The Casino Central ("Central

Casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

") is located in

Mar del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" is a s ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, and is one of the largest such establishments in the country.

Overview

The Central Casino is one of a pair of twin buildings designed by architect

Alejandro Bustillo Alejandro Bustillo (18 March 1889 – 3 November 1982) was an Argentine painter and architect who left his mark in various tourist destinations in Argentina, especially in the Andean region of the Patagonia. Biography Born in Buenos Aires, son ...

. Inspired by seafront

Hôtel du Palais The Hôtel du Palais is a hotel beside the Atlantic beach in the resort town of Biarritz, on the Côte Basque in the French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques. It was originally built for the Empress Eugénie around 1855 as a summer villa. It w ...

Biarritz Biarritz ( , , , ; Basque also ; oc, Biàrritz ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spain. ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, the casino and neighboring Grand Provincial Hotel (inaugurated in 1950) remain architectural landmarks of the city of Mar del Plata as well as of Argentina. Its decoration was designed by famed French designer

Jean-Michel Frank Jean-Michel Frank (28 February 1895 – 8 March 1941) was a French interior designer known for minimalist interiors decorated with plain-lined but sumptuous furniture made of luxury materials, such as shagreen, mica, and intricate straw marque ...

(who was in Argentina at work on the

Llao Llao Hotel The Llao Llao Hotel is located in the tourist resort of San Carlos de Bariloche within the Río Negro, Argentina. This famous hotel is situated in the foothills of the Andes on a hill between the Moreno Lake and Nahuel Huapi lakes. Information T ...

) together with local

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordina ...

house Casa Comte. Ground was broken on the casino's construction on July 15, 1938, by the

Concordance Concordance may refer to: * Agreement (linguistics), a form of cross-reference between different parts of a sentence or phrase * Bible concordance, an alphabetical listing of terms in the Bible * Concordant coastline, in geology, where beds, or la ...

Governor of

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...

Manuel Fresco Manuel Antonio Justo Pastor Pascual Fresco (June 3, 1888 in Navarro, Buenos Aires – November 17, 1971 in Buenos Aires) was an Argentine doctor and Politician, national deputy and governor of Buenos Aires Province between 1936 and 1940 for the ...

, and the Central Casino was inaugurated on December 22, 1939.Hotel Provincial de Mar del Plata, un paseo y su historia
''Crítica de la Argentina'': Ícono de una época de esplendor Bustillo's twin buildings were designed in an eclectic style, but with reminiscences of French

Neoclassical architecture Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

. The buildings were clad in brick and

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tect ...

, and topped with a

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

mansard A mansard or mansard roof (also called a French roof or curb roof) is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope, punctured by dormer windows, at a steeper angle than the upper. The ...

. Bustillo also designed the development's surrounding Bristol Esplanade, or ''Rambla Casino'', and central square, both built from 1938 to 1941 for the casino and future hotel.

Guillermo Brown William Brown (also known in Spanish as Guillermo Brown or ''Almirante'' Brown) (22 June 1777 – 3 March 1857) was an Irish-born Argentine admiral. Brown's successes in the Argentine War of Independence, the Cisplatine War and the Anglo-Frenc ...

Square separates the two twin buildings, and opens to the sea via wide stone steps flanked by two iconic statues of

sea lion Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. ...

s, carved by

José Fioravanti José Fioravanti (August 4, 1896 – October 10, 1977) was a prolific Argentine sculptor known for the many civic monuments he created. Life and work Fioravanti was born in Buenos Aires in 1896. He developed a very early interest in sculpture ...

The casino was refurbished by the provincial government in December 2007,''La Nación'': El tradicional casino de Mar del Plata, renovado
and the Grand Provincial Hotel was reopened by

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

-based

NH Hotels NH Hotel Group is a Spanish multinational hotel company headquartered in Madrid, that operates over 350 hotels in 28 countries, currently under the Anantara, NH Collection, nhow Hotels, Tivoli, NH Hotels, Elewana Collection and Avani brands. The ...

in February 2009. The grand entrance of the Central Casino, marked by a canopy, was located on

Patricio Peralta Ramos Patricio Peralta Ramos (May 17, 1814April 25, 1887) was an Argentine businessman and landowner prominent in the foundation of the seaside city of Mar del Plata. Life and times Patricio Peralta Ramos was born in the San Nicolás, a Buenos Aires ...

Avenue, but was moved to the seashore esplanade following its 2007 refurbishment. Gaming space includes a main room overlooking the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, as well as rooms for

high roller A high roller, also referred to as a whale or cheetah, is a gambler who consistently wagers large amounts of money. High rollers often receive lavish " comps" from casinos to lure them onto the gambling floors, such as free private jet transfers ...

s (140 tables, including

blackjack Blackjack (formerly Black Jack and Vingt-Un) is a casino banking game. The most widely played casino banking game in the world, it uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as Twenty-One. This fami ...

baccarat Baccarat or baccara (; ) is a card game played at casinos. It is a comparing card game played between two hands, the "player" and the "banker". Each baccarat coup (round of play) has three possible outcomes: "player" (player has the higher score ...

craps Craps is a dice game in which players bet on the outcomes of the roll of a pair of dice. Players can wager money against each other (playing "street craps") or against a bank ("casino craps"). Because it requires little equipment, "street c ...

, and

roulette Roulette is a casino game named after the French word meaning ''little wheel'' which was likely developed from the Italian game Biribi''.'' In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various groupings of numbers, the ...

) and for

slot machine A slot machine (American English), fruit machine (British English) or poker machine (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known pejoratively a ...

s (630). The casino welcomes around 12,000 players per evening during the summer tourist season, with as many as 18,000 daily during January weekends. The Central Casino shares the north building with a 66-room

four star hotel Hotel ratings are often used to classify hotels according to their quality. From the initial purpose of informing travellers on basic facilities that can be expected, the objectives of hotel rating have expanded into a focus on the hotel experie ...

, the Auditorium Theatre, the Ástor Piazzolla Room, a sports arena that hosted

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...

tournaments and numerous other events at the

1995 Pan American Games File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake strike ...

, and the School of Hospitality. The ground floor also houses numerous storefronts and is surrounded by a

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

along its beachfront side.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Casino Central Casinos in Argentina Hotels in Argentina Tourist attractions in Mar del Plata Casinos completed in 1939 Buildings and structures in Mar del Plata