at a glance

the cassino da urca (urca casino) represents an era in brazilian history that stands for opulence and glamour, as is evidenced by the architecture of the building, which still stands on the urca beach, even though it has not been functioning as a casino for the past 70 years.

the casino started out as a much humbler structure, and was not more than a simple playing house until the gambler joaquim rolla won the deeds to the business in a card game in 1933 - being a great visionary and smart businessman, he transformed the casino into the luxurious building that it is today.