1907-1918

In 1918, the United States Army requisitioned Le Casino Municipal de Beausoleil, in France on its border with Monaco, for a YMCA center for World War I infantrymen on leave. In the main former gambling room, food was served to doughboys, including American-style bacon and eggs in mornings and, on Sunday afternoons, housemade donuts.

Between 1914 and 1918 the French had used the Beausoleil casino as a hospital. When the gaming house had opened originally in 1907, it’d offered baccarat and petits-chevaux.

1931

The Big Baccarat Table in Nice (France) was sketched by cartoonist, Pierre de Régnier, aka Tigre (1898-1943), and ran in newspapers with this description:

“From left to right: Mme. Ephrussi, the French multimillionaire widow who lives at the gaming tables; Andre Citroen, the rich automobile manufacturer, whose fortune represents motor cars; Yves Mirande, the famous playwright whose wealth comes from the plays he writes, such as The Man in Evening Clothes, Ta Bouche, One Kiss. Next to Mirande is the Aga Khan, ‘spiritual leader’ of the Indian Mohammedans, whose fortune is represented by elephants and jewels; then a prosperous Paris man-dressmaker, with his different gowns.

Behind are Erskine Gwynne, Henri Letellier, with his Paris Journal, and Jefferson Davis Cohn, with some of his Pullman cars. On the middle of the table a banco is ready. There is a champagne bottle, a Citroen car, the Chasseur de Chez Maxime, an elephant belonging to Aga Khan and the manikins.”

1929

Le Casino Municipal in Cannes, France broke its record in January for the highest amount of money (in chips) in play at a baccarat table — $1 million ($14.3 million today). “Though individual bets seldom ran over 200,000 francs or $8,000, almost every five minutes saw $50,000 change hands,” reported The New York Times (Jan. 29, 1929).

Photo from Wikimedia Commons