The publication yesterday on ChipGuide of a chip order cards sparked my curiosity for the study of casinos in Iran, which I started some time ago but was interrupted due to little progress being made.
Chipguide says “In 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini shut down all 57 casinos in Iran. They were owned by the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Foundation. ”
I investigated a lot but I found little about these 57 casinos.
But here's the result of the investigations on Iran at the time and CASINO ABALI
Rezza Palhavi era

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was the last Shah (Emperor) of Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow in the Iranian Revolution on 11 February 1979.
Farah Pahlavi (Farah Diba born 14 October 1938) was the wife of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and was the Shahbanu (empress) of Iran.
Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiary (22 June 1932 – 26 October 2001) was the queen consort (shahbanu) of Iran as the second wife of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, whom she married in 1951.
Mohammad Reza Shah took the title Shahanshah ("King of Kings. His dream of what he referred to as a "Great Civilisation" in Iran led to a rapid industrial and military modernisation, as well as economic and social reforms.
Iran lived in those times an occidental way of life.
Iran had advanced tourism with good hotels, winter ski resorts, casinos. etc. All this ended in 1979.
By 1979, its political unrest became a revolution leading to the monarchy's overthrow. Soon thereafter, the Iranian monarchy was formally abolished, and Iran was declared an Islamic republic led by Ruhollah Khomeini (known in the West as Ayatollah Khomeini). Facing likely execution should he return to Iran, the Shah died in exile in Egypt, whose president, Anwar Sadat, had granted him asylum.
ABALI
The first ski resort in Iran to install mechanical lifts (in 1953), Abali is around 57km northeast of Tehran on the way to Mt Damavand. Sitting at an altitude of 2250m.

1954 Shah Of Persia And Queen Soraya Ski Practice in Abali
ABALI CASINO
Open: 1970, Close: 1978
Abali is a mountain ski resort. The Abali Hotel, also called the Abali Casino was situated in a town called Ab-ali (hereafter Abali for ease of typing) about 50 kilometres to the north of Tehran. The town) at a height of about 2500 metres above sea level, was a ski resort in the era of Shah of Iran Reza Pahlavi ( knocked down on 1979 by Islamic Revolution of Iran).As far back as World War II, the building of the hotel was property of the family of the then Shah of Iran, Reza Shah, Reza Pahlavi father´s. From 1958, the property was outwardly owned by a charitable foundation ( owned by the Shah). It was a casino from 1970 onwards. By 1978, the casino was shutdown, as were all gambling houses in Iran, by the Revolutionary Parliament. In 1979, shortly after the revolution, the revolutionary authorities took over all the Reza Pahlavi properties including Abali Hotel.
Hotel Abali was nestled in the southern slopes of Alborz Mountain. The village of the same name was a popular summer-weekend getaway for Tehranies seeking cool mountain air, mineral baths and, until the Islamic government, gambling in the hotel’s casino.
In Augusr of 1970, Giancana (NOTE- Samuel Mooney Giancana (Italia born Salvatore Giangana;) was an American mobster, boss of the criminal Chicago Outfit from 1957 to 1966).) had used his contacts to influence the sister of the Shah of Iran to obtain permission to establish a gambling casino in Tehran. On November 30, 1970 the AB-ALI COUNTRY CLUB and CASINO opened in the Ab-Ali Hotel in the suburbs of Tehran.
The Abali Hotel does seem to have once had a grand life as a world-class casino from at east 1970, until its closure. The rumours had it that Frank Sinatra played here every Christmas, and even owned a part. The same rumours also speak of Tom Jones, Sammy Davis Jnr and others such as Dean Martin, frequenting the joint.
In any event, by 1978, the casino was shutdown, as were all gambling houses in Iran, by a Parliament of a country in turmoil. In 1979, shortly after the revolution, the revolutionary authorities took over the chattels of the Pahlavi Foundation, renamed the Alavi Foundation.





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