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How to spend an evening in Kiev
Kiev has become one of the favourite weekend haunts of Ukrainian and Russian tourists. However, a trip to Kiev for a visit to a casino is quite a different matter…
The development of the Ukrainian gaming industry reached its peak at the end of the 1990s and at the beginning of the 21st century, when almost the whole family would be drawn to gaming establishments. In 2004 such visits became much less frequent, and during ‘the Orange Revolution’ casinos were mostly empty. Since then the gambling market has not managed to recapture its earlier turnovers, mainly due to political instability, changes in the government and Parliament dissolution which have made both businessmen and the man in the street think twice before spending another hryvna. Not only has the number of local clients dropped, but fewer people are coming from Moscow now; there are fewer players and professional cardsharps. On the other hand, however, the Orange Revolution brought a greater influx of foreigners to Kiev; there are many more of them now than in 2000, and one can safely say they constitute 20 per cent of the permanent customer base in casinos and nightclubs.
Based on the data provided by the Kiev gaming industry’s business association there are 40 casinos in the capital which use this name (let’s not forget that each casino must buy an individual licence), but on closer examination there may even be up to 70 casinos in the city because operators exploit the thin line dividing expensive, spacious and centrally located casinos from the smaller establishments with a large number of slot machines and the mandatory roulette, located in nightclubs, amusement arcades and, more frequently, at the back of large shopping centres.
A long time ago due to the fact that the selection was too big the turnover of the casinos was eroded. This has resulted from the need to fight for clients by mounting more interesting and more expensive advertising campaigns, creating a marketing base, investing in expensive lotteries, etc. All these factors taken together and the fairly high annual tax on gaming equipment could lead one to the conclusion that the golden times for casinos are long over. Let’s not forget, however, that Kiev until now has had 100,000 machines, out of that number only 50 per cent are being operated legally.
Gambling dens
Kiev casinos long ago attained a very high standard of organisation and management. Many attractive establishments have been set up in Kiev, which invariably emulate Moscow casinos. Many casinos were opened in the 1990s and they have been refurbished and restored several times since then to keep up with obligatory trends.
Among the new stylish and exclusive casinos, Grand Victoria and Casino Mario undoubtedly deserve attention. The former has opened for a change not in the centre but in the northern suburbs, in a district called Obolon where the wealthiest inhabitants of Kiev have tended to settle in recent years with high-rise elite residential buildings built for them. Most often people living in such houses frequent casinos located close to a restaurant and a golf club.
Casino Mario has been in operation for three years now, and is located not far from the centre in a beautiful listed building at the back of the Botanical Gardens. Casino Mario is actively advertising its excellent restaurant and attracts players with very expensive cars parked outside its building; these are the main winnings in the ongoing lotteries. Its tastefully decorated interior is able to compete with all the world class casinos.
Kiev also has casinos in its various hotels. One of these is the Maestro, located in the five-star Opera hotel and owned by the wealthiest man in the Ukraine, Renat Akhmetov; although the casino is small, in addition to the most expensive equipment it also provides terminals for online play.
Soon after the opening of the five-star Premier Palace hotel, which occupies an entire block on Shevchenko Boulevard and opens onto the main street of Kiev – Kreshchatik, an eponymous casino has been opened there, with minute attention to every detail in its finish. Its service is of the highest calibre; there is underground parking for clients, a restaurant and a bar; casino premises are divided into a slot machine area, a gaming room and a VIP room.
The desire to attract clients with a good location has also been the aim of casino founders in the shopping centre Arena Entertainment next to the Premier Palace. The casino has been linked to a large amusement centre with a disco, sports-bar type club and a restaurant with its own brewery. It is a favourite meeting place for Kiev celebrities.
Competition in Kiev is enormous. One of the oldest casinos in the city, Avalon, is located in the prestigious district of the town of Goloseevo next to the foreign embassies and the national opera. Its exterior is the least garish, and it was the first in the race to attract clients by organising lotteries and giving the largest jackpots in town. Jackpot winnings may be as much as 50,000 Euro; they take place once a month. Smaller sums are drawn weekly. Clients may take as their winnings the most expensive cars in the world: Jaguars, Ferrari and the most popular among players – BMW. Avalon is known for its wonderful fish dishes. Label Rouge brand oysters costing $10 per oyster are imported directly from France, from Poitou-Charente. Recently Avalon launched an even more amazing attraction. In a huge aquarium set in the middle of its restaurant, well-known sportswomen dressed as mermaids perform water dances.
Casinos in Kiev are located so near each other that one casino may be seen from the window of its neighbour, next to Avalon are to be found Africa, and Déjà vu. Anyone who has a site and money opens a casino. First of all this is done by nightclubs which open restaurants and small premises for gambling. Night clubs such as Mandarin, River Palace and Freedom also have casinos, but there is a multitude of other, much smaller casinos, which somehow manage to stay afloat, for example Casino XXI century, the King chain of casinos or those located in the huge amusement complexes outside the town centre, i.e. Maximus or Queen Bee, Ultramarine, Butterfly.
The newest and most up-to-date casino in Kiev is the Olympic, located at Rusanovski Prospect. Its stunningly designed interior makes one want to stay there if only to enjoy its masterfully created decor in bright pastel tones. It is not just an interior, it is a work of art.
Games
The selection of games offered by Kiev casinos is fairly constant, which only proves that players’ tastes have been formed long ago and that for 20 years they have developed a definite preference for certain games. The most popular game is American Roulette; French roulette turned out to be too slow. Players prefer Poker and Blackjack, they rejected Baccarat. Thus each casino has a fixed set of equipment for these games. The largest casinos even have up to 16 or 20 gaming tables, where stakes vary, the lowest stake in Poker may be as low as $1 and one can find equally cheap Roulette games.
In recent years Novomatic has become the undisputed king among gaming machines. Its latest product made for the Ukraine, a machine called Gaminator, is found in most of the elite casinos of Kiev and in the less prestigious ones as well. Casino Technology, with its game Mega Jack, is fast catching up; it is difficult to verify the number of these machines on the Ukrainian market, but so far it has no rival. The best known native products are machines made by Extrema and Igrosoft; Fair Play from Moscow, Unicum, and Belatra from Lithuania also have a fair share in the gaming establishments. In addition to those mentioned above, machines made by IGT, Atronic, Bally are in great demand in Ukraine, and they are found in all the casinos now.
Drum-type machines haven’t been seen in casinos for a long time, they have been ousted five years ago and are now associated with street gaming.
Each casino offers a Jackpot; it is a necessary element of the décor and the equipment. More and more frequently one sees terminals for online gaming, machines with one monitor are being replaced by machines with two monitors so that clients should get the impression that casinos are in step with the latest trends, change their equipment fast and hence are interesting, and most importantly – prestigious, fashionable and often snobbish.
Ukrainians like good fun exemplified by gaming. Often everything that is conducive to having a good time at night is found under one roof; Ukrainians embrace the spirit of gaming. It seems that Ukraine, in its march towards Europe, is well prepared for gaming tourism.
