European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 01, 1948, Darmstadt, Hesse " in lavish Homes and Lush hotels International society performs at its most Brilliant. The Holiday season is a year Long affair and gambling is the closest approach to la Borset if it usually works off some of the boredom the tables of the casinos that brighten the coastline All the Way from Les Sallettes to Menton. The smartest of the sucker traps is the Beach at Cannes and the most fabulous course is the Monte Carlo Casino. Neither of tse places is the exclusive property of the crust. The Monte Carlo establishment two some 360,000 customers a year and Many of a Are the two bit variety of Gambler. Riviera legend includes the Story of one Tor in this category who is supposed to have played a 20-f Ranc bet in to a 130,000-franc stake. 1his is True the Monte Carlo management Ains confident that it s a rare enough edition to the Rule. This Confidence is justified byte Casino s books which have shown an an Al profit As High As 100 million francs gambling has been called the Riviera s sub Institute for few individuals have made a living from the wheels cards and Dice but a Cumber have fallen in the attempt. Before the War a wealthy britishers was reputed to have drained an average of about $40,000 a year from Pietales at Monte Carlo although the truth of the Story has never been clearly american a former i however is known to i be supporting himself in comfortable style on three hours of concentrated labor at the tables cach week. The Casino management makes no attempt to discourage him from playing being Imp evinced As a result of its Long and profitable experience that no system and no Luck can pos a slyly hold out against the Law of averages. The two bit customer the casual tourist who indulges his reckless impulses with 50-franc bets at the Roulette tables and an occasional ride in pne of Ifie horse drawn carriages or Rolls Royce id Dusenberg taxi limousines that line Theolu Lenards is actually the mainstay of the Viera Trade. In order to stimulate the Holiday business the Riviera has in effect revised the Calendar to suit its own purposes providing a Holiday for virtually every Day in the year. This practice has been carried an extent that France will probably be faced in the near future the necessity of enlarging the Calendar beyond its Normal quota of 365 Days in order to make room for All the occasions it would like to Riviera has in addition to its season Long Winter carnival a formidable series of lesser. Celebrations including a folklore festival a Flower festival an International air festival children a festival a festival of the kingdom of youth a Lemon festival a Mimosa festival a Franco belgian festival and a Franco British festival. It also stages with appropriate festivities a year Long schedule of regional National and International assemblies galas contests an tournaments of sport running All the Way from air races to Winter it added to this imposing list the first International jazz festival importing glittering group of International music celebrities at a net Cost of about six million francs to the taxpayers of Nice. V i the world famous Winter carnival at Nice which reaches its Climax at the Mardi gras represents an annual investment of at least 80 million francs by the municipal festival com Mittee. That in t very much remarked one of the committee members after toting up the books on this years event considering what the City gets but of the tourists w to come Here forthe carnival. J should like very much to take on that risk for my owns estimates Are that Nice gets Back about twice the amount it puts into the show each Ith a population of a Quarter of a million Nice is about six times As Large As the Riviera s second biggest town Cannes. Be cause of its size Nice has gradually lost its claim on the Swanky set and has become a sort of at lactic City of France. It is also handicapped in the contest for the better paying Trade with Aston Beach that is lacking in privacy. As Long As the magnificent modernized baroque of 4he hotel Negrescu stands gleaming on the promenade Des Langlais however Nice will continue to have some stake in the Carriage Trade. The Negrescu s world wide reputation Forchic is based on a guest list that fairly reeks with Royalty. It was at the Negrescu that the Nizam of Hyderabad and the King of Cambodia used to tuck themselves away in 24-room, floor through suites. Alfonso Xii of one of the hotels steady patrons and one of. His most fabulous noblemen the Conde de Cimera,.used to show up regularly for a Seaside Holiday backed by a Convoy of three Rolls royces and equipment consisting of 17 trunks one devoted exclusively to the count s inexhaustible Stock of neckties and two just to his is hardly enough Royalty to go around nowadays one of the hotel officials comments realistically. One must be contented with the Negrescu s recent share of inter National Royalty included Louis Armstrong the King of jazz. " some of the towns on the azure coast Are unable to offer either Chic or gaiety. In place of these two , they hold out quaintness quiet and a comparatively cheap Standard of Liv ing As their chief attractions. Outstanding Amon these Are Cagnes site of a sizable but. Diminishing artists Colony and Villefranche known to Mostof the world s navies As a Sailor s town although each of the Shore towns has a cer Tain character of its own All of them have common look of billboards designed to advertise the Virtues of the Riviera Sun. All the tints of sunlight Are in the plaster facades of their build Ings framed in the narrow Shade of the Steep antiquated Pink White burned Orang and yellow accented by the Green and Aqua Marine of slatted window blinds shimmer against the Mediterranean s glacial Blue. Above the towns on the baked Brown ledges of the lower Alps the big neat Villas glow in chips of color among the Palms and the Orange Trees. Scattered among such places is a fairly Siz Able group of Long term expatriates in the Low income and no income brackets. The British element always especially Strong has been bolstered since the War by the addition of a number of veterans who prefer to take their austerity with a Little Sunshine. One of Villefranche s leading citizens is husky Black bearded 30-year-old englishman named Jimmy Jickell who operates a waterfront bar which French British and american sailors inevitably make a dash for As soon As their ship drop Anchor. Jickell was a British army Para trooper. As a vet on the Riviera he has the com Pany of about 400 men who make up the Nice Monte Carlo Post of the British legion. "about20 per cent of pm works Jimmy says tie rest lives on their fortunes you might say Al though i know of a few that lives of somebody else s Fortune. The towns along Here have Al ways had a few beachcombers along with what you might Call the International set they la comedown Here with a Little stake they be put to Gether and live for a while on that and when it 1gives out they la ship out for a while on the Rich people s boats. Or maybe they la stick around and just keep running up Bills. I be got a few Little keepsakes of that sort ii i 4 of Boulette ploy at Monte Carlo rarely photographed is a grim contest involving nerves Money and the Laws of mathematics. Summer fireworks illuminate the Monaco Shoreline. Perpetual Holiday atmosphere is maintained to amuse the tourist Trade. Old towns off the tourist track Are the eng Refuge of native working classes Sun seeking artists and expatriates in he lower us come jackets Vav "
