Has anyone at LVA ever played at the Casino de Monte Carlo in Monaco? I was wondering what table games are available there and what are the minimum table stakes at the various games.
Yes, as a matter of fact, we have.
The first thing we should note is that the Principality of Monaco is the second-smallest sovereign state in the world, after Vatican City, with a total area of 500 or so acres, around four-fifths of a square mile. By comparison, the Las Vegas Convention Center covers 200 acres, a little less than half the size of the entire country. The population of 37,000 or so in 2023 makes Monaco one of the highest-density countries. The land area is actually growing a bit, with a €2 billion reclamation project that's adding 15 acres worth of artificial landmass for a 110-luxury apartment complex. When completed, they'll sell for around $10,000 per square foot, double Monaco's average.
Anyway, Casino de Monte Carlo is the centerpiece of Monaco in the historic Place du Casino. The casino dates back to 1879 and is ornately decorated in the opulent Belle Époque style of French architecture, situated amidst formal gardens with a sweeping view of the principality. The games played there are both French and English roulette, blackjack, craps, punto banco (a version of baccarat), and Poker Texas Hold'em Ultimate (called Ultimate Texas Hold'em hereabouts). There are also around 600 slot machines.
Stakes are fairly high, with minimum bets of €5 roulette, €10 craps and Hold'em, €20 punto banco, and €25 blackjack. In the public casino, the maximum is €2,000; in the private casino, there's no max.
Casino de Monte Carlo charges an admission of €19. When we went, admission was €10 and they returned the fee in a dead chip, meaning you had to play it. Now, we understand that's no longer the case and you don't get anything except access. Also, a dress code requires "smart attire" and that's never changed. We had to schlep a sports jacket and proper shoes around Europe just to walk into the joint.
Which brings to the last thing we want to mention: The Monte Carlo promotes itself as "the most exclusive casino in the world" and we found that the attitude there lived up to the self-hype. Accustomed to the boisterous and casual pits in the U.S., Casino de Monte Carlo struck us as highbrow and hoity-toity, but we were prepared for, shall we say, the humorlessness. Thus, we had a little private fun by sticking our nose in the air, maintaining raised eyebrows in disbelief and disdain, holding ourselves rigidly and sitting very upright (above reproach), speaking in our library voice -- in short, pretending to go along with the aura of glamour and sophistication, when it was just another pocket-picking casino to us, fancy though it might have been.
Oh, and we left after playing off the admission chip. Winning that bet was especially gratifying; we could stand up, look down on everyone, go "Hmph" and dismissively flick our hand, as if having to cash in the two chips was slightly distasteful. Obnoxious? Sure. But it's fun to play act every now and again.
Don’t know who wrote this trip report. Deke? Now I wonder if I ever wrote about the first-class gambling junket Brad and I took in July,1987, first stopping in Paris to help celebrate Bastille Day,then flying to Monte Carlo to stay 5 nights. We were way out of our league.I shutter even these 38 years later to think we could play enough BJ to “earn” the god-awful comp bill.But happy ending.Brad “paid” for the whole trip by mistakenly getting mixed up while using French francs for his first HOUR of play,playing $500 a hand,not $50.I about had a heart attack when I left my table to see how he was doing. “I’m doing okay, about even now.” I could write a book about Brad and 92 years of good karma!!