patrons could only bet using gold chips, with a rumored $500 minimum wager. One Los Angeles Times reporter concluded in 1929 that “there isn’t another place on the continent, outside of a U.S. Mint, where you can see so much money piled up before your eyes at one time. Its only rival in the world is Monte Carlo.” The entire Agua Caliente resort cost approximately $10 million to build, which was a huge sum of money for that era. It was built by the Agua Caliente Company, which was formed by North American investors Baron H. Long, Wirt G. Bowman and James N. Crofton. The fourth partner was General Abelardo L. Rodríguez, who was acting Military Commander and Governor of Baja California. Rodríguez would later serve as President of Mexico (1932-1934). Rodríguez owned the land upon which the resort was built. The Agua Caliente Company gave the contract for the construction of the resort to Fernando L. Rodríguez, who was Governor Rodríguez's brother and one of Baron H. Long's business associates. According to Satan's Playground author Paul Vanderwood, Rodríguez used taxpayer money to construct and outfit the enterprise. Mexican President Lázaro Cárdenas outlawed gambling in 1935 and closed the resort. It became a state-run school, Escuela Preparatoria Federal Lázaro Cárdenas and eventually fell into disrepair. Although most of the original buildings are gone, remnants remain. The blue-tiled minaret has been preserved, and sits on the west side of the grounds near the Plaza Minarete shopping mall. The interior shell of the Spa Building was also preserved, and the Olympic-size swimming pool in the courtyard was restored in the late 2000s. It's now called the Alberca de Agua Caliente (PFLC). Near the pool are the remains of the Fuente Fauno (Faun Fountain). The original guest bungalows are still standing, on the east side of the former complex. The 18-hole golf course is now the Country Club of Tijuana. And a replica of the iconic bell tower (which once stood at the resort entrance) now stands at the beginning of Boulevard Agua Caliente, about two miles west of the old resort. Bibliography Beltran, David Jimenez. The Agua Caliente Story: Remembering Mexico's Legendary Racetrack (2004) Eclipse Press Chris Nichols. The Leisure Architecture of Wayne McAllister (Layton, Utah: Gibbs Smith) 2007 See also In Caliente References External links Photos of Agua Caliente Casino and Hotel Resorts in Mexico Hotels in Mexico Defunct casinos History