Blue Moon New Year's Eve

So I did manage to pull off the James Bond fantasy on New Year's Eve...the tuxedo, the Grand Casino, a Cuban cigar, and far too many vodkas. But enough about the fantasy (at least for a public blog)...

The Grand Casino was different than the other, surrounding casinos. This one consists of three different "levels" if you will: A free area which is slots, a 10 euro surcharge area with card game and slots, and an additional 10 euro surcharge area for those who are willing to don a jacket and live in the most secluded region.

I arrived at the casino just before 8:00 PM and immediately headed into the "middle" level, paying my 10 euros to have a vodka rocks in the bar. The casino was very nearly deserted at this early hour, but it did give me a chance to walk about and get familiar with the layout. In the front of this middle area is a bar, a (very expensive) buffet, and a restaurant. There were, of course, table games, and a large slot area off to the side, only this slot area was far different than what I had seen the night before. Imagine a cathedral full of slot machines, with the noise there but turned way down. Unfortunately pictures were not allowed, but it truly did seem to be a very incongruous blend, with vegas style slots in what would otherwise have been pure opulence.

I had to try the more exclusive area as quickly as possible, so I paid my extra 10 euros and entered the innermost sanctum. In this area were more tables and a bar, but virtually no patrons, just numerous employees dressed in tuxedos.

Throughout the evening I vacillated between the two areas, and though the crowds did pick up as the evening went on, neither ever become terribly crowded--in fact, the inner sanctum was virtually deserted even when I left at 11:30. I lost a couple hundred euros playing roulette (unfortunately, playing "7" in that sense did not pay off at all). I did get to witness an older Japanese businessman playing thousands of euros at the table, and though I could not tell whether he came out ahead or behind, it certainly did not matter to him: He was the consummate high roller, and was treated as such.

As the mood in the casino was somber and quiet, at 11:30 I decided to leave and see what the outside was like. This was far more in line with what you would expect for NYE: Large, noisy crowd, champagne bottles, "Bonne Annee" in the air. I spent the next half hour there, enjoying the intensity with the crowd. Though not as intense as, say, NYE in Naples, there was in any case an excitement and hope as the new year rolled in. Bonne Annee!