Monte Carlo

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For other uses, see Monte Carlo (disambiguation).

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.

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 commoners and movie stars for decades. The quarter of Monte Carlo was served by tramways from 1900 to 1953, linking parts of Monaco.

Monte Carlo is one of Europe's leading tourist resorts. Within the casino complex is 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.

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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 Colborn, 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 novel 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 character named Victor Cassius. The novel describes how the management of Monte Carlo responded to the progress of the team, members including the following characters: Semyon Dukatch, Owen Keller and Allie Simpson.

James Bond, fictional British spy and protagonist of the Bond book and movie series, frequented the city's glamorous, Belle Époque casino. This was the model for the casino in Ian Fleming's first Bond novel, Casino Royale (1953), "Royale" being a fictional name for Monaco. Monte Carlo and its casino is one of the glamorous locations in the 1995 James Bond Film, Goldeneye.