History: The MERKUR B

The stuff that dreams are made of: on 9 December 1976, no one could have expected that the newly approved “MERKUR B” machine by the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt would lay the foundation for an international group.

And yet that is exactly what happened. Today, the MERKUR GROUP has around 15,000 employees all over the world – from Peru to Australia – and with its sun symbol is one of the best-known providers of gaming worldwide.

“The MERKUR B was still very much in need of development at the time, but the game itself was absolutely top-class and immediately gained acceptance over the competing machines, which was also clearly reflected in the takings,” said Paul Gauselmann, who had been developing the machine since 1971.

How did it come about?

“At the time (1971), I was Vice President of the ZOA (Federal Association of Operators) as well as Chairman of the DAV (German Amusement Machine Association NRW), and I had dared to criticise one of the major traditional manufacturers who had revived the amusement machine business in Germany after the war. As a result, I was subjected to a supply boycott by this manufacturer, the company Wulff from Berlin. For me, as an already very successful wholesaler, this was of course disastrous, because it meant I could no longer supply my customers with the hottest top product, the ‘Monarch’. So, I had no choice but to resolve the matter in a personal meeting with the manufacturer Günter Wulff. On the way back from Berlin, however, I swore to myself never again to have to make such a ‘Canossa Walk’, but instead to build my own machine. And that is exactly what I did,” said Paul Gauselmann.