The casino in Sanremo.A town-owned palace on the Riviera.

Free to enter, open every day

The Italian entry page lists the traditional games room with “ingresso gratuito” and the slot hall as free and open to all. The slot hall opens at 10:00 and the traditional games room at 14:00, and both close at 02:30 or 04:00, with possible changes on public holidays and at certain times of year.

Bring a valid identity document. The casino's notice to clients says the details on it are processed under its privacy notice and that the entry card is personal and cannot be transferred. It bars minors, military personnel in uniform, people known to gamble professionally and others named in the access regulations. There is a cash machine and a cheque-cashing office inside.

Inside: slot halls below, table rooms above

From the main entrance a staircase leads into the Salone Principale and the Sala Liberty, both given over to slot machines; the casino's Italian slot page puts the total at about 450, though its English pages quote figures of up to 479. A mezzanine above the main slot hall holds a bar looking down over the floor, and part of the Sala Liberty is set aside for smokers.

The Liberty staircase on the right leads to the first floor and the traditional games. The Sala Cinquecento, with its decorated wooden ceiling and fireplace, has a few slot machines and space for conversation. Beyond it are the Sala Comune and Sala Attigua for the traditional table games, lit by Venetian blown-glass chandeliers, then the Sala Giò Ponti, named after the Milanese architect who worked at the casino, on the Riviera dei Fiori and in nearby France; the casino credits him with bringing in the painter and decorator Piero Fornasetti. The Sala De Santis is the poker room, used for Texas Hold'em tournaments and cash games, and the Privè and Privatissimo rooms host the major national and international tournaments as well as exhibitions and events.

What is played at the tables

The casino describes its table offer as French roulette, American games and Hold'em poker. Its game pages cover French roulette, Fair Roulette, blackjack, chemin de fer, punto banco and poker. Two details are worth knowing. Fair Roulette keeps the main French rules but gives each player chips of a different colour and plays faster, with a minimum of five chips on the even-money bets; when zero comes up, every bet not covering zero loses, even-money bets included. Punto Banco is played in a “2000” variant in which the casino keeps no percentage on winning bets but pays half when the bank wins with six, and it offers an optional extra bet called Winning Number Baccarat.

The Sanremo dress code

• Traditional games rooms: caps, shorts, tank tops, sandals, slippers and tracksuits are not allowed. Women may dress informally.
• Slot hall: informal but appropriate clothing.
• Bistrot: appropriate, smart casual clothing.

In the gaming rooms, overcoats, bulky jackets, umbrellas and hats go to the cloakroom, and animals are not admitted.

The theatre, and a festival born at the casino

The casino has its own theatre, with about 400 seats. The writer Luigi Pirandello was its artistic director in the 1930s. The Sanremo Symphony Orchestra performs on its stage, about 100 concerts a year by the casino's count, and the theatre hosts the “Martedì Letterari” (Literary Tuesdays), which the casino calls the cultural salon of the western Riviera and says have won several awards from the Presidency of the Republic.

The casino dates the Festival della Canzone Italiana to 1951, though its own pages place the birth in two rooms: the theatre page says the theatre, the slot page says the former “Giardino d'inverno” (winter garden), once used for grand receptions and now the main slot hall. The festival moved to the nearby Teatro Ariston in 1976.

On the roof, the Roof Garden restaurant looks out over the town. It is covered and heated in winter and open in summer, holds up to 233 guests and hosts music evenings.

Since 1905: guests, statues and superstitions

The casino says it has kept the charm of Art Nouveau and Deco style over the years. Its own list of famous guests includes Vittorio De Sica, King Gustav of Sweden, King Leopold of Belgium, Rainier and Grace of Monaco, and King Farouk, who, the casino says, came to the tables every day in the 1950s. Eduardo and Peppino De Filippo performed in its theatre.

Two works of art are worth finding. The statue known as the “Cica-Cica”, by Odoardo Tabacchi, was won by the town council in a competition for the 1884 Turin sculpture exhibition; judged unsuitable for the town hall, it went to the casino, where players touch its foot for luck. On the first floor stands a copy of Vincenzo Gemito's bronze “Il Pescatore”, whose original is in the Bargello museum in Florence.

Getting to Corso degli Inglesi

The casino is at Corso degli Inglesi 18, in the middle of town, linked to Piazza Colombo by the shopping street Via Matteotti, where the Teatro Ariston also stands. By road, leave the A10 Autostrada dei Fiori at Sanremo Est or Sanremo Ovest. Sanremo is on the Genoa to Nice railway line, with frequent services from Genova Principe, Torino Porta Nuova and Milano Centrale.

The casino lists Nice Côte d'Azur, 59 km away, and Genoa, 139 km away, as the nearest airports. Holders of its Privilège card can park free in Via Nino Bixio, near the former railway station. Separately, the casino says its premises are accessible to disabled people.

Responsible gambling

The casino's responsible gaming page says it has long promoted responsible gambling and aims to keep play as harmless entertainment. Customers can apply, on a form, to exclude themselves from the gaming rooms; the exclusion can be lifted at their request, but only after three months. If gambling is causing problems for you or someone close to you, GamCare runs the National Gambling Helpline in the UK on 0808 8020 133, and our safer gambling page sets out other options.