Monaco France to gamble????

Just saw a thread about visiting Europe. Got me curious about gambling in Monaco, France. Has anyone been there to gamble?

I'm sure it's not big in gambling as Macau (one of my dream places to go).

 

FYI Monaco is a principality that is its own country. It borders France but is not part of France.

 

The area is just gorgeous, right on the Mediterranean and perfect weather in summer. It is VERY sedate compared to Vegas. Casinos are very small, tables only open at night. No slot machines at all in the Casino de Monte Carlo IIRC. Emphasis on roulette and baccarat. Not as sophisticated as it sounds, though, tons of wannabes. I played a good bit at the casino in the Fairmont hotel and there is no discernable comp program whatsoever. Lots of Italians and English people. If you are into Ferraris, Bugattis, Bentleys, or Russian hookers you will see a ton of them in Monaco.

Food prices are absolutely stratospheric, completely off the charts. It would be hilarious to see the comments on this board about food and beverage pricing in Monaco, which makes Vegas look like a bargain basement.

 

Back in my Navy days, my Ship went to Monaco for about a week (1983). A bunch of us decided to spend a day at the Casino. Being just 20 years old I really had no clue about gambling. We basically sat at a black jack table all day, drinking comped drinks and comped cigarettes. I finished the day down 20 bucks. From what I remember, the Casino was quite small but very nice. Plush carpeting and huge chandeliers everywhere.

Damn, that was over 30 years ago. I'm old.

 

My type of place.

I was looking at hotels. Hotels are like 2-3k euros (2.7-4k USD) per night for normal rooms, sometimes more on weekends. I think it's worth the cost tho at least once in life.

As usual, it going to be hard to beat Vegas especially with the comps and location in the US. Can't take a weekend trip, more like a week trip.

 

I spent a day in Monaco while on a Med Cruise about 10 years ago. Definitely people "dressed" for the Casino and everything is very pricey. Gorgeous though!!

 

Yes, the costs are insane. Given your profile it is probably worth it Do the hotel de Paris if you possibly can, one of the swankiest hotels in the world. I was at Le Meridien which was nice enough, right on the beach, less obscenely expensive, but about a mile from the casino area.

 

Imagine wearing a suit, playing baccarat. Playing in class and style, lol.

 

I was looking at Monte-Carlo Bay casino. I'll check out hotel de Paris.

This may be my goal for 2014, if not 2015 for sure. Take a week off to enjoy the scenery (something Vegas doesn't have) and Russian hookers (something Vegas has, but better ). I love vacations where I have the potential to come home with more money in my pocket.

Free vacation + profit =

 

Another option for hotel is to take a short drive, or train to Nice. No idea how much they are there, but has to be less than Monte Carlo. That's where we stayed in 83, no clue what we spent though and I kinda remember the room being ok.

 

I considered that same option but rejected it in the end. ANYWHERE (London, NYC, Tokyo...) is cheaper than Monte Carlo, and the idea of going there and economizing in any way should be thrown right out the window. The expression "If you have to ask, you can't afford it" was probably coined by a waiter from Monaco. Nice is fine, same superb scenery, but a little bit of a tourist hell in summer. Staying in the principality is right for RiddickBull.

 

For what it's worth, the Monte Carlo casino actually has some very good casino rules for Black Jack with fair buy-ins considering how swanky it is. Add to this the better roulette.

So from a gambling perspective Monte Carlo beats out most places in Vegas (save Downtown).

 

They charged us $15 just to get in the Grand Casino

Just wanted to see the place rather than do any serious gambling. Very ornate and quiet inside. Theres another less fancy casino right across the street.
Theres good rail service all along the French coast. You can stay anywhere along there and train it in there for the day. If you go definitely take the tour of the Royal Palace ,just the views and photo ops from up there are spectacular.

 

My tour stopped off in Monaco for a few hours. We got to walk around Monaco and see the sights. It was right after the grand prix, they still had the stands and signs up. Unfortunately I walked up to a casino where there was a sign that said they had a dress code that requires you to wear a coat inside the casino. Since I only had a windbreaker I didn't even try to enter the place. It was funny because while walking I saw a guy wearing a coat and shorts. Not sure if he was able to enter the casino though.

I can't believe how much they scrunched so many buildings in that small area, the place is so congested. But then looking at the ocean it was neat to see so many huge yachts and ships, some were moored in the bay and had small boats attached to ferry them into Monaco. I think many of these huge ships were single (rich) owners but they looked like they could hold a lot of people (at least 50 or 75 people or more).

Yes, I wanted to do the James Bond thing but I wasn't properly dressed to go inside the casinos, not that I would gamble anyway (too rich for my tastes).


As someone mentioned, Nice isn't very far from Monaco and has a few casinos. My tour stayed in Nice so I got to look inside some casinos. They did ask for my passport before entering, they scanned it too. No dress code I think because they allowed me inside, lol. The casino had a number of machines, maybe 2 or 3 bj tables and a baccarat table but no crap tables. I don't remember the minimums but I think they were at least 25 euro tables. I just put 10 euros in the machine and lost it in a few minutes so I left.

the casinos weren't very large (by vegas standards), I would say that in size they were probably smaller than the GG but with higher ceilings (2 stories), chandeliers and nicely decorated and with less tables and machines so not as crowded.

btw, I saw some casinos in London also. I didn't enter as I was busy sightseeing so not sure how they were.

 

Not only one of the wealthiest places to visit but Monaco is also one of the prettiest and the cleanest. And if you're on a cruise and lucky to be in a Starboard side cabin it is the most awesome site to wake up to.

We would have liked to have gone inside the Casino - Monte Carlo (The James Bond Casino) but it didn't open until 2:00pm. A sign said casual slacks and no tennis shoes required in the common areas and a dress
coat was required in the fancier areas. But we were able to walk into the Cafe DE Paris dressed as Tourist in our shorts and tennis shoes and play the Slots. That was still quite a bit of fun!