Marisole picked us up and we were on our way to Monte Carlo to spend some time around the casino. On our way she drove us on part of the Grand Prix Course. It was absolutely nuts to know that drivers are going through there at top speeds, on break neck turns. They can easily go through a storefront or end up in the ocean. It was comforting to know that they spend two months prior to the prix preparing the track, removing flowerpots and statues that may be in the road; just one less thing for the drivers to run into.
As we pulled into Monte Carlo it was obvious the money that was present. The streets were lined with Lamborghinis, Rolls Royces, Beamers, and other flashy cards we will never even drive, let alone own. We entered the Casino and were instantly taken back by the details in the architecture and design. Unfortunately, pictures are not allowed and it was heavily staffed and guarded, so try googling it for images. Another observation was the lack of noise inside the Casino. Now it is important to add that we were nowhere close to any of the private or high roller rooms, this was just the general casino for the likes of us. There were tables with $25 dollar minimums and several noiseless slot machines.
Jared tried to hop on a blackjack table, with little success so we decided to head out and try the more “vegasey” Casino, Casino de Paris. It was on our way out that we noticed several hallways and stairwells that were roped off, we inferred that they led to the private rooms.
Before stopping at Casino de Paris, we had to follow the advice of Tina’s guidebook and stop into Hotel de Paris and rub the knee of the horse statue inside the foyer. According to the guidebook, the horse’s knee brings luck to those who rub it. This is apparent when looking at the statue, as the horses knee is worn a different color. One man rubbed the knee and then won 1 million Euros on his first trip to Monte Carlo. One his second trip he returned to the same statute, and again rubbed the knee to go on and win 3 million Euros. He obviously doesn’t have a wife like Tina who encourages you to quite while you are ahead, because he visited a third time and lost it all.
So now that we had luck on our side we trekked to Casino de Paris to play some video poker, because this casino did not have any table games. But the video machines had a lot of sound coming from them and the familiar feel of Vegas. Jared inserted 10 e and began to play. His balance went up and down and then he hit it big, he got a flush and a full house and was in the green. Of course Tina wanted to cash out and collect her winnings, but Jared wanted to play some more. We agreed to cash out when Jared’s credits equaled 100, this resulted in a 10 Euro surplus, Big winner thanks to the knee.
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