Long Description:It is just as hard to imagine Baden-Baden without its casino as it
is to imagine the city without its thermal baths. Today, the white
ball is still rolling in the famed, sumptuous rooms that casino
lessee Edouard Bénazet had designed by interior decorators from
Paris. And today, some 200 years later, the Baden-Baden casino
still numbers among the world’s most beautiful.
The flair of the historic gaming rooms captivates all who visit
them, and the casino’s guest book is filled with illustrious names.
The Russian writer Dostoevsky wrote "The Gambler" while
compulsively gambling at the famous Baden-Baden Casino.
With a history dating back over 250 years and fashioned on the
lines of French royal palaces, the Baden-Baden Casino is, and
always has been, a temple to the alluring game of chance. What was
in the last century a social rendezvous for nobles and the elite,
nowadays opens its doors to all of Baden-Baden’s guests.
The Baden-Baden Casino is situated in the Kurhaus. The Kurhaus
was converted from a Promenade House into a "Conversation House"
between 1821 and 1824 by Freidrich Weinbrenner. Upon completion, a
license was issued for a Casino to be operated on the premises, and
it now makes up the right wing of the building.
Some other important dates in its history :
1824- Friedrich Weinbrenner builds the Kurhaus. The gaming room
there is today known as the Weinbrenner Room. The government of the
Grand Duke in Karlsruhe signs a 15-year lease with the casino
operator Chabert.
1838- The gaming rooms in the Paris Palais Royal are closed. The
Paris casino lessee Jacques Bénazet takes over the casino in
Baden-Baden. The fashionable game of roulette gradually ousts the
card games pharao and rouge et noir.
1848- After the death of his father, Edouard Bénazet takes over
the casino. The new lessee, who counts many prominent people among
his friends, arranges for famous musicians and actors to come to
Baden-Baden and organizes the first Iffezheim race meeting in
1858.
1855- Edouard Bénazet inaugurates the new gaming rooms in the
right wing of the Kurhaus, which were created by interior
decorators and artists from Paris: the Winter Garden, the Red Room,
the Florentine Room and the Salon Pompadour.
1872- The German government in Berlin orders the closing of all
German casinos.
1933- The casino is reopened for business, to be closed again in
1944 in the final months of the Second World War.
1950- Ceremonial opening of the "third" Baden-Baden casino.
Minimum bets are €5.00, maximum €10,000, but if you prefer to
keep your money in your pocket you can always take a guided tour.
Tours of the Casino are available daily from 9:30am until 11:30
between April and September, and from 10:00am until 11:30 between
October and March. Prior arrangement should be made for tours in
English, French and Russian.
Or you can drop by after 14:00 to gamble or just observe. (This
is no problem — a third of the visitors only observe.) The place is
most interesting in action; you can people-watch under chandeliers.
The casino is open for gambling daily from 14:00 to 2:00 in the
morning (Fri–Sat to 3:00, €3 entry, €1.50 entry with Kurkarte
discount card from your hotel, €5 minimum bet, €10,000 maximum bet,
no blue jeans or tennis shoes, tie and coat required and can be
rented for €11 with an €11 deposit, passport absolutely required,
under 21 not admitted, liveliest after dinner and later, pick up
English history and game rules as you enter.
Game Offer Minimum Bet
2 French Roulette tables 2 / 5 / 10 €
1 American Roulette table 2 / 5 / 10 €
8 Euroulette tables 2 / 5 / 10 €
3 Black Jack tables 10 €
2 Baccara tables 50 €
3 Poker tables:
Seven Card Stud, Tropical Poker, Texas Hold'em, Omaha
128 slot machines 0,10 € / 0,50 €
From classic one-armed bandits to state-of-the-art touch-screen
machines – you are sure to find your favourite opponent from among
the 128 gaming machines in the basement of the historic Kurhaus
vault. A five-digit jackpot is nothing out of the ordinary here.
And can be won with a minimum bet.
You are always welcome (minimum age of 21) in this section
whether in fancy or casual dress, with or without a tie.
There are various bars and a restaurant located in the gambling
rooms.
