The Casino’s first gaming room was inaugurated on January 1st, 1865. Architect Jules-Laurent Dutrou renovated it entirely in 1869. The Salle Europe was built on the east side of the Casino, after a few trees were cut down. Its decoration in Moorish style was designed in Paris. In 1878, it was transformed by Charles Garnier, then completely rebuilt in 1898 by Henri Schmit, a French architect of Dutch origin (born in Rheims in 1851 – died on December 15th, 1904, in Monaco at the Villa Prince Albert hospital, from the aftermath of a stroke – buried in Paris). Henri Schmit had worked for the “Société des Bains de Mer” for 18 years.
Following its most recent restoration in 1968, it was renamed the “Salon de l’Europe”.
Charles Garnier had opted for sober decoration, just the opposite of that used for the Opera-House. Yielding to the taste of the time, it was thus completely taken in hand when Schmit was entrusted with its restoration. As huge as the nave of a cathedral, with onyx columns circled in bronze, a vast ceiling with a glass dome, sculptures, a profusion of gilding…, nothing was forgotten. The room is lit by 8 monumental chandeliers of Bohemian crystal.
Paintings :
We owe “La Récolte des Oranges” and “Promenade en Mer” to French artist Paul Steck (born in Troyes), a painter of the past and landscapes, and a member of the “Société des Artistes Français” from 1896. He won an honorable commendation in 1895, a 3rd-class medal in 1896, a travel stipend in 1896 and a bronze medal in 1900 at the World Fair.
“L’Ascension des Alpes” and “Promenade au Bord de Mer” are by Félix Hippolyte Lucas, aka Marie Félix Hippolyte-Lucas (born November 9th, 1854, at Rochefort-sur-Mer, Charente Maritime – died April 17th, 1925, at Bougival.). This French painter of figures, portraits and mural compositions regularly exhibited his work at the “Salon des Artistes Français” in Paris, from 1877 to 1924. He won an honorable commendation in 1879, a travel stipend in 1881, a 3rd-class medal in 1884, a 2nd-class medal in 1887, a silver medal in 1889, and another in 1900, at the World Fair. He was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour. He also painted the work entitled “Femme entourée d'Anges”, which adorns the central section of the box ceiling in the Louis XV Salon at the Hôtel de Paris.
“Bataille des Fleurs” and “Sur les Terrasses” are by Pierre (Pedro) Ribera, a Spanish artist who became a naturalised French citizen (born December 2nd, 1867, in Madrid – died in 1932, in Paris). He was known for his battle scenes, figures, nudes, portraits, landscapes, seascapes, and was the pupil of Léon Bonnat (1833 – 1922), a French academic painter and portraitist, the master of great artists such as Gustave Caillebotte, Georges Braque, Raoul Dufy and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, travelling companion of the young Degas. Ribera participated in the “Salon des Artistes Français” in Paris, winning a 3rd-class medal in 1907.
Georges Picard (born December 23rd, 1857, at Remiremont in the Vosges – died around 1942 during deportation to the concentration camp of Struthof, France). A French painter of compositions with figures, mural compositions and nudes, Picard benefitted from important and flattering commissions, including those for the Casino : “L’Automne” and “Le Printemps”. All these artworks helped make Monte-Carlo an exotic destination during the “Belle Epoque”. Picard was a regular exhibitor at the “Salon de la Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts”, of which he was the treasurer.
All these works are dated 1898. They symbolise the four seasons (Steck & Picard) and the four natural elements (Ribera & Lucas).
One also finds two medallion canvases by Lucas, “La Musique” and “La Peinture”. In the first, an allegorical scene, the architect Schmit is featured in the bas-relief represented by Cupid .
Paul Larché, a French sculptor from the “Art Nouveau” school (born in 1860 at Saint-André-de-Cubzac – died in 1912 in Paris) was well-known for his female nudes. He was inspired by the dancer Loïe Fuller. For the Casino, he produced the allegorical bas-reliefs “L'Air” and “La Terre”, which adorn the ceiling tympana. We owe the other two bas-reliefs, “Le Feu” and “L'Eau”, to Lucien Pallez (born in Paris on May 22, 1853), winner of silver medals at the World Fairs of 1889 and 1900.
The bull’s-eye windows all around the room served as observation points of the gaming room. Camille Blanc would hide there for hours to keep an eye on the players, and his employees. Nowadays, an electronic system handles surveillance of the salons.
In the Salon Europe, we also find the Casino de Monte-Carlo’s two oldest games, Trente et Quarante and European roulette, which have been played ever since the Casino’s inauguration in 1863.
* Trente et Quarante is a very old card game, known well before roulette. One can find traces of the game as far back as the 15th century ; since then, it has continued to fascinate players. It won its letters of nobility under the aegis of Mazarin. Trente et Quarante is played with six full packs of 52 cards around a table in the shape of a shield. It became a casino game most especially played in France. Its name derives from the fact that the breakdown of the winning points must lie between 30 and 40.
The Casino de Monte-Carlo is to gambling what a house of “Haute Couture” is to fashion : its elegance constantly evolves to follow what’s currently in the air, blending high technology machines with traditional games. Monte-Carlo has always been the undisputed flagship of roulette, especially when it was outlawed in France. French roulette has always kept the favours of great players. Roulette is a magician that sometimes turns you into a beggar, sometimes into a nabob.
* “Faites vos jeux”, “Rien ne va plus”… words that have stirred a lot of emotions and suspense for many decades. Roulette, a game involving the placing of bets on a grid, comes from the French word meaning a “small wheel”. Roulette spread throughout Europe between the 18th and 19th centuries, and especially to Monte-Carlo. The first roulette as we know it today is believed to have been used in a “house of pleasure” in Spa, Belgium, around 1780. It is to the Blanc brothers, then owners of the Casino of Bad Hombourg in Germany, that we owe roulette with a single zero, known as European roulette and brought to Monte-Carlo by François Blanc. In 1841, they had decided to eliminate one of the two zeros in order to encourage and entice the players, making unparalleled advertising out of this operation. The casino collects all the stakes when the silver ball falls on zero. It’s thus easy to understand the popularity of this step, which worked in favour of the players while lowering the casino’s takings. Since the 19th century, one thing hasn’t changed, and probably never will : the monotonous voice of the croupier announcing tirelessly, over and over again, fortune for some, ruin for others ; the strange decisions of Lady Luck for all those who vainly search the way to win fabulous sums of money, those whom certain Casino employees ironically call “graduates in roulette”.
Charles Graves wrote that “all the numbers on a roulette wheel add up to 666, the number of the beast (symbol of evil) in the Apocalypse (of Saint John)”.
Competition for European games in other French casinos has endowed Monaco with a predominant position, as its array of offerings is unique throughout the world. Only casinos in Las Vegas, London Clubs and a few Asian casinos can compete. On March 16th, 1968, on the occasion of the inaugural reopening of the Salon de l'Europe, a great ball in 1900’s style was organised in the presence of Sovereign Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace. On the occasion of its restoration, all the leafy scrolls, all the mouldings and ornamentation on the colonnades… were re-gilded with 22-carat gold-leaf.
Several side rooms open out form the Salon, like so many chapels. To the left, one finds the Italian restaurant “Le Train Bleu”, inaugurated on December 29th, 1988. It replaced the former gaming offices. Its decor, entrusted to Alain Deverini, recreates in the tiniest details a dining-room on the “wagons-lits” (sleeping cars) in the days of the “Belle Epoque”, with showcases displaying a collection of old toys of high esthetic value. It opens at the same time as the Casino, but is closed from 5 to 7 p.m.
