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'Monte Carlo' (Occitan: ''Montcarles'', Monégasque: ''Monte-Carlu'') is the wealthiest of Monaco's 4 quarters, sometimes erroneously believed to be the country's capital, even though there formally is none. Monte Carlo is known for its casinos, gambling, glamour, and for sightings of famous people. The permanent population is 30,000 (1990 estimate). Monte Carlo quarter includes, not only Monte Carlo proper where the casino is located, but also the neighborhoods of Saint Michel, Saint Roman/Tenao, and the beach community of Larvotto. It borders the French town of Beausoleil (formerly known as Haut-Monte-Carlo).
Monte Carlo is home to most of the Circuit de Monaco, on which the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix takes place; it also hosts world championship boxing bouts, the Monte Carlo Masters, fashion shows and other events. Monte Carlo has been visited by royalty as well as the general public and movie stars for decades. The quarter of Monte Carlo was served by tramways from 1900 to 1953, linking parts of Monaco. The Monte Carlo Rally is one of the longest running and most respected car rallies, and marks the start of each rally season as the first event on the World Rally Championship calendar.
Monte Carlo is one of Europe's leading tourist resorts, and has many attractions which include Monaco Cathedral, the Napoleon Museum and The Prince's Palace.
Most famous of the tourist attractions is the casino complex and the Grand Théâtre de Monte Carlo, an opera and ballet house, and the headquarters of the Ballets de Monte Carlo. In 1861 a 50-year concession to operate the gaming rooms was granted to a private individual. Since 1898 the concession has been operated by the Société des Bains de Mer, a private company, in which the government now holds a majority interest. This corporation also owns the principal hotels and clubs of the community that serve the tourist trade. The citizens of Monaco are exempt from taxes, and they are forbidden to enter the gaming rooms.

Contents

The name

Casino

External links

The name

The name "Monte Carlo" (Italian) takes origin from the prince Carlo III of Monaco, whose state was able to be founded thanks to the protection of the Italian Monarchy. Since they divided in 1861, the official language had been Italian. In the last hundred years, the official language has become French.

Casino

In 1873, Joseph Jagger gained the casino great publicity by "breaking the bank at Monte Carlo" by discovering and capitalizing on a bias in one of the casino's roulette wheels. Technically, the bank in this sense was the money held on the table by the croupier. According to an article in ''The Times'' in the late 19th century, it was thus possible to break the bank several times. The 1892 song ''The Man that Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo'', made famous by Charles Coburns, was probably inspired by the exploits of Charles Wells, who broke the bank on many occasions on the first two of his three trips.
According to the book ''Busting Vegas'' by Ben Mezrich, a team of blackjack players recruited from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology attempted to break the bank at Monte Carlo with the assistance of a system invented by the team's leader, Victor Cassius. The book describes how the management of Monte Carlo responded to the progress of the team, whose members included Semyon Dukach and others mentioned by aliases.
James Bond, fictional British spy and protagonist of the Bond book and movie series, is often associated with the city's glamorous Belle Époque casino. This was a model for the setting of Ian Fleming's first Bond novel, ''Casino Royale'' (1953), 'Royale-Les-Eaux' being a fictional resort in the style of Monte Carlo. The real Monte Carlo and its casino provided one of the glamorous locations for the 1995 James Bond Film, ''GoldenEye''.
The film ''Once Upon A Crime'' also takes place in Monte Carlo.

External links

★ Travel guide for Monte Carlo and Monaco

★ Official site about Monte Carlo thermae

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★ Monte Carlo - Fullscreen 360 degree Quicktime VR Panorama

★ Monaco Portal

★ Monte Carlo Review