This is my review of the Casino Kursaal in Ostend. For more information on this casino, please click here.

The casino in Ostend is the third casino on the northern coast of Belgium we visited on Sunday, July 1st. We started in Knokke earlier that day, from there we went to Blankenberge and finally arrived at Ostend at around 22:00. Three casinos in one day was a bit too much, especially if you are travelling by public transportation. The casino is located about 15 minuet’s tram ride from the central train station. The tram stop is just around the corner from the casino.

The casino is located in an impressive old building. Leading up to the entrance of the building, there is a very lovely, oval water pool and fountain. A big bronze monument decorates the façade. This gives a grand aura to the casino. At the entrance to the building, you take the escalator up to the first floor where the Casino is located. Admission requirements are like in all casinos in Belgium, minimum age is 21 years and is free of charge here.

The slots area of the Casino Ostend is to the right of the escalator. Most slots are the usual 5 reel video slots and there are also some electronic Multi Roulette tables. I saw a few of the traditional “one-armed bandits”. My friend wanted to play on one, as a matter of nostalgia. I took the opportunity to smoke a cigarette in the separate smoking area. The smoking area also offers a nice selection of slot machines and electronic roulette.

There was one thing that I noticed when entering the casino that unfortunately left a strong impression: the dirty wall to wall carpeting. This perplexes me. I cannot understand why a Casino in the largest city on the Belgian coast should have a dirty carpet.

Wir sind relativ schnell ins eigentliche Casino gewechselt. Dort haben wir mindestens 20 Roulette Tische gesehen, davon waren allerdings nur fünf in Betrieb. Minimum sind zwischen zwei Euro für Plein und 10 Euro für einfache Chancen.

We have moved relatively quickly to the live games area, located to the left of the escalator . Here we counted at least 20 American Roulette tables, but only five were in operation. Minimum was 2 € for plain and 10 € for simple chances.



Statistical Analysis at the Roulette Tables

At the roulette tables, the casino provided statistical analysis of the results of the last games. I havn’t yet seen such sophisticated analysis of Roulette games results. The statistics are presented in the form of a pie chart and you can see immediately what the relative frequency with which colors and numbers came up in the lase spins. You could see, for example, that only 40% of the numbers were black. Apparently this made some players believe that the color black will come up more often in the next games and they seemed to be betting heavily on black (I guess they dong believe in trend betting).

We bought chips from the cashier. Unlike in German casinos, there is no fee for paying with a credit card. My friend and I were both looking to try something new and so we went to the casino poker table, which was empty apart from a friendly looking dealer.

With an ante of 5 €, you can burn money very quickly at these tables. My friend had never played casino Stud Poker. Because nobody else was playing at the table, the dealer took some time to explain the rules to us. Nevertheless, we played only a few hands before we lost almost all our chips. The dealer was very friendly and professional, I have only good things to say in this respect.

There were also three Blackjack tables open, which was more than adequate. The minimum was 5 and 10 €.

At the back, Poker tournaments were taking place in three tables. It seemed to be a high rollers’ evening. At one of the tables, three players played with a blind of 2,000 €. There were more players on the other tables and it was impossible to check the blinds.

Conclusion Casino Ostende

I thought that the casino was a bit empty for Sunday at 22:00 in the evening. Maybe there was some big party in Ostend the night before. Other than the dirty carpet at the entrance and slots area, the casino is pretty much well maintained (however I have seen better). If you are already in the area, I recommend that you step into the Casino Ostend for a pleasant gaming evening, However, I wouldn’t travel there especially to visit the casino.