This article is about the illustrious casino nestled in the heart of Monaco, a jewel on the French Riviera known for its glamorous lifestyle and rich history. For information relating to the casino in Las Vegas that used to carry the name Monte Carlo Resort and Casino, please refer to Park MGM.

The Monte Carlo Casino, officially known as the Casino de Monte-Carlo, represents a centerpiece of luxurious gambling and enchanting entertainment deeply embedded in the cultural landscape of Monaco. This monumental establishment encompasses a vibrant casino, the prestigious Opéra de Monte-Carlo, and the esteemed office of Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo.^[1]

The Casino de Monte-Carlo is controlled and managed by the Société des Bains de Mer (SBM), a publicly traded entity where both the government of Monaco and the ruling princely family hold a substantial stake. In addition to the casino, this prestigious company oversees the lavish hotels, exclusive sports clubs, gourmet dining venues, and vibrant nightlife found throughout the splendid Principality.

Interestingly, the locals of Monaco are strictly prohibited from entering the casino's gaming rooms.^[2] This rule that bars all Monegasques from participating in gambling activities was introduced by Princess Caroline, who served as the de facto regent of Monaco. This regulation was established on ethical grounds, emphasizing that the casino's primary clientele should be foreign visitors. Such an exclusive approach was reflected even in the nomenclature of the organization initially intended to manage the gambling establishment, which was designated as the Société des Bains de Mer et du Cercle des Etrangers (English: Company of Sea Baths and of the Circle of Foreigners).^[3]

The initiative to establish a gambling casino in Monaco was spearheaded by Princess Caroline,^[4] a visionary and astute business partner of Prince Florestan. The financial gains from this venture were expected to rescue the House of Grimaldi from impending bankruptcy. The royal family's ongoing monetary troubles were exacerbated following the loss of tax revenues from two neighboring areas, Menton and Roquebrune, which declared independence from Monaco in 1848, opting against tax payments on olive oil and fruit mandated by the Grimaldi dynasty.^[citation needed]

In 1854, Charles, the son of Florestan and future Prince of Monaco, enlisted a group of talented Frenchmen (including the writer Albert Aubert and businessman Napoleon Langlois) to formulate a comprehensive development plan, along with securing a prospectus to attract the necessary 4 million francs required to establish a spa that would offer healing treatments for various ailments, a gambling casino inspired by the prestigious Bad Homburg casino, and luxurious English-style villas.^[citation needed] Given the concession for a 30-year span to launch a bathing establishment and install gaming tables, Aubert and Langlois inaugurated the initial casino on 14 December 1856 in a venue known as Villa Bellevu.^[citation needed] Despite being intended as a stopgap location, the building was a relatively modest mansion, situated in the area known as La Condamine.

In the late 1850s, Monaco appeared to be an improbable venue for a resort to prosper. Its lack of proper road infrastructure connecting Monaco to Nice and other regions of Europe, coupled with the scarcity of comfortable accommodations for guests, along with the incapacity of the concessionaires to effectively promote the nascent resort, led to a significantly lower influx of visitors than initially predicted. Unable to secure the funds required to sustain the failing enterprise, Aubert and Langlois eventually relinquished their rights, passing them on to Frossard de Lilbonne, who subsequently transferred control to Pierre Auguste Daval in 1857.^[5]

During this initial phase, the casino was relocated multiple times, ultimately finding its final resting place in the area called Les Spelugues (English: The Caves). Construction at this chosen location commenced on 13 May 1858, under the architectural guidance of Gobineau de la Bretonnerie^[6], with completion achieved in 1863. Gobineau de la Bretonnerie also designed the adjacent Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo (constructed in 1862).^[7]

Although the casino began generating profit in 1859, Daval proved incapable of managing the establishment. Like his predecessors, he lacked the expertise required to elevate the gambling venue to the scale envisioned by Princess Caroline.^[8] Frustrated by this inability, she sent her private secretary M. Eyneaud to Germany to recruit François Blanc, a prominent French entrepreneur and operator of the Bad Homburg casino. Blanc initially declined the opportunity and it took considerable time and persuasion from Princess Caroline to lure him to Monaco. She even appealed to Madame Blanc, whom she befriended during her inaugural visit to Bad Homburg, suggesting that Monaco's temperate climate would be beneficial for her health.

In 1863, François Blanc finally acquiesced to take the reins of Monaco's casino business. To facilitate this ambitious undertaking, a company (the Société des Bains de Mer et du Cercle des Etrangers) was founded with a capital of 15 million francs. Among the significant investors involved were Charles-Bonaventure-François Theuret, the Bishop of Monaco, and Cardinal Pecci, soon to be known as Pope Leo XIII.^[citation needed] Blanc emerged as the leading shareholder in the company, securing a 50-year concession, which was set to last until 1913. Blanc swiftly utilized his connections to amass the necessary capital and initiate large-scale construction. Under Blanc's guidance, the area previously known as Spelugues was rebranded to enhance its appeal to potential casino patrons, ultimately being named Monte Carlo to honor Prince Charles.

Through the years of 1878 and 1879, the casino underwent an elaborate transformation and expansion, designed by none other than Jules Dutrou (1819–1885) and Charles Garnier, the esteemed architect credited with crafting the renowned Paris opera house, now referred to as the Palais Garnier. François Blanc's financial support facilitated Garnier's involvement, as he had previously extended a loan of at least 4.9 million gold francs to the financially challenged government of the French Third Republic, aimed at finalizing the opera house which ultimately opened its doors in 1875. The renovations executed on the Casino de Monte-Carlo included the introduction of a concert hall (later named the Salle Garnier), which was positioned to face the sea, and a redesign of the gaming rooms and public spaces predominantly carried out by Dutrou on the side facing the Place du Casino, home to the Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo and the Cafe de Paris.^[9]

In 1880–81, an additional expansion of the casino occurred to the east of the Moorish Room designed by Dutrou, establishing the Trente-et-Quarante Gaming Room, also crafted by Garnier. Future additions and renovations, including the transformation of the Trente-et-Quarante Gaming Room into the Salle des Américains, have largely obscured Garnier's original contributions in this section of the casino, with only some ornate ceiling decorations remaining visible.^[10] In 1898–99, the Salle Garnier underwent significant remodeling by architect Henri Schmit, primarily focused on enhancing the stage area to better accommodate opera and ballet performances. Despite these revisions, much of Garnier's initial facade and the auditorium's interior design remain unchanged.^[9] The casino's architecture maintains a striking Beaux Arts style, which is palpable even today.

In 1921, the first Women’s Olympiad took place within the lush gardens of the casino.^[11][12]

Historically, the Casino de Monte-Carlo has served as a vital source of revenue for the House of Grimaldi and has had a substantial impact on the Monegasque economy.

The most renowned instance of the gambler's fallacy transpired during a game of roulette at the Casino de Monte-Carlo in the summer of 1913, where the ball astonishingly landed on black a staggering 26 times consecutively, marking an extraordinarily rare occurrence. Countless gamblers lost millions of francs, betting against black, mistakenly believing that the streak indicated an "imbalance" in the randomness of the wheel, consequently convincing themselves that a long streak of red must follow.^[13]

• In 1873, Joseph Jagger garnered significant attention for the casino by reportedly "breaking the bank at Monte Carlo," having identified and exploited a bias in one of the casino's roulette wheels. Technically, in this context, "the bank" referred to the amount of money retained by the croupier. An article featured in The Times during the late 19th century noted that it was possible to "break the bank" repeatedly. The 1892 song "The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo" became popular through the performance of Charles Coborn, and was likely inspired by the exploits of Charles Wells, who successfully "broke the bank" during several visits on the first two of his three trips.^[14]
• According to the book Busting Vegas authored by Ben Mezrich, a group of blackjack players from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was assembled by their team-leader Victor Cassius and Semyon Dukach in an attempt to "break the bank" at Monte Carlo employing a collaboratively devised system of gameplay. The book elaborates on the casino management's response to the team's achievements, with Semyon asserting that the account detailed in Busting Vegas is largely accurate aside from the fact that the team was composed of himself, Andy Bloch, and another player he identifies as "Katie".^[15]

• The casino is prominently featured in Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted.

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