Mexico is, without a doubt, a country rich in culture, nature, tradition and tourist offer. Not only that, we can also talk about a country with a lot of history in all areas, including casinos, which we will focus on in this text: the Agua Caliente Casino.

For this, we must move to the year 1927 , when the Tijuana River still ran through the region and provided its water. A time when the rainy season (very short on the border with San Diego) still made the fields flourish in Tijuana, which was barely under development.

It was precisely on one side of the riverbed, in the western part of the city, that the Agua Caliente Casino was built. Its foundation took place in July 1928 , becoming a benchmark in the city during the 10 years that it operated.

In fact, this casino served as a driver of gambling and betting activity, having investment from American businessmen and attracting players from the neighboring country to the north.

Why is this? To the restrictions in the neighboring nation above, which helped the sale of liquor and gambling find a good boom for casinos in northern Mexico , to the point that even Hollywood stars crossed the border to enjoy of the benefits of Tijuana and have fun.

The Agua Caliente Casino was built with clear inspirations from California’s own missionary architecture, but it also featured elements of Mudejar, Byzantine, Renaissance art and typical of the Louis XV palaces in France.

This casino, which also functioned as a hotel , quickly became popular and was strategically built in a large space, which they took advantage of to place a beautiful garden and turn the establishment into a Tijuana oasis.

In fact, the casino claimed to be a fairly modern and luxurious complex for the time, having 50 rooms, 33 heated bungalows (these exclusively for the best clients) and being a meeting point for businessmen, artists and athletes.

As far as facilities were concerned, the Agua Caliente Casino had a pool, gym, a hot spring spa, tennis courts, a golf course, offered greyhound racing , had covered parking and a service for cars that They came from a path built at the entrance near the Torre de Agua Caliente.

Guests enjoyed games of poker, baccarat and roulette in the gaming room, with clear French inspirations: this room was known as the Salon de Oro . A paradise at affordable prices, with costs of five dollars the rent of a bungalow, in addition to that one and a half dollars cost, on average, the consumption in the restaurant.

The truth is that the real business was in the drink and the casino , as many Americans took advantage of the proximity to Tijuana to come to Agua Caliente and have fun.