Dangerous Paradise
Casinos in Monte Carlo are far from the oldest, but undoubtedly the most famous. Visiting it is as much a social event as the Christmas Vienna Balls or the Royal Ascot. Hundreds of thousands of rich and famous from all over the world come to tiny Monaco to splash out money in a luxurious palace by the sea. The most beautiful yachts stand side by side at the docks in the local port. Sunbeams play in the windows of the most expensive cars. Almost all famous people, past and present, have honored this place with their presence and their capital. Even if lights shine brighter elsewhere, even if the game is more intense elsewhere, if you have never lost or won on the green baize of Monte Carlo, you do not belong to the top league of players.
But the casino is not only about gambling. Among other things, it is a large, complex operation. Every morning in its workshops, they check the balls, balance the roulette wheels, and inspect the croupiers' paddles. It even has its own electric generator. So any attempt to cut the building off from the city power grid, in order to use the panic in the gaming halls for theft, is doomed to failure. Moreover, at the slightest hint of disorder, an employee can send the entire cash register to a reinforced basement with the push of a special button.
Security measures in the casino are special. Plainclothes police officers are constantly on duty in the halls. Since Monaco is too small a country, they occasionally have to be brought in from abroad so that regular visitors and casino employees do not recognize the agents. In addition, the security service includes a 'memory group.' Grim-looking guys in club jackets standing at the entrance to the gaming halls carefully scan each visitor. They always know by sight those who are strictly banned from entering the casino. Such gambling enthusiasts have to settle for something else – online slot machines. At the same time, there are avid players who have voluntarily put themselves on the 'blacklists,' trying to refrain from gambling and protect themselves from temptation. No requests, promises, or tricks will help them later erase their own name from the list of undesirable customers.
The first of the magnificent enfilade of casino halls is the 'Salon Europe.' Here they play roulette. The neighboring 'Pink Salon' and 'White Hall,' no less luxurious, have more modern equipment - automated roulettes, video poker, slot machines. There is also a small museum where you can see antique chips and the very first slot machines.
Monte Carlo Casino has seven gaming halls. Four of them - Renaissance Hall, Salon Europe, America Hall, and White Hall - are open from 12:00 to late night. During the day, there is practically no dress code in them. Entrance fee: €10. Games: European and English roulette, 30/40, slot machines. Minimum bet: €5. At 16:00, the Private Salon (European roulette, 30/40, punto banco), Medesan Hall (European and English roulette, 30/40, punto banco), and Touzet Salon (craps, blackjack) open. Entrance fee: €20, minimum bet: €20, strict dress code.
The Countess's Oath
But in the beginning, it was Bad Homburg. In 1840, twin brothers François and Maurice Blanc radically intervened in the fate of this small German resort by signing an agreement to build a gambling house - the Spielbank - in the city park. Thus, in the very heart of Bad Homburg, a medical-health-entertainment center arose, surpassing in its splendor the palace of the local landgrave. One of the local streets – Kisseleffstrasse – is named after Countess Kisseleff. This Russian countess of Polish origin is a historical figure in the Bad Homburg casino. Her passion for gambling was so uncontrollable that the Pope himself had to call on the countess to give up her harmful addiction. She swore that she would not sit at the gaming table for a whole year. And she kept her word, continuing to play standing.
Alas, in 1872, the kingdom of roulette in Bad Homburg suddenly collapsed. After the death of the last landgrave, the tiny German principality became part of the united German Empire, whose laws prohibited gambling. The casino in Bad Homburg was immediately closed, and François Blanc, who by then had lost his brother, became bored. But not for long. Blanc moved his gambling business to Monte Carlo, completely replicating the 'Bad Homburg miracle' there. So the famous gambling house in the Principality of Monaco is only the younger brother of the Homburg Spielbank.
In Bad Homburg itself, the casino was revived only in 1949. In 1985, the first million-dollar win occurred, which was repeated three years later.
In the park surrounding the Spielbank, they will proudly show you a tree under which the prototype of Dostoevsky's 'Gambler' supposedly shot himself. The Russian classic, as is known, had a weakness for gambling and wrote his novel with great knowledge. You can easily find exactly the same tree at other German resorts. Such 'historical doubles' are not uncommon in the world. And where the 'correct' tree from 'The Gambler' is – unknown. But the Bad Homburg casino is definitely the very same den where Dostoevsky once again lost heavily.
Open from 18:00 to 24:00. Entrance fee: €10, two gaming halls. Games: roulette (four tables), baccarat, poker, blackjack. Minimum bet: €5. Dress code.
American Dream
Meanwhile, America, accustomed to doing things its own way, has created its own completely different kind of gambling empire, which continues to amaze the rest of the world with its incredible scale. America's gambling capital, Las Vegas, begins right at the airport, whose entire space is lined with slot machines. In the 1930s, it was just a small dusty town in the middle of a sun-scorched desert. But today, the scattering of its bright lights at night can be seen even by astronauts. Streams of light, like lava, flood the Strip, the city's main street. They pulsate, flashing in bursts on the facades of giant buildings, each of which is a casino and hotel in one. There is no other way. One without the other simply does not exist in Las Vegas.
The main concept of the local gambling business is themed casino hotels. In these entertainment and hotel complexes, you can place bets and simultaneously watch pirates trying to capture a beauty in a bustier, while fakirs make two white tigers disappear. You can admire fountains spewing coconut milk and a five-meter fiery volcano, around which green fields of gaming tables and slot machines are set up. The thirst for winning is proportional to the scale of the fantastic show. And if after 15 minutes you haven't completely lost your mind, you will, without realizing it, start pulling all those handles and shoving coins into all sorts of slots.
In the city of gambling, everything is on a grand scale. A beam of light from a powerful laser at the top of the giant pyramid of the Luxor casino roams the universe. Its entrance is between the paws of a giant Sphinx, ten times larger than the Egyptian original. And why, one might ask, travel all the way to Egypt, when the Luxor has an exact replica of Tutankhamun's tomb. In Las Vegas, everything is true and everything is a deception. There is its own Paris and its own Venice with canals, gondolas, and the Doge's Palace. The American Venice is covered by a huge suspended roof, under which a flock of pigeons flies every hour; you can take an escalator to the Rialto Bridge; the water in the canals is purified to drinking quality; and on its banks, 122 gaming tables and one and a half thousand slot machines await you.
Las Vegas also has its own heroes. Four years ago, Australian immigrant Johanna Heindl, celebrating her 74th birthday in Las Vegas, hit a jackpot of $22.6 million. Luck caught up with the old lady on her way to breakfast at one of the Bali network casinos. Moreover, this fabulous sum came from a very modest bet of $3. The largest win in Las Vegas was recorded in 2000 and amounted to $34.9 million. At the New York-New York casino hotel, a record win of $12.5 million went to Las Vegas resident Sue Henley. This casino, one of the largest in Las Vegas, covers several hectares. It is a real miniature New York: air-conditioned Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty, Fifth Avenue storefronts, famous 42nd Street, gardens, cafes, and restaurants. An endless stream of people flows along the doll-like streets and spills into squares with gaming tables and slot machines.
Many casino hotels in Las Vegas have a system that encourages guests to spend more time at the gaming tables of that particular establishment. For example, free accommodation is provided for playing four hours a day at bets from $25. An incentive for high-rollers—players with large bets—can be free car rental, a helicopter trip to the Grand Canyon, or tickets for evening shows.