The Catalina Casino is host to many of Catalina Island’s annual events including the New Year’s Eve Gala , the Catalina Island Conservancy Ball, the Catalina Island JazzTrax Festival and the Catalina Film Festival. Home to a theatre and a ballroom, the building is an integral part of the island experience. Letters to the Editor: Catalina is becoming an island for the rich. The loss of its theater shows that The Catalina Casino houses the Avalon Theatre, which will stop showing first-run films. But don’t be fooled by its name. The museum featured a large and comprehensive collection of original Catalina Pottery ceramics, produced by Catalina Clay Products between 1927 and 1937. There isn’t actually a gambling hall here, but you will find a ballroom, museum and theater. It was a chic gathering spot where stars such as Marilyn Monroe and Charlie Chaplin performed and Cecil B. DeMille screened new films. For nearly 100 years, the Catalina Casino has greeted island visitors, the magnificent architectural marvel providing a dramatic welcome to Avalon Harbor. The Casino Point Underwater Park is located next to the world-famous Casino Building. Catalina Casino. One of the most impressive and easily identifiable landmarks in Avalon, California on Catalina Island is known as the Catalina Casino. ... which is truly representative of Catalina Island's different characteristics. Catalina Casino Casino is Italian for "Gathering Place." The Catalina Casino Ballroom is available for private functions, and is a very popular spot for weddings and special events. Commissioned by William Wrigley Jr., Catalina Casino opened in 1929, marking the 10-year anniversary of Wrigley's 1919 purchase of Catalina Island. In 1953, Philip K. Wrigley established the Catalina Island Museum on the first level, to preserve the history of the island from the pre-Columbian indigenous Tongva (Gabrielino) peoples through the pre-war 20th-century development by his father. Catalina’s “casino” was never a place to gamble. First established in 1962, this park is the first nonprofit underwater park in the country (and maybe the world), and offers the best shore diving in California! No Gambling Here!