I never knew how poor I was until I had a little money,' says Charlie Sheen's character Bud Fox in seminal 80s film Wall Street. Well I didn't know how poor I was until I visited Monte Carlo last month.

Apparently you have to 'prove your wealth' to live there. But that's a totally unnecessary restriction - simply let people see how long they can afford to sustain their basic life functions; the average visitor will max out their credit in a day or two. We are, after all, talking about a town where a beer can cost up to €25, a banana €7 and a 400 sq ft apartment somewhere around the €3m mark.

For just a few days each year this sanctuary of the rich and richer is invaded by a poker circus for the EPT Grand Final.