The inauguration took place with particular brilliance and opulence on June 17, 1961 in the presence of Konstantinos Karamanlis and was the secular event of the year
In 1951 and while the country had just emerged from a bloody civil war and was trying to get back on its feet, EOT was founded. The aim is to create hotels in Athens in order to cover the ever-growing needs of the country in terms of tourist flows.
Seven years later, in 1958, it was decided to build a luxury hotel in Parnitha, which will also have other facilities such as bungalows, restaurants, a small outdoor theater.
All this would be spread over a large area of 800 acres. The program even had the support of the then Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis, who also proposed the name of the hotel. It would be called Mont Parnes.
The ambitious plan began to be drawn up at an altitude of 1,078 meters, at Mavrovouni, Parnitha. The hotel was designed by the architect Pavlos Mylonas.
The initial budget of the project was 35 million drachmas, finally when it was completed the final cost reached 150 million drachmas.
The press of the time started talking about yet another scandal. The inauguration took place on June 17, 1961, with particular splendor and opulence, in the presence of Konstantinos Karamanlis himself. It was the secular event of the year, with the number of guests exceeding 700. At the opening the ribbon was cut by the Minister of the Presidency Konstantinos Tsatsos, while among the guests were the leader of the minor opposition Sofocles Venizelos, the academics Ilias Venezis, Spyros Melas and Ioannis Theodorakopoulos and many foreign officials.
Internationally renowned actors Kurt Jürgens, Amedeo Nazzari and Micheline Prell gave a special shine with their presence, while journalists from the world’s largest publications were present. The guests were entertained until morning by the French-Egyptian singer Bob Azam, who was accompanied by the orchestra of the composer Gerasimos Lavranos. Most of the world got to know Mont Parnes through the black and white films The Emir and the Scoundrel (1964) and My Son… My Son (1965).
What is typical is that the Athenians turned their backs on him from the first moment and not only the Athenians but also the foreign tourists who did not prefer it for their stay. In fact, before the great disaster, the then government estimated that it would be able to host 3,000 people in the summer and 1,500 in the winter. The hotel did not meet the expected number of people.
In 1969, Mont Parnes was granted to the Cypriot businessman Frixos Dimitriou who started its transformation from an abandoned hotel into a casino for the Athenians.
On February 5, 1971, everything was ready for its operation and in fact on the first night of its inauguration, 2,000 Athenians went to play roulette. Since then, the expression “Let’s go to the mountain” that gamblers used to say to go to the casino has remained.
In order to enter, one had to have his tax return with him, while civil servants were not allowed to enter. A year later, the cable car was created for better access to the area.
The casino is transferred from Parnitha to Maroussi in exchange for 30 million euros. The draft Presidential Decree provides that the transfer will be implemented by the company “Hellenic Casino Parnithas S.A.” (EKPA S.A.)
The relocation of the Mon Parnes casino from Parnitha to Maroussi gradually began to materialize and the consideration for the transfer was set at 30 million euros, according to a draft Presidential Decree submitted for processing to the Council of State.
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