Monte Carlo - barring
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I've only been there once, but I didn't see blackjack offered at all (the caveat being this was on a weekday in the tourist off-season so most of the tables were empty); it was a little hard to see as ropes kept tourists at a 20-foot distance from the tables, but the only games I saw were roulette and baccarat.
From a tourist perspective, it was a huge waste of money. It's a small casino with a tiny public floor (all the interesting stuff happens in private rooms), and it was 20 euros per person (when 1 euro = 1 USD) just to go in and see essentially nothing. The only nice thing I noticed is that the slot machines didn't make as much noise as Las Vegas slot machines; the atmosphere was a lot calmer and more sophisticated as a result. The gambling limits were a lot lower than I had anticipated; I believe (again, it was hard to see from a distance) that the limits were 10 euros ($10). I was tempted to play a few rounds of baccarat (punto banco) but the casino staff were snooty and I didn't feel like giving them any more money. If I had to do it again, I'd have snapped a picture in the gardens and then spent the time I spent in the casino at the castle instead.
From a tourist perspective, it was a huge waste of money. It's a small casino with a tiny public floor (all the interesting stuff happens in private rooms), and it was 20 euros per person (when 1 euro = 1 USD) just to go in and see essentially nothing. The only nice thing I noticed is that the slot machines didn't make as much noise as Las Vegas slot machines; the atmosphere was a lot calmer and more sophisticated as a result. The gambling limits were a lot lower than I had anticipated; I believe (again, it was hard to see from a distance) that the limits were 10 euros ($10). I was tempted to play a few rounds of baccarat (punto banco) but the casino staff were snooty and I didn't feel like giving them any more money. If I had to do it again, I'd have snapped a picture in the gardens and then spent the time I spent in the casino at the castle instead.
Snooty
The most applicable term to be applied to Monte Carlo is "snooty". This is all based on when I was there in the late 80's but... everything was expensive in the whole area and in my visit to France in general. You had to wear a suit and tie just to get into the place! They are or were rumored at that time to stack the shoe, that is take out some of the 10's to hedge themselves in.
I was in Toulon and Marseille and heard that they had buses that you could zip over to this place, so I went. Vegas it AIN'T, BABY! Stuffy, snooty, arrogant bunch of weinies that stack the shoe and are all about fleecing tourists? I wonder if it is still the same after all these years.
The most applicable term to be applied to Monte Carlo is "snooty". This is all based on when I was there in the late 80's but... everything was expensive in the whole area and in my visit to France in general. You had to wear a suit and tie just to get into the place! They are or were rumored at that time to stack the shoe, that is take out some of the 10's to hedge themselves in.
I was in Toulon and Marseille and heard that they had buses that you could zip over to this place, so I went. Vegas it AIN'T, BABY! Stuffy, snooty, arrogant bunch of weinies that stack the shoe and are all about fleecing tourists? I wonder if it is still the same after all these years.
Well, they don't make you wear a suit and tie to get in any more. Apart from that, sounds exactly the same.
I'm surprised you considered the Marseilles area expensive. Nice and the Cote d'Azur, I can see, but Marseilles is a huge industrial metropolis now (and apparently one of the few places where the French are an ethnic minority) and there's not much of the "tourist surcharge" you see in more picturesque places. It was very reasonably priced when I went in 1998 and 2002, and I found Provence in general to be affordable, beautiful, and friendly.
(Except for one a-hole post office bureaucrat who refused to sell me stamps because I asked for them in proper French rather than with a Provencal accent.)
I'm surprised you considered the Marseilles area expensive. Nice and the Cote d'Azur, I can see, but Marseilles is a huge industrial metropolis now (and apparently one of the few places where the French are an ethnic minority) and there's not much of the "tourist surcharge" you see in more picturesque places. It was very reasonably priced when I went in 1998 and 2002, and I found Provence in general to be affordable, beautiful, and friendly.
(Except for one a-hole post office bureaucrat who refused to sell me stamps because I asked for them in proper French rather than with a Provencal accent.)