[3] The idea of opening a gambling casino in Monaco originated with Princess Caroline,[4] the shrewd, business-minded spouse of Prince Florestan.

[citation needed] In 1854, Charles, Florestan's son and future Prince of Monaco, recruited a team of Frenchmen (writer Albert Aubert and businessman Napoleon Langlois) to devise a development plan and write a prospectus to attract 4 million francs needed to build a spa for the treatment of various diseases, a gambling casino modeled on the Bad Homburg casino, and English-style villas.

[citation needed] Granted a concession of 30 years to operate a bathing establishment and gaming tables, Aubert and Langlois opened the first casino on 14 December 1856 in Villa Bellevu.

The lack of roads needed to connect Monaco to Nice and the rest of Europe, and the absence of comfortable accommodations for visitors, as well as the concessionaires' failure to publicize the new resort, resulted in far fewer customers than was originally anticipated.

Unable to raise the capital needed to operate the money-losing enterprise, Aubert and Langlois ceded their rights to Frossard de Lilbonne, who in turn passed it to Pierre Auguste Daval in 1857.

[5] During this initial period, the casino had been moved several times, until it finally ended up in the area called Les Spelugues (English: The Caves).

[8] Frustrated, she dispatched her private secretary M. Eyneaud to Germany, hoping to recruit François Blanc, a French entrepreneur and operator of the Bad Homburg casino.

Subsequent additions and expansions, and the remodeling of the Trente-et-Quarante Gaming Room into the Salle des Américains, have mostly obliterated Garnier's contributions to this part of the casino, except for some ceiling decorations.

[10] In 1898–99, the Salle Garnier was remodeled by architect Henri Schmit, primarily in the stage area, so that it would be more suitable for opera and ballet performances.