Monte Carlo Casino
Encyclopedia
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
and entertainment complex located in Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
, Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
. It includes a casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
, the Grand Théâtre de Monte Carlo
Opéra de Monte-Carlo
The Opéra de Monte-Carlo is an opera house located in the principality of Monaco.With the lack of cultural diversions available in Monaco in the 1870s, Prince Charles III, along with the Société des Bains de Mer, decided on the construction of an opera house. Initially, it was Charles III's...
, and the office of Les Ballets de Monte Carlo
Les Ballets de Monte Carlo
Les Ballets de Monte Carlo is a classical ballet company established in 1985 by Her Royal Highness the Princess of Hanover in accordance with the wishes of her mother, Princess Grace of Monaco...
.
The Monte Carlo Casino is owned and operated by the Société des bains de mer de Monaco
Société des bains de mer de Monaco
The Société des Bains de Mer is a company composed mainly of high-end hotels and entertainment in the principality. Notable establishments managed by the company include the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, the Monte Carlo Casino and the Hotel de Paris in Monte-Carlo....
, a public company in which the Monaco government and the ruling family
House of Grimaldi
The House of Grimaldi is associated with the history of the Republic of Genoa and of the Principality of Monaco.-History:The Grimaldi family descends from Grimaldo, a Genoese statesman at the time of the early Crusades. He might have been a son of Otto Canella, a consul of the Republic of Genoa in...
have a majority interest. The company also owns the principal hotels, sports club
Sports club
A sports club or sport club, sometimes athletics club or sports association is a club for the purpose of playing one or more sports...
s, foodservice
Foodservice
Food Service or catering industry defines those businesses, institutions, and companies responsible for any meal prepared outside the home...
establishments, and nightclubs throughout Monaco.
History
The idea of opening a gamblingGambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
in Monaco belongs to Princess Caroline
Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz
Marie Caroline Gibert de Lametz, , was a French stage actress and later Princess Consort and regent de facto of Monaco, the spouse of Florestan I, Prince of Monaco...
, a shrewd, business-minded spouse of Prince Florestan I
Florestan I, Prince of Monaco
Florestan I, Prince of Monaco was Prince of Monaco and Duke of Valentinois from 2 October 1841 until his death...
. Revenues from the proposed venture were supposed to save the House of Grimaldi
House of Grimaldi
The House of Grimaldi is associated with the history of the Republic of Genoa and of the Principality of Monaco.-History:The Grimaldi family descends from Grimaldo, a Genoese statesman at the time of the early Crusades. He might have been a son of Otto Canella, a consul of the Republic of Genoa in...
from bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
. The ruling family's persistent financial problems became especially acute after the loss of tax revenue from two breakaway towns, Menton
Menton
Menton is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.Situated on the French Riviera, along the Franco-Italian border, it is nicknamed la perle de la France ....
and Roquebrune
Roquebrune-Cap-Martin
Roquebrune-Cap-Martin is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France between Monaco and Menton. The name was changed from Roquebrune to differentiate the town from Roquebrune-sur-Argens in the neighboring Var Department.-History:In pre-Roman times the area was settled by the...
, which declared independence from Monaco in 1848 and refused to pay taxes on olive oil and fruit imposed by the Grimaldis.
In 1854 Charles
Charles III, Prince of Monaco
Charles III was Prince of Monaco and Duke of Valentinois from 20 June 1856 to his death. He was the founder of the famous casino in Monte Carlo, as his title in Monegasque and Italian was Carlo III.-Birth:...
, Florestan's son and future Prince of Monaco, recruited a team of Frenchmen—writer Albert Aubert and businessman Napoleon Langlois—to devise a development plan and write a prospectus
Prospectus (finance)
In finance, a prospectus is a document that describes a financial security for potential buyers. A prospectus commonly provides investors with material information about mutual funds, stocks, bonds and other investments, such as a description of the company's business, financial statements,...
to attract 4 million franc
French franc
The franc was a currency of France. Along with the Spanish peseta, it was also a de facto currency used in Andorra . Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money...
s needed to build a spa for the treatment of various diseases, a gambling casino modeled from the Bad Homburg casino, and English-styled villas. Granted the concession of 30 years to operate a bathing establishment and gaming tables, Aubert and Langlois opened the first casino in 1856 in Villa Bellevu. Intended to be only a temporary location, the building was a modest mansion in La Condamine
La Condamine
La Condamine is the second oldest district in Monaco, after Monaco-Ville. It is known for its distinctive wide harbor and moored expensive yachts.- Location in Monaco :By broad definition, it is one of the four traditional quartiers...
. In the following years the casino was moved several times until it finally ended up in the area called Les Spelugues (The Caves).
In the 1850s Monaco was an unlikely place for a resort
Resort
A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company....
to succeed. The lack of roads needed to connect Monaco to Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
and the rest of Europe, the absence of comfortable accommodations for visitors, as well as the concessionaires' failure to publicize
Publicity
Publicity is the deliberate attempt to manage the public's perception of a subject. The subjects of publicity include people , goods and services, organizations of all kinds, and works of art or entertainment.From a marketing perspective, publicity is one component of promotion which is one...
the new resort, resulted in far fewer customers than was originally anticipated. Unable to raise the capital needed to operate the money-losing enterprise, Aubert and Langlois ceded their rights to Frossard de Lilbonne, who in turn passed it to Pierre Auguste Daval in 1857. Although the casino began to make a profit in 1859, Daval was not up to the task. Just like his predecessors, he was incompetent and lacked the ability to bring the gambling enterprise to the scale envisioned by Princess Caroline
Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz
Marie Caroline Gibert de Lametz, , was a French stage actress and later Princess Consort and regent de facto of Monaco, the spouse of Florestan I, Prince of Monaco...
. Frustrated, she dispatched her private secretary M.Eyneaud to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, hoping to recruit François Blanc
François Blanc
François Blanc , nicknamed "The Magician of Homburg" and "The Magician of Monte Carlo", was a French entrepreneur and operator of casinos, including the Monte Carlo Casino in Monaco.-References:*...
, a French entrepreneur and operator of the Bad Homburg casino. Blanc declined the offer. It took a lot of time and persuasion on the part of Princess Caroline
Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz
Marie Caroline Gibert de Lametz, , was a French stage actress and later Princess Consort and regent de facto of Monaco, the spouse of Florestan I, Prince of Monaco...
to convince the Blancs to move to Monaco. Princess Caroline even appealed to Madame Blanc, who she befriended during her first visit to Bad Homburg, with a suggestion that the Monaco's mild climate would be good for Madame Blanc's ill health.
Finally, in 1863 François Blanc agreed to take over the Monaco's casino business. To manage the new venture, a company—the Societe des Bains de Mer et du Cercle des Etrangers—was formed with capital of 15 million franc
Franc
The franc is the name of several currency units, most notably the Swiss franc, still a major world currency today due to the prominence of Swiss financial institutions and the former currency of France, the French franc until the Euro was adopted in 1999...
s. Among the prominent investors were Charles-Bonaventure-François Theuret, Bishop of Monaco, and Cardinal Pecci, the future Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII , born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903...
. Blanc became the single majority stockholder in the company and received a 50-year concession
Concession (contract)
A concession is a business operated under a contract or license associated with a degree of exclusivity in business within a certain geographical area. For example, sports arenas or public parks may have concession stands. Many department stores contain numerous concessions operated by other...
, which would last until 1913. Blanc used his connections to quickly raise the required capital, and began the massive construction. The new casino building, the construction of which started in 1858, was completed in 1863. On Blanc's insistence, Les Spelugues area where the gambling complex was located was renamed to make it sound more attractive to casino visitors. A few suggestions were considered, and the name Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
was chosen in Prince Charles
Charles III, Prince of Monaco
Charles III was Prince of Monaco and Duke of Valentinois from 20 June 1856 to his death. He was the founder of the famous casino in Monte Carlo, as his title in Monegasque and Italian was Carlo III.-Birth:...
' honor.
In 1910 the casino building was expanded with a theatre, Salle Garnier, suitable for housing opera and ballet performances.
Until recently the Monte Carlo Casino has been the primary source of income for the House of Grimaldi
House of Grimaldi
The House of Grimaldi is associated with the history of the Republic of Genoa and of the Principality of Monaco.-History:The Grimaldi family descends from Grimaldo, a Genoese statesman at the time of the early Crusades. He might have been a son of Otto Canella, a consul of the Republic of Genoa in...
and the Monaco economy.
Casino facilities
The casino has facilities to play a variety of games which include:- Different kinds of rouletteRouletteRoulette is a casino game named after a French diminutive for little wheel. In the game, players may choose to place bets on either a single number or a range of numbers, the colors red or black, or whether the number is odd or even....
- Stud pokerStud pokerStud poker is any of a number of poker variants in which each player receives a mix of face-down and face-up cards dealt in multiple betting rounds. Stud games are also typically non-positional games, meaning that the player who bets first on each round may change from round to round...
- BlackjackBlackjackBlackjack, also known as Twenty-one or Vingt-et-un , is the most widely played casino banking game in the world...
- Trente et QuaranteTrente et QuaranteTrente et Quarante , also called Rouge et Noir , is a 17th century gambling card game of French origin played with cards and a special table. It is rarely found in US casinos, but still very popular in Continental Europe casinos, and one of the two games played in the gambling rooms at Monte Carlo,...
- CrapsCrapsCraps is a dice game in which players place wagers on the outcome of the roll, or a series of rolls, of a pair of dice. Players may wager money against each other or a bank...
- BaccaratBaccaratBaccarat is a card game, played at casinos and by gamblers. It is believed to have been introduced into France from Italy during the reign of King Charles VIII , and it is similar to Faro and Basset...
- Video pokerVideo pokerVideo poker is a casino game based on five-card draw poker. It is played on a computerized console similar in size to a slot machine.-History:...
- Slot machineSlot machineA slot machine , informally fruit machine , the slots , poker machine or "pokies" or simply slot is a casino gambling machine with three or more reels which spin when a button is pushed...
s
Breaking the bank
- In 1873, Joseph JaggerJoseph JaggerJoseph Hobson Jagger was a British engineer, widely known as The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo, though he is not the only person to have done so. His name is sometimes reported as Jaggers, but the International Genealogical Index indicates that Jagger is more likely...
gained the casino great publicity by "breaking the bank at Monte Carlo" by discovering and capitalizing on a bias in one of the casino's rouletteRouletteRoulette is a casino game named after a French diminutive for little wheel. In the game, players may choose to place bets on either a single number or a range of numbers, the colors red or black, or whether the number is odd or even....
wheels. Technically, the bank in this sense was the money kept on the table by the croupierCroupierA croupier or dealer is someone appointed at a gambling table to assist in the conduct of the game, especially in the distribution of bets and payouts. Croupiers are typically employed by casinos.-Origin of the word:...
. According to an article in The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
in the late 19th century, it was thus possible to "break the bank" several times. The 1892 song The Man that Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo, made famous by Charles Coburns, was probably inspired by the exploits of Charles WellsCharles Wells (gambler)Charles Deville Wells , gambler and confidence trickster, is one of the men who broke the bank at Monte Carlo, made famous by the song...
, who "broke the bank" on many occasions on the first two of his three trips.
- According to the book Busting VegasBusting VegasBusting Vegas a non-fiction book by Ben Mezrich, author of New York Times Best Seller Bringing Down the House. It describes the gambling activities of a group of MIT students who in the early 1990s made millions by using their mathematics and card skills to change the odds of blackjack in their...
by Ben MezrichBen MezrichBen Mezrich is an American author from Princeton, New Jersey. He graduated magna-cum-laude with a degree in Social Studies from Harvard University in 1991. Some of his books have been written under the pseudonym Holden Scott. Mezrich attended Princeton Day School, in Princeton, New Jersey...
, a teamMIT Blackjack TeamThe MIT Blackjack Team was a group of students and ex-students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard Business School, Harvard University, and other leading colleges who used card-counting techniques and more sophisticated strategies to beat casinos at blackjack worldwide...
of blackjack players recruited from the Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyThe Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
by team-leader Victor Cassius attempted to break the bank at Monte Carlo with the assistance of a team-play-based system. The book describes how the management of Monte Carlo responded to the progress of the team, whose members included Semyon DukachSemyon DukachSemyon Dukach is the CEO of SMTP, Inc., and a former professional blackjack player with the MIT Blackjack Team. He played with Strategic Investments and later was one of the founding members and team leaders on Amphibian Investments whose exploits were chronicled in Ben Mezrich’s Busting Vegas...
and others mentioned by aliases.
Architecture
The casino was designed by the architectArchitect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Charles Garnier
Charles Garnier (architect)
Charles Garnier was a French architect, perhaps best known as the architect of the Palais Garnier and the Opéra de Monte-Carlo.-Early life:...
, who also created the Paris opéra
Palais Garnier
The Palais Garnier, , is an elegant 1,979-seat opera house, which was built from 1861 to 1875 for the Paris Opera. It was originally called the Salle des Capucines because of its location on the Boulevard des Capucines in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, but soon became known as the Palais Garnier...
. It has a distinctly Beaux Arts style.
Interesting facts
- The citizens of Monaco are forbidden to enter the gaming rooms of the casino. Identity documentIdentity documentAn identity document is any document which may be used to verify aspects of a person's personal identity. If issued in the form of a small, mostly standard-sized card, it is usually called an identity card...
s are checked at the door to enforce this rule. - Up until season 7 (2010/2011) the casino hosted the annual European Poker TourEuropean Poker TourThe Pokerstars European Poker Tour is a series of poker tournaments similar to those in the World Poker Tour , created by John Duthie, winner of the inaugural Poker Million tournament. It began in 2004 as part of the worldwide explosion in Texas Hold 'em popularity...
Grand Final. - The Monte Carlo methods, a class of random samplingSampling (statistics)In statistics and survey methodology, sampling is concerned with the selection of a subset of individuals from within a population to estimate characteristics of the whole population....
algorithmAlgorithmIn mathematics and computer science, an algorithm is an effective method expressed as a finite list of well-defined instructions for calculating a function. Algorithms are used for calculation, data processing, and automated reasoning...
s, were named for the casino. - The route of the Monaco Grand PrixMonaco Grand PrixThe Monaco Grand Prix is a Formula One race held each year on the Circuit de Monaco. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigious automobile races in the world, alongside the Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans...
(the Circuit de MonacoCircuit de MonacoCircuit de Monaco is a street circuit laid out on the city streets of Monte Carlo and La Condamine around the harbour of the principality of Monaco. It is commonly referred to as "Monte Carlo" because it is largely inside the Monte Carlo neighbourhood of Monaco.The circuit is used on one weekend in...
) is past the casino. - Aristotle OnassisAristotle OnassisAristotle Sokratis Onassis , commonly called Ari or Aristo Onassis, was a prominent Greek shipping magnate.- Early life :Onassis was born in Karatass, a suburb of Smyrna to Socrates and Penelope Onassis...
had a controlling stake in the Monte Carlo Casino in the 1950s until he was forced out by Rainier III, Prince of MonacoRainier III, Prince of MonacoRainier III, Prince of Monaco , styled His Serene Highness The Sovereign Prince of Monaco, ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost 56 years, making him one of the longest ruling monarchs of the 20th century.Though he was best known outside of Europe for having married American...
.
The casino in books and movies
- James BondJames BondJames Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
, a fictional BritishUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
spy, is often associated with the Monte Carlo Casino.- The architecture of glamorous Belle ÉpoqueBelle ÉpoqueThe Belle Époque or La Belle Époque was a period in European social history that began during the late 19th century and lasted until World War I. Occurring during the era of the French Third Republic and the German Empire, it was a period characterised by optimism and new technological and medical...
building of the Monte Carlo Casino was used by Ian FlemingIan FlemingIan Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
to describe a casino in 'Royale-Les-Eaux', a fictional resort featured in Fleming's first Bond novel, Casino RoyaleCasino Royale (novel)Casino Royale is Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel. It paved the way for a further eleven novels by Fleming himself, in addition to two short story collections, followed by many "continuation" Bond novels by other authors....
(1953). - Monte Carlo and its casino were the locations for a number of James Bond movies, including Never Say Never AgainNever Say Never AgainNever Say Never Again is a 1983 spy film based on the James Bond novel Thunderball, which was previously filmed in 1965 as Thunderball...
and GoldenEyeGoldenEyeGoldenEye is the seventeenth spy film in the James Bond series, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was directed by Martin Campbell and is the first film in the series not to take story elements from the works of novelist Ian Fleming...
, as well as for the Casino RoyaleCasino Royale (Climax!)Casino Royale is a 1954 television adaptation of the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. The show is the first screen adaptation of a James Bond novel and stars Barry Nelson and Peter Lorre...
episode of the CBS' Climax! television show.
- The architecture of glamorous Belle Époque