Bagnères-de-Luchon has made its decision. After months of debate, reports and consultations, the spa town has decided not to relaunch its casino, which has been closed since 2011. The project, vigorously supported by mayor Eric Azémar, was once again postponed at the end of an electric town council meeting that will live long in the memory.
A tense vote that sealed the fate of the casino
Wednesday 26 November 2025. The atmosphere in the council chamber is heavy, almost palpable. One debate follows another, sometimes heated, often tense. In July, the elected representatives had already rejected the project by a narrow majority. This time too, the suspense was total until the ballots were cast.
When the results came in, they were a crushing blow to the mayor: 10 votes against reopening, 9 in favour. A single vote difference, but a clear verdict. Luchon is not renewing its casino.
“We are currently the only spa town without a casino. And yet this is one of the activities we can offer our spa-goers, the people of Luchon and also the inhabitants of Val d’Aran, who are very interested,” explained the mayor a few days earlier, convinced that the casino could once again become a mainstay of tourism.
Eric Azémar was not expecting to suffer two consecutive setbacks. A staunch defender of the project, he had made it one of the key priorities of his term of office. His argument: to give back to the spa an attractive tool for spa-goers, residents and even visitors to the Val d’Aran, who were presented as being particularly interested in the casino offer.
However, on Wednesday evening, a number of his elected representatives turned their backs on him. Their problem was not with the idea of a casino, but with the conditions under which it would be reopened. An essential point at a time when every euro spent by the municipality counts.
Golden Palace: a unique but unconvincing bid
The project was based on a single bid from the Golden Palace group, the only operator prepared to invest in the revival of the establishment. This proposal had already been submitted – and rejected – a few months earlier.
Golden Palace offered to invest €4 million to renovate the building, which had been mothballed for fourteen years. The contract, part of a public service delegation, provided for a fee of 6% of gross gaming revenue up to €4.5 million, and 12% above that.
The conditions were deemed acceptable by the mayor, but not enough to reassure the cautious elected representatives. For them, the main risk was the municipality’s own contribution.
To support the project, the town council would have to make a substantial investment: just over €3 million, spread over three years. Eric Azémar estimated that he could obtain up to 70% subsidies from the Département and the Region. A gamble he considered reasonable.
But a recent report by the Regional Audit Office had already highlighted the fragility of Luchon’s financial situation. With no firm guarantee of subsidies, the elected representatives refused to burden the municipality with a risk they considered disproportionate.
Beyond the figures, it was the vision of the future that pitted the two camps against each other. The mayor envisaged a gradual reopening: a temporary casino from the end of 2025, then a renovated building inaugurated in 2027. A tight schedule but, in his view, a realistic one. For other elected representatives, caution was the order of the day. They recognised the importance of a casino in the ecosystem of spa towns, but refused to commit to a project where the financial uncertainties were still too great.
The vote does not definitively close the door on a casino in Luchon. It does close the door on this version of the project.