterdam, 1963) in Hoofddorp. The five male figures on the canvas with black bow ties and jacquets stare intently at the stream of playing cards flying by. Above their heads in capitals the word CASINO. "We have a very modest collection of modern art. That included this one by Herman Brood," Holland Casino's board chairman explains. "Brood loved coming to us.

Erwin van Lambaart.

This one he painted in our casino in Nijmegen. I don't know if the anecdote is true, but it seems he painted this to pay off his liquor bill. He was quite fond of whisky." Had the rock and roll artist been alive today, I am sure he would have been invited to one of the anniversary parties of Holland Casino, which has been celebrating its 45th anniversary since 1 October.

I understand that you yourself are very much looking forward to the Sylvester Nights, just after Christmas.

"Our Sylvester Nights are famous. We really unpack then: with live entertainment, champagne, snacks, drinks. Visitors can win special prizes, from cars to i-Pads. One of the themes this year is James Bond. That suits us. At Holland Casino you experience that Bond feeling: allure, high-quality hospitality and a bit of excitement, but always safe and responsible. During those evenings, I try to visit many of our fourteen casinos. The atmosphere is fantastic, a real involved team feeling. I come from the hospitality industry, so I'm used to working holidays."

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About the hotel industry: you studied in Scheveningen at the Hogere Hotelschool.

"A wonderful time. After I had spent the first semester at school internally, my father gave me a small car. 'Can you drive up and down to Rotterdam again later,' he said. Didn't think I was a good idea at all after that semester. I quickly looked for a student room in Scheveningen. One of the nicest places I lived in, together with a few yearmates, was the summer residence of Sociëteit De Witte, Paviljoen de Witte. The caretaker's residence, only the caretaker had just left then. And the members wanted the property to be occupied." With a grin: "Occasionally we used the space above us to have a party, but we always cleaned it up nicely."

What kind of student were you?

"A rule-breaker. I was on all kinds of boards, providing staff for party caterers, for example. I myself also worked for Martinair Party Service, among others. To my great regret, I got my degree at 21."

To your regret?

"I would have been quite happy to study for another year," he says.

Your wife also got to know you at The Hague Hotel School.

"That was a few years after I graduated. I was asked as a former student for the selection procedure for new students for the Higher Hotel School. My wife, then a third-year student, was on the same selection committee."

And, love at first sight?

"I believe so." Laughs: "We were so busy with each other that I think we let everyone through that day."

After his studies, Erwin van Lambaart was quickly promoted at French hotel giant Accor. At 26, he became general manager of the Flora Beach Hotel on the Gevers Deynootweg in Scheveningen, now known as Ibis Styles. He then remained loyal to the hotel industry at home and abroad for almost 15 years, until one day, to his own surprise, he was hired at Endemol (later Stage Entertainment).

You just wrote a letter.

"Yes, that's right. I have loved theatre and entertainment all my life. Ideally, I wanted to become an actor too." Raising his hands: "Well, no Pierre Bokma was lost to me, mind you. But I did do student cabaret and in my hotel days I visited many operas and musicals abroad with my wife. Then we said to each other: if this were in the Netherlands, who would get the role? When I saw an advertisement in the newspaper for general manager for Joop van den Ende Theatre Productions, I climbed into the pen."

And did you meet the requirements?

"The only thing I met was age. But I thought: not shot, always wrong."

 They did choose you in the end.

"That I had seen so many international productions, they found intriguing. Besides, I had management experience and was in my mid-thirties. The directors human resources Netherlands and Endemol International said: 'Boy, you really should talk to Joop van den Ende sometime, maybe it will click.' Joop van den Ende and I were supposed to talk for three quarters of an hour, which turned into two and a half hours."

"We clicked right away. I said to him, 'I don't know anything about the trade, but I'd really like to learn it from you.' Later that evening, he called: 'Can you start tomorrow?' That was a bit quick, but before my first working day I was already at the premiere of 'Anatevka' with Henk Poort at Royal Theatre Carré."

Sounds like a dream job. Yet you left Stage Entertainment after 14 years.

"I had a great time and am to this day sincerely grateful for all the opportunities I was given. For seven years I was responsible for the Dutch production company and as a board member I also ran the international branch with some fine colleagues. I liked those combinations, the switching between strategy and implementation. But the last two years I only did international. You fly somewhere, arrive at crucial moments and then quickly leave again.

I often didn't make it to the premiere because I was already busy with the next show. I was almost fifty and was always living in aeroplanes and hotel rooms." Glancing at the framed family photos beside him, "I was hardly ever at home, but had a family with two young children. My eldest 12-year-old son asked one day: 'Dad, do you still like this? You never stand by the football pitch on Saturday morning and my friends' dads do. You promised you would. Why don't you?' My son was quite introverted at the time. When he said that, something happened to me. During a long weekend in New York, we talked about it. 'Is it this then? It didn't feel okay anymore. After that, I made a difficult decision."

Van Lambaart, child of entrepreneurs, left wanting to know if he was capable enough to run his own company as well ('obviously thought it was important'). It became a number of them, including Van Lambaart Entertainment and also Niehe Media, a television production company with Ivo Niehe and Carla Snepvangers. "Those companies grew faster than I had thought," he says. Niehe Media was sold to Amsterdam-based media company MediaLane Holding in 2016. That same year, Van Lambaart was polled by a headhunter: wouldn't you like to work at Holland Casino?

You didn't think: now I'm going to take it easy?

"No, that's not in me at all. People think I'm a workaholic, but workaholics never think that of themselves. As long as you enjoy it and it gives you energy."

How many hours a day are you currently working?

"I start at about nine o'clock and I stop at about nine o'clock. I often still go out for dinner before work. Except on Friday nights, when I catch up with my family. My eldest lives in Amsterdam, my youngest still lives at home, but we often try to keep Friday evenings free for each other."

Holland Casino Scheveningen.

Why did you find Holland Casino an interesting party?

"Holland Casino fits the list of strong archetypal Dutch brands: HEMA, KLM, Heineken. Holland Casino, a state enterprise, literally belongs to all of us. Besides, I had been a commissioner at the State Lottery for years, so I knew the gambling market in the Netherlands. How we have organised it in the Netherlands is really professional and responsible. I wouldn't be able to run a similar company in Las Vegas."

Why not?

"The balance between commercial goals and wanting to take good care of people is sometimes lost there."

How do you prevent someone from going over their limits?

"All Holland Casino employees receive regular training to read signals in people. If someone goes too far, we speak to the person. And if necessary, we take the person away from the game in a charming way. We are really good at that. In essence, you are responsible for your own behaviour, but we have a duty of care and we take it extremely seriously. We have also won many awards internationally for that."

So rather not a player betting €10,000 at blackjack.

"It may sound crazy, but commercially it's not smart, we would much rather offer the guest an enjoyable evening and be able to build a long relationship."

Now, since 1 October, you have ten providers with online gambling. Holland Casino is one of them. There is no croupier there to say to you: boy, it's been enough now.

"No croupier, but algorithms. These closely monitor your behaviour. Suppose someone normally plays for 50 euros a week and a month later the stake is suddenly 5,000 euros, that is deviant behaviour and we take action. We may start a chat with you or a pop-up will appear on the screen saying 'give us a call'. We have people ready to talk to you 24 hours a day. In extreme cases, we temporarily shut down the game."

A live television studio was built in Scheveningen for the online players.

Back to Scheveningen for a moment. I understood that you have built a live TV studio there for the online players.  

"Definitely! The rest of the online casinos all do it from abroad, we, on the contrary, do it with our own talent from our own Scheveningen. In addition, the NXT zone is an innovative casino experience for guests aged 25 and over. It is a concept that we as Holland Casino have developed ourselves. I'm really proud of that. You can bet as little as 50 cents, very low-threshold. Every weekend a DJ plays, there is a huge LED wall, we give good game explanations et cetera. It's already so successful that my colleagues from Monte Carlo, Las Vegas and Paris have come to Scheveningen to check it out."

The NXT Zone is an innovative casino experience for guests aged 25 and above.

You guys are also pretty progressive when it comes to sustainability.

"If we are part of a city, we also invest in that city. That shouldn't be a gimmick, you have to genuinely believe that. Our new branch in Venlo therefore meets the highest sustainability certification. And the Venlo municipality believes that you have to go one step further: not only sustainable, but also 'cradle to cradle' building. Everything you build should be virtually reusable. So we do. And more: the building is turned so that the windows don't get too hot when the sun shines. What doesn't get hot, you don't need to cool.

The new Venlo branch meets the highest sustainability certification.

Of course, we also have solar panels and heat and cold storage. We collect rainwater on the roof and reuse it for the toilets and ponds. In all branches, we collect coffee grounds for mushroom farms. We use these mushrooms in our own kitchens. This is how we try to set the standard for international casinos. We are constantly thinking: what can we do smarter and better for today but also for tomorrow?" He looks outside. "That's why everything here is so bright, we have so many windows. In Las Vegas, you're in a black box. Here, everything is transparent, everyone can see what we are doing. "

Last question: do you play yourself?

"Not in the Netherlands. Holland Casino employees are not allowed to do that. But they do when I'm in Las Vegas or Monte Carlo. Blackjack I like. Beforehand, I know what I want to play. I always set my maximum in advance and then stop. Then you can never be disappointed."

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