The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-09-17
GAMBLING AT oSTEND.
1t Is the Rendezvous for the Worlds
High Life in Summer Time

Had the tower of Babel been built upon
the site occupied by the queen of water
ing places" by which name Ostend is now
known, the confusion of tongues could
not have been greater. The throng that
crowds the magnificent promenade and
fills the spacious Kursall at this moment
Is composed of all colors, races and ma
tionalities, for Ostend Is rapidly becom-
ing the rendezvous Of the worlds high
life. the summer Monte Carlo Natural
beauty is. of course, lacking. None of
the seaside places along the North sea
coast of France, Belgium and Holland
has natural attractions beyond the sea
itself and the splendid and almost unin-
terrupted stretch of smooth. firm sand
Before long there will be but one grand
line of sea walls and promenades from
Dunkirk, on the south, to Scheveningen,
on the north. The line is already nearly
continuous from Newport, on the Belgian
coast. to Heyst. between which we have
Mariakerke Ostend, Wenduyne Coz,
Blankerbergh, all fluorishing, all offering
attractions all extremely healthful all
afford4ng excellent bathing; and yet Os-
tend will always remain unexceled. 1t is
Paris, Berlin, London and New York, all
by the sea, and unsurpassed in the bril-
liancy and lavishness of its visitors.
Hitler feminene beauty come from the
north. south, east and west. to be adj
mired, to be flattered, to make conquests,
fastening to Monte Carlo in the winter
season to make the same gorgeous dis
play. There are harnesses, duchesses,
princesses, courted and admired by men
of title and wealth. With every year the
display increases, until Ostend has come
to be called the northern rival of Monte
Carlo.
All this is due to the magnetic attrac-
a. III all
tons, types, titles and conditions of the
gay world congregate around the tables,
where tens of thousands of francs change
hands every hour. There are hosts of
American men and women, some losing,
some winning, some gndifferently, others
flushed with excitement; while others sit
patiently at the tables, working out a sys-
tenn with logged persistency.
Just recently Ostend has been shaken
to its foundation, but the shock has pass
ed and the hotel proprietors breathe
freely again. The Belgian parliament be-
gan an agitation against gambling, and
with one stroke closed all the low public
gambling dens, that were scourge to the
country. At one time it was feared that
Ostend and Spa would be ruined by the
closing of all their gambling establish
mentse, but the government compromised
and Ostend and Spa were allowed to con-
tinue the gaming under the auspices of
private clubs, constituted under the most
rigid bylaws and under the constant sur
veiliance of the municipalities, the police
and the government.
So the transient tourist, known here as
the "tripper," unless he stops at one of
the first hotels, can take no part in the
pernicious sport: he cannot even be tempt
ed, for unless he decides to remain at
least three days he cannot gain access to
the clubs, nor can he even visit the rooms
to have a look at their appointment. No
one may cross the threshold but duly
elected member of the club. A man liv-
ing in Ostend has to go to Spa to gamble
and vice versa, and so the clubs are called
"cercles DIES strangers"
Every visitor wishing to gamble has to
present himself as a candidate for mem
bership, be elected and pay the entrance
fee of 20 francs go. In IS hours, If found
to be respectable, he has his admission
card sent him, and from that time he may
lose as much money over the tables as
he chooses. If, however he has had the
foresight to stop at one of the first no.
tells, such as the Continental, PLACE, Ocean
or Splendid, he is passed through quickly,
and may participate In roulette or ''rouge-
et-noir'' the evening of the day of his ar
rival.
went through the formalities of becom-
ing a member of the Cercle International
des Etrangers, in order to better judge
of the gambling. 1t is a fact that, where
as the municipality demands a fixed tax
from the club of 100 francs for every
member admitted the club admits the
members for 20 francs, paying the other
so itself. While no exception whatever
may be taken to the fairness of the
game, the club managers know that IS
out of every 100 members will play reck-
| lessly. In the three months season last
year the club entered last Saturday night
cleared 100000 francs net, after paying
to the municipality fixed tax of LOO
600 francs.
One Englishman whom l noticed par
ticularly, man past middle age sat at
the roulette table, with continual con-
temptuous sheer on his face, af If the pal
try 100 and 500-franc notes staked were
beneath his notice. He threw l000-franc
notes on the table in rapid succession and
when he had lost ten quietly took out a
crumpled check for ei0O and asked for
change and began again. His face never
altered. He smoked his cigar quietly.
passed jokes with his neighbors and never
WINGED as the croupiers pulled in his
counters to the tune of 5000. $500 and 5000
at a time. At times he won, but all his
winnings were staked again, and l left
him there at 1 o'clock in the morning as
fresh and calm as when he had started.
had never seen a roulette table, with their
fathers and mothers, flushed with excite
ment as they were told when and where
and how to stake a few pounds. There
were boys of barely q, badly attacked by
the fever, and losing all they had; there
were "dowagers" playing their systems
for all they were worth, and the Ameri-
cans present-and some We're from Chi
cago-were in the thick of 1t all.
1ii al
gambling is little quieter, the animation
much less. As for the Kursaal itself, tot
let's are aglare and jewels ablaze. At the
dance in the evening the dowasers pa
rade their marriageabe daughters to the
strains of Strauss waltzes, while the
gilded youth look on, admire, and from
time to time pluck up sufficient courage
to ask a waltz from some young woman
whose dowrage is known to be substan-
tial.
The Ostend Kursaal is one of the finest
and most comfortably appointed of any
in Europe, and the entertainment is of
the best. The orchestra is excellent and
the best vocal talent to be had is en-
gagged.