In 2007, the casino moved into new premises of more than 55,000 square metres (590,000\u00a0sq\u00a0ft), making it the largest casino in Europe. The casino was founded in 1917 as a site to gather information from foreign diplomats during the First World War. The Monte Carlo Casino features in Ben Mezrich’s 2005 book Busting Vegas, where a group of students beat the casino out of nearly $1 million. The song was inspired by the exploits of English trickster Charles Wells, who in 1891 “broke the bank” on many occasions on the first two of his three trips to the casino. According to an analysis of 4,222 gamblers during a two-year period, only 13.5% of them ended up actually winning money at the casino.<\/p>\n
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In military and non-military usage, a casino (Spanish) or Kasino (German) is an officers’ mess. The Catalina Casino, on Santa Catalina Island, California, has never been used for traditional games of chance, which were already outlawed in California by the time it was built. Other significant gambling centers include Singapore, Monte Carlo, and various locations in Europe and the United States. Macau is the largest gambling market in the world, having surpassed Las Vegas in terms of revenue. In 1976, New Jersey allowed gambling in Atlantic City, which is now the second-largest gambling city in the US. The first known European gambling house, the Ridotto, was established in Venice, Italy, in 1638 to provide controlled gambling during the carnival season.<\/p>\n
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