Several people asked me why the name “CERCLE DU CASINO” sometimes appears. But, is it a casino or a cercle ?? Below the explanation.
A Cercle, was a restricted Club with members, where gambling was authorized, but restricted to its members. Some of the most famous cercles were very restrictive in the admission of new members. The trick of the casinos to guarantee the functioning of gambling was to create fictitious Cercles, but that allowed the generalized entrance of the public, “transformed in the immediate one into members”.
Prior to 1907, games of chance were operated commercially in casinos in spa towns, by virtue of authorization issued by the prefects under the conditions provided for by the decree-law of June 24, 1806. But as the provisions of this decree -the law did not fit well with those of the later laws, these authorizations were essentially precarious and the tenants considered it prudent to conceal their personality behind a fictitious organization of CERCLE PRIVÉ (Private Cercle): The “Cercle” du Casino had a president, a committee and statutes; the most solvent foreigners were admitted there on the presentation of sponsors of convenience and the subscription fee paid to the tenant received the denomination of “contribution” ( membership fee).
CASINO SALON DE TROUVILLE
The Casino Salon de Trouville (also know as Casino de Trouville) was opened in 1847, and its building was demolished in 1927.
Casino Salon de Trouville was, in 1910, the third most important French casino in terms of revenue, only surpassed by Casino d´ Enghien les Bains and Casino Municipal de Nice. In 1912 the new Casino de Trouville (current building) and the Casino de Deauville (a village separated from Trouville by a river) opened almost simultaneously. The opening of the Deauville casino overtook the Trouville Casino, which lost its relative importance.





Photo souce Gallica-BNF

"The Casino de Trouville has two Cercles on the first floor on the same landing, door to door. They are separated only by a partition. One of these two Cercles, which remains open only during the fortnight of the Deauville races, is called THE CERCLE OF THE UNION (or UNION CLUB).
It is a chic cercle frequented by the Dukes of Hatzfeld, the Clermont-Thunder, the Letellier, etc.
In principle, members of the large closed cercles of Paris and persons brought by one or two sponsors who are already part of the circle are allowed.
The other is called the CERCLE TROUVILLAIS . THERE COMES IN WHO WANTS TO. The supposedly demanded sponsors, by the General Security are forged by the cercle itself"
(Le XIX siecle 11.7.1893).
Some sources call CERCLE TROUVILLAIS as CERCLE INTERNATIONAL.

Publicity from (The New York Herald, 4.16.1891)

AROUND THE MOP´s Jetons

I atribute this jeton UC Trouville to UNION CLUB (Cercle de l´Union) Trouville.
Scan from Chipguide.
“At the CERCLE DE L´UNION CLUB at the Trouville casino, the one hundred franc jetons and those of twenty francs are made of mother-of-pearl and of identical size; they are recognized by the fact that those of twenty francs are tinted red; ; but it happens that by dint of serving the red disappear onthe sides So that once stacked, it is impossible to recognize without spreading them those of one hundred francs of others of twenty francs. ” (La Lanterne, 11.10.1893)
ENJOY