Breaking the Bank at Monte Carlo

There's no need to go to bed before dawn in Monte Carlo when you can go to the grand casinos. The casinos fix no closing times, but keep the doors open as long as the games are rolling.

The bastion and landmark of Monte Carlo gambling is, of course, the gorgeously ornate Casino de Monte-Carlo. The main gambling hall is the Salle Européene (European Room), where for a EUR8 entry fee you can play roulette, trente et quarante, or blackjack. The slot machines stand apart in the Salle Blanche (White Room) and the Salon Rose (Pink Salon), where unclad nymphs float about on the ceiling smoking cigarillos.

The Salles Privées (Private Rooms) are for high rollers; pay another EUR15 to play for a minimum stake of EUR80. Jacket and tie are required in the back rooms, which open at 3 PM. Bring your passport (under-21s not admitted). Pl. du Casino, France. PHONE: 377/92-16-20-00.

Once owned by the rival Loews Hotel (now the Monte Carlo Grand) the Sun Casino has been absorbed by SBM, though its long, low hall remains inside the Monte Carlo Grand hotel and just beside the waterfront convention center. There are no fewer than 435 slot machines here, as well as craps, blackjack, and roulette américaine. 12 av. des Spélugues, France. PHONE: 377/92-16-21-23.

Behind the dining room of the Café de Paris you'll find les jeux américains: row upon row of slot machines as well as American roulette, craps, and blackjack. Pl. du Casino, France. PHONE: 377/92-16-21-24.

SBM's Le Sporting, a summer-only entertainment complex on the waterfront, has opened the Salle des Palmiers for the full panoply of European games, from English roulette to chemin de fer. Its games are open only at night. Le Sporting, Av. Princess Grace, France. PHONE: 377/92-16-21-25.