Gambling in Monte Carlo gets a breath of fresh air.
Monte Carlo SBM opened its first open air casino in April this year. It's a sort of mini-casino attached to the Cafe de Paris, with about 100 slot machines. The 800 000 euros investment will pay for itself by helping to turn around declining attendance in SBM's casinos. Due to the combined effects of the global economic downturn and last November's introduction of the smoking ban in Monaco [1] there's been a 13% drop in the number of visitors.
Europe's first open air casino tables were introduced last summer at Palm Beach in Cannes. SBM also has plans to host table games under the Mediterranean blue sky on terraces overlooking the sea at the Casino de Monte Carlo.
Links:
[1] http://monaco-iq.com/smoking-ban-comes-into-effect