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 town thereafter survived on seaside holidaymakers in the summer and its small fishing fleet in the winter, as well as 'the crumbs which fell to its elegantly dilapidated Casino from the table at Le Touquet'. But since then the once popular coastal town had fallen on hard times, losing business to the towns of Le Touquet and Deauville. There had been a casino at Royale (as the town was formerly named) since the 19th century. Casino Royale is located in the fictional French seaside resort of Royale-les-Eaux.
