Did you know that rubbing the knee of the statue of a horse in the lobby of the Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo is supposed to bring luck?

The grand lobby of the Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo features a bronze, equestrian statue of Louis XIV on horse, which has been polished to shine by the generations who have touched its knee for luck.

The statue is a reproduction of the work of Girardon which was to rise on the Place de la Concorde in 1983, standing triumphant just like Marcus Aurelius, the Roman Emperor who inspired the work.

One of the first things on the statue that one can notice is the shiny right knee of the horse. As if time would have never left its sign on it. People believe that rubbing the knee of the statue brings luck (at the casino tables). It is a simple ritual that still lives on, honouring this tradition. 

French entrepreneur François Blanc took a huge gamble himself in 1864, transforming a plot covered in olive and lemon trees into the Casino de Monte-Carlo. Since then the statue provides an excellent ritual in a hotel that has welcomed royalty, socialites, politicians and many deep-pocketed gamblers for more than 150 years.

The shiny right knee of the horse is testament that the legend is very much alive. No one should leave the Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo without honouring this tradition.