Last reviewed 7 November 2026
We would rather have a guest who plays for an evening and goes up to bed than a guest who plays until we close. The room is built around that preference, and the rules below are how we keep to it.
How the room is set up
- 9 tables only, on five evenings a week.
- The room closes at one in the morning, and nobody is admitted after half past midnight.
- No credit is given, and there is no cash machine in the building.
- The bar stops serving half an hour before the tables do.
- A clock hangs in plain view, and the staff tell you the time when you ask.
Age and the document
The room in the former drinking gallery is for adults of 18 and over, as Czech law requires. Every visitor is identified at the door on every entry and checked against the national register of excluded persons. A passport or a national identity card is accepted; a picture of one on a phone is not.
What the staff will do for you, in person
| Ask for | What happens |
|---|---|
| A limit | You name a sum before you sit down. It is written on a card at the table and kept to. |
| The time | Anyone on the floor will tell you the time at once, as often as you ask. |
| A pause | Your seat is held for twenty minutes while you walk in the colonnade hall. |
| A few days away | The desk refuses you entry for the number of days you choose, from tonight. |
| A house ban | Arranged at the reception desk, effective the same evening, lifted only in person at the same desk. |
| A national exclusion | The staff help you file a request to the register of excluded persons. |
None of this can be done on the website, and that is deliberate. Each of these is a conversation with someone who can see your face and who will still be at the desk tomorrow.
Five signs worth noticing in yourself
- You check the time on the clock above the bar and decide it does not apply to you tonight.
- On a protocol in Japan or Tuscany, you find yourself counting the evenings until you are back in Mariánské Lázně.
- You go back to the room to win back what you left there the night before.
- You change your supper booking so that you can sit down earlier.
- You would rather the person you are travelling with did not know how long you stayed.
How our staff are trained
Everyone who works in the room or at the desk completes training on problem gambling before their first shift and again every year. They learn to notice the signs above, to start a conversation without embarrassing anyone, and to hand over the numbers below. You can ask any of them, at any time, and you will not be asked why.
Help in the Czech Republic
| Service | Contact | When |
|---|---|---|
| Národní linka pro odvykání (national quitline) | 800 35 00 00, free of charge; chciodvykat.cz | Monday to Friday, 10:00 to 18:00 |
| Linka pomoci Naberte kurz | +420 777 477 877, free and anonymous; nabertekurz.cz | 24 hours, every day; online chat 08:00 to 22:00 |
| Ministry of Finance, help page | Where to find professional help | Online |
The national register of excluded persons
The Ministry of Finance keeps the register of excluded persons (rejstřík vyloučených osob). Every licensed operator in the country must check it on entry. You can ask to be entered online with an electronic identity, through a data box, by email with a qualified electronic signature, by post with a certified signature, in person at the Ministry, or through a licensed operator.
An entry made at your own request has a protection period of one year. Removal can be requested only after that year has passed. The Ministry explains the steps on its page on how to apply.