After Bond takes all of Le Chiffre's money in a high-stakes game of baccarat, Vesper is kidnapped by Le Chiffre's thugs, who also capture Bond when he tries to rescue her. Le Chiffre, a KGB agent must pay off his debts to his masters by winning the money at Casino Royale's baccarat table. For the year in which the events of Casino Royale take place, the Société des Bains de Mer de Royale has succeeded in securing bookings from 'a considerable number of the biggest operators in America and Europe', and leased some of the baccarat tables to a group of Egyptians, the Mahomet Ali Syndicate. The Casino, the public gardens and the two main hotels were refurbished and Paris jewellers and couturiers were given rent-free sites on which to establish branches. Encouraged by the post-war revival of Brighton and Nice, in 1950 Royale-les-Eaux was identified as a potential source of revenue by a Paris syndicate which invested funds on behalf of exiled Vichyites.
Royale's renaissance came after the Second World War. The Casino Royale was noted for its baccarat tables.
