This article is about the casino in Monaco. For the casino in Las Vegas formerly known as the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino, see Park MGM.

The Monte Carlo Casino, officially known as the Casino de Monte-Carlo, shines as a premier gambling and entertainment complex nestled in the heart of Monaco. This iconic venue is not merely a casino; it encompasses the magnificent Opéra de Monte-Carlo, and the esteemed offices of Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo.^[1]

The Casino de Monte-Carlo is proudly owned and operated by the esteemed Société des Bains de Mer (SBM), a publicly traded company where both the government of Monaco and the reigning princely family hold a majority stake. This illustrious entity also oversees the major hotels, sports clubs, restaurants, and vibrant nightclubs across the Principality.

Interestingly, residents of Monaco are prohibited from entering the gaming rooms of this famed casino.^[2] This regulation, which disallows all Monegasques from gambling and working at the casino, was a directive initiated by Princess Caroline, the de facto regent of Monaco, who reformed the rules based on principled grounds. The underlying notion that the casino was solely designed for foreign patrons was in fact highlighted in the name of the organization that was established to manage the gambling operations, the Société des Bains de Mer et du Cercle des Etrangers (English: Company of Sea Baths and of the Circle of Foreigners).^[3]

The aspiration to launch a gambling establishment in Monaco was inspired by Princess Caroline, who was a savvy, marketing-savvy partner of Prince Florestan. The anticipated profits from this venture were meant to rescue the House of Grimaldi from impending bankruptcy. The persistent financial challenges confronting the ruling family worsened notably following the loss of tax income resulting from two rebellious towns, Menton and Roquebrune, which declared independence in 1848 and brashly refused to pay taxes on their lucrative oil and fruit trades imposed by the Grimaldis.^{[citation needed]}

In the fateful year of 1854, Charles, the son of Florestan and the future Prince of Monaco, engaged a team of talented Frenchmen (writer Albert Aubert and businessman Napoleon Langlois) to conceptualize a development strategy. They were commissioned to craft a prospectus to attract four million francs essential for constructing a spa dedicated to therapeutic treatments, a casino reminiscent of the Bad Homburg casino, coupled with English-style villas.^{[citation needed]} Under a thirty-year concession to manage a bathing establishment and gaming tables, Aubert and Langlois launched the inaugural casino on December 14, 1856, in a humble structure known as Villa Bellevu.^[citation needed] Initially conceived as a temporary venue, this establishment was a modest mansion located in La Condamine.

During the latter part of the 1850s, Monaco was hardly regarded as a promising site for a luxurious resort. The absence of adequate roadways connecting Monaco to Nice and the broader European landscape, coupled with the lack of comfortable lodgings for travelers, along with the concessionaires’ failure to promote the new resort, resulted in far fewer clientele than originally anticipated. Inability to secure the necessary capital to sustain this financially draining enterprise led Aubert and Langlois to relinquish their rights to Frossard de Lilbonne, who subsequently transferred them to Pierre Auguste Daval in 1857.^[5]

Throughout this initial phase, the casino changed locations multiple times until it finally settled in the area now known as Les Spelugues (translated as The Caves). Construction at this particular site commenced on May 13, 1858, under the direction of architect Gobineau de la Bretonnerie, and was concluded in 1863. Interestingly, Gobineau de la Bretonnerie also designed the adjacent Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo, which was built in 1862.^[7]

Although the casino started generating profits in 1859, Daval was ill-equipped to manage the operations effectively. Just like his predecessors, he proved to be ineffective and failed to elevate the gambling business to the scale that Princess Caroline had envisioned.^[8] Exasperated, she dispatched her private secretary, M. Eyneaud, to Germany in search of François Blanc, a French entrepreneur and operator of the renowned Bad Homburg casino. After initially turning down the proposition, it took considerable effort on Princess Caroline's part to convince Blanc to relocate to Monaco. Caroline even reached out to Madame Blanc, whom she befriended during her initial visit to Bad Homburg, suggesting that Monaco's temperate climate would be beneficial for Madame Blanc's health.

In 1863, François Blanc ultimately consented to assume control of Monaco's casino endeavors. He established a company, the Société des Bains de Mer et du Cercle des Etrangers, with a robust capital of 15 million francs. Major investors included Charles-Bonaventure-François Theuret, Bishop of Monaco, and Cardinal Pecci, who would later ascend as Pope Leo XIII.^{[citation needed]} Blanc emerged as the primary shareholder within the company, securing a fifty-year concession that would last until 1913. Utilizing his extensive network, Blanc was able to swiftly raise the necessary capital and initiate substantial construction projects. At Blanc's insistence, the Spelugues area where the gaming complex was situated was rebranded to make it more enticing for potential visitors. Various name suggestions were tabled before the designation Monte Carlo was ultimately chosen in honor of Prince Charles.

In the years 1878–79, the casino underwent transformative renovations executed by architects Jules Dutrou and Charles Garnier, whose previous feats include designing the illustrious Paris opera house, known today as the Palais Garnier. Blanc's association with Garnier stemmed from a previous loan of at least 4.9 million gold francs that Blanc provided to the financially beset government of the French Third Republic for the completion of the opera house, which had finally opened its doors in 1875. The enhancements to the Casino de Monte-Carlo included the construction of a concert hall (designed by Garnier and later named the Salle Garnier) that faced the serene sea, as well as the redesign and enlargement of the gaming rooms and public areas, primarily executed by Dutrou on the side facing the bustling Place du Casino, which is also home to the Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo and the renowned Café de Paris.^[9]

In 1880–81, the casino was once again expanded, this time to the east of Dutrou's Moorish Room through the addition of the Trente-et-Quarante Gaming Room, which Garnier also designed. Subsequent modifications and expansions, along with the remodeling of the Trente-et-Quarante Gaming Room into the Salle des Américains, have largely obscured Garnier's original contributions to this section of the casino, save for some notable ceiling decorations.^[10] In the years 1898–99, the Salle Garnier was remodeled by architect Henri Schmit, primarily focusing on the stage area to enhance its suitability for opera and ballet performances. Nonetheless, much of Garnier's original facade and the design of the auditorium remain largely intact.^[9] Despite all of the subsequent enhancements and alterations, the casino retains an unmistakable Beaux-Arts style.

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

Until recently, the Casino de Monte-Carlo has served as a pivotal economic engine for the House of Grimaldi as well as for the broader Monegasque economy.

The most notorious instance of the gambler's fallacy transpired during a game of roulette at the Casino de Monte-Carlo in the summer of 1913, when the ball fell into the black slot an astounding 26 times consecutively—an occurrence deemed exceedingly rare. Gamblers lost staggering sums, amounting to millions of francs, betting against the black outcome. They incorrectly believed that this sequence indicated an "imbalance" in the randomness of the wheel, theorizing that it must inevitably lead to a lengthy sequence of red outcomes.^[13]

• In 1873, Joseph Jagger gained immense publicity for the casino by "breaking the bank at Monte Carlo" through his discovery and exploitation of a bias present in one of the casino’s roulette wheels. Technically, in this context, the bank refers to the funds held on the table by the croupier. An article published in The Times during the late 19th century suggested that it was feasible to "break the bank" multiple times. The popular 1892 song "The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo, brought to fame by music hall artist and comedian Charles Coborn, was likely inspired by the adventures of Charles Wells, who managed to "break the bank" numerous times across his first two of three visits to the casino.^[14]
• Per the account in the book Busting Vegas by Ben Mezrich, a group of blackjack players, who hailed from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology, led by team captain Victor Cassius and Semyon Dukach, endeavored to break the bank at Monte Carlo utilizing a team-based gambling strategy. The narrative elucidates how the casino's management reacted to the team's triumphant strategies. Semyon has confirmed that the portrayal in Busting Vegas is accurate, aside from the fact that the team comprised himself, Andy Bloch, and another player he refers to as "Katie".^[15]

• The casino made a notable appearance in the animated film
  
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