Florida: Gambling Boats and other developments.

Quote: bahdbwoy

both except the overnight on just stays at sea so no resort

I hope there's a Doctor on board.

Quote: NokTang

I hope there's a Doctor on board.

why

going tomorrow so we will see how it goes

Good luck!

Quote: bahdbwoy

going tomorrow so we will see how it goes

Interested in a detailed report, please. My sister in law's family has a house over there, and they were very excited to hear this might get them back and forth.

Quote: beachbumbabs

Interested in a detailed report, please.

+1 . I'd be interested in the details of the ship and the shore portions or whatever it is you intend to do.

Quote: bahdbwoy

why

Sea sickness can cause mass hysteria.

typing on phone so forgive errors, ect.. So keep in mind my main reason for going was to play craps (since I cannot play in FL). gambling info towards the bottom.

The bad reviews I mainly saw were about the lines you have to wait in for various things and customs. Overall I would say it is what it is, they are certainly not overstaffed it is just a matter of cutting cost but the lines were not overly terrible but not sure if my trip had less occupancy than others.

- i had a cabin so had to checkin to activate in a seperate line from getting the boarding pass. seems stupid to have to go through that twice

- line to get off the ship once it started moving flowed fine but you stand in line for about 20 minutes while they get everything in order i guess.

- i ended up getting about 2hrs off the ship afterthe ferry ride which was on par with what i read in reviews.. obviously would like more time somehow

- given we went to gamble mainly and our time was limited we just simply took a trolly (no fee) that takes you to a conch salad stop (stuarts) which was fresh and great. keep in mind these are like on the beach kind of hole in the walls. next was the beach which we had an hour at so was pretty good. nothing there in terms of water sports to do just an empty quiet beach (can do other things to do the diving or excurtions like that). the water was amazing, i was probably 30 yards out and could see down through the water to my feet. there was a little beach bar type of thing which we had some lobster tails and fish ($12 each i paid) and it was good. again we are talking about little outhouse sort of thing with a fryer and stuff so what i am talking about is not a resturant setting. took a few nice big sea shells home from the beach.

- headed back to catch the ferrys which was a line again in the sun. i imagine peak summer it would be torture. thankfully after some time they split in 2 then loaded everybody up. think they were waiting for the other ferry to arrive.

- boarding they take you through to scan your stuff, ect and that room had no a/c so again in peak summer could be really bad to deal with but as above after a few they seperated the lines a little better and we moved along. did have ice water along the way.

- food, i really did not eat much on the ship. the breakfast they have a contential for $5 or another one for $10 which had bacon/eggs/hash brown thpe of stuff. i had that one and was decent but dont go in with high expectations if you are a picky type. didnt eat anything else on the ship. i think they give each person $20 on board which is essentially how they try to get you the "2meals". i cant really say anything much else about the food bc i did not eat.

- cabin, pretty small but definately expected so was fine.. actually 2 singles and 2 singles overthe top . it served its purpose to hold our stuff and allow a good rinse after the beach

- drinks, bartenders were great and not stingy on the drinks.. cheap and good.

deck 10 is the outside dj / bar / dance floor.. they had water jugs out there so that was nice to have.. not much room outside on the decks but had lounge chairs there for tbose who want to lay out.

after the trip you line up to exit .. one of the people from my group actually got in the front of the line so i came later and did not have to wait but basically seemed like 20-30 minutes to start getting off, not sure how long until everybody made it off..
........................................................

gambling

deck 7 has the slots, $5 bj roulette , ect and a craps table
deck 8 had was the bigh roller area i guess with $25-$100 min bj/bac tables and 2 othe craps tables.. that room stayed pretty empty.

again they dont have the man power to have both casinos fully opened so they never had more than 1 craps table open..

craps was $10 min and i could not even do like $6 each on a place bet. each play had to meet the $10 min so was bummed about that.

the first part of the day (before getting off the ship) the craps table on deck 7 was open. i think when it gets close to the time when they start lining up to get off they need to move to the craps table on deck 8. as we played there was a line all the way through the casino so about 20-30 mins of people right behind you or just liud chatter, ect.. i definately recommend you find a way to not be at that end position (i was not) so hou dont have people hovering right behind you..

when i got back on the ship deck 8 table was opened and deck 7 table was closed. much better since it was basically just us (nobody at the $25-$100 table games)

i tried convincing my buddy to not play roulette but to no avail so maybe he will listen next time since he bust

while i was there watching some guy bought in for $500 and had it all spread out for a roll.. 00 hits and bye bye $500 bc he did not have that covered, ouch..

so with $10 mins i ended up just playing the DP no odds and waited for the shooter to make his first pass (10/15/35/75/155) . first few shooters that got qualified i hit by the 3rd step. went 3 shooters and no action so since time is crunched i jumped in on a shooter who opened with a 7 comeone which i dont usually do. he was also a nice shooter (hardway setter with soft touch) so definately should not have done that. he stretched me to $75 which loss and i chickened out on the $155 which of course would have won- damnit (i didnt want to bust before the second part of the day so i took the L and restarted).. before leaving to get ready to get off i got half way back up.

after returning i had about an hour and a half of play before gig was over. it was me, my wife playing now and 2 older guys who were brothers. apparently they had been on the trip like 5 times so were known by the crew. they were Pass/come betting so i hated to go against them but they understood.. for the most part worked out for both of us and i got even before they left which just left me and my wife.. she does not shoot just plays field and 8 off on/off

so basically i wasthe shooter for 30 mins and kept setting the point and thowing fields crazy often including box cars like 4 times which she had the field on each tim lol. made a few points alongthe way but never got passed the 35 leg so ended up winning 70 and my wife ended up 45..

had i not been chicken i would have hit the earlier 155 bet and got away with never busting

i asked the older guys if they ever got off and went to the actual resort casino and they said they did. mentioned it was a really nice casino but nobody was playing craps when they did..

all in all, had a great time with a group of friends so i woukd do again. i dont think i would pay more than the $40 per i did to get on there and would try to do something on the island if i did the day trip.. night trip for $20 should be a nice deal as well which i may do next.

probably doing the night trip tonight.. will likely play the donts and may just bet on myself until the end half way threw the night.

Good variance, bahdbwoy! Chances are, since they don't have UTH or PGP I won't make the trip down there to get on board, but I really appreciate the report from the last time.

business trip up to orlando with boss.. he brought his wife/kid so after todays meeting jetted over to port canaveral.. waiting to pull off..

tomorrows 9am meeting might be rough

boat definately seemed worn, could use some refurbishment for sure.. had a weird smell too.

craps dealers were ok at best and suites were even less impressive... got head for flipping the dice to get the set i wanted (not the only reason for the comments above). i certainly did it fairly quick so didnt cause a delay like that... stickman asked how i wanted them given to me and they did a good job at that at least..

smoke was killing me but cant do much about that..

in terms of play of course i played bone headed early and chased my dont loses a little too much.

it was stil way to early so i just waited for the dice to come to me before betting which allowed me to cheer for others as they won (not often).. didnt get any gripe from the players about the donts even though i ended up killing them.

i did a 3 step marty on the DP when i shot and had 22 inside working on the come out (2 rolls or 1 hit and down).

only had 250 bank roll and refused to pay the rediculous atm charges to grab more so just played within my means and ended up coloring with 3 blacks 1 green and 2 reds..

the guy next to me had a rough going and blew 4k but took it like a man lol.. he was going 50/30 buy/place across with 100 odds all night and kept reaching back to his pockets.. i dont think he knew much about the game because he asked me whatwas i betting when i had money on my donts.. he probably would have done very well but he never took downhis bets and just let it ride each time.. asked him if he knew he could take them down/turn off at anytime-- looked surprised but never did.

i would do it again if the situation came up but dont think i would plan for a trip.. was nice just paying 10 to get on since bimini superfast cost more and is not even doing nights right now. i read they are fighting in court because they have foreign workers and something about the cruise to no where situation calls for them to have US staff which is obviously more overhead due to higher wages.

I'm reposting the above post because I found it confusing to follow which boats he was talking about.


The Victory Casino boat out of Cocoa Beach/Port Canaveral:
boat definitely seemed worn, could use some refurbishment for sure.. had a weird smell too.

craps dealers were ok at best and suites were even less impressive... got head for flipping the dice to get the set i wanted (not the only reason for the comments above). i certainly did it fairly quick so didnt cause a delay like that... stickman asked how i wanted them given to me and they did a good job at that at least..

smoke was killing me but cant do much about that..

in terms of play of course i played bone headed early and chased my dont loses a little too much.

it was stil way to early so i just waited for the dice to come to me before betting which allowed me to cheer for others as they won (not often).. didnt get any gripe from the players about the donts even though i ended up killing them.

i did a 3 step marty on the DP when i shot and had 22 inside working on the come out (2 rolls or 1 hit and down).

only had 250 bank roll and refused to pay the rediculous atm charges to grab more so just played within my means and ended up coloring with 3 blacks 1 green and 2 reds..

the guy next to me had a rough going and blew 4k but took it like a man lol.. he was going 50/30 buy/place across with 100 odds all night and kept reaching back to his pockets.. i dont think he knew much about the game because he asked me whatwas i betting when i had money on my donts.. he probably would have done very well but he never took downhis bets and just let it ride each time.. asked him if he knew he could take them down/turn off at anytime-- looked surprised but never did.

i would do it again if the situation came up but dont think i would plan for a trip.. was nice just paying 10 to get on since bimini superfast cost more and is not even doing nights right now. i read they are fighting in court because they have foreign workers and something about the cruise to no where situation calls for them to have US staff which is obviously more overhead due to higher wages.

Comments:
Smell... Lack of sufficient ventilation to remove French fry odor and urine odor is not so bad. Smell of paint can be ... make sure its not coat upon coat of paint. I considered the ship safe but not luxurious. It seemed to be steel not wood that was pained over, so its safer.
Boarding fee is nominally ten dollars but various hotels and coupons can get you free boarding. Free shuttles from most hotels too.

Some people learn craps by watching and asking a few questions and then plunge in!



The other vessel, the one out of Miami, is the one fighting surcharges in court.


Costs for the ship are based on vessel registration, crew wages.

yea sorry about that.. thought that was kind of the known thing for that area..

i definately felt it was "safe".. just could use some sprucing up you know.. was a monday night so wonder how it is on a weekend in terms of the crowd.

I had my second trip on the Victory just over three weeks ago -- thought I was going to be out gambling with three ladies, but one of them stood me up. Got a rain check for that one, though, and think I will see her in Las Vegas this spring.

On the boat, I strictly played $5 craps. I caught (and pointed out) several errors by the dealers, but those were mostly minor, and the crew seemed reasonably competent. At least half of the players at the table were well-known to the crew, and I assumed they were regulars there. I was surprised at the beating a couple of them took -- several bust outs followed by trips to the ATM and a return to the table.

I had a pretty decent session, ending the night up a little more than $300. Not too shabby for $5 betting with a $10 boarding fee for the cruise.

Quote: Doc

trips to the ATM and a return to the table.

I'm a little dated, both time and experience. Do they now have actual ATM's on these cruises to nowhere? There was a time about 12 years ago when said cash advances were not available via an ATM. You had to go to the cashier, their phone had to work, ID's, etc.. Thank you.

There are indeed ATMs aboard the Victory but the fees are horrendous and I think its better to adopt a "bring what you can afford" policy and if you lose it, enjoy the ambiance or whatever its called but don't rack up any ATM fees and interest charges. Not worth it.

Quote: FleaStiff

There are indeed ATMs aboard the Victory but the fees are horrendous and I think its better to adopt a "bring what you can afford" policy and if you lose it, enjoy the ambiance or whatever its called but don't rack up any ATM fees and interest charges. Not worth it.

Many banks reimburse "fees". What sort of fees do you refer?

Quote: bahdbwoy

craps dealers were ok at best and suites were even less impressive... got head for flipping the dice to get the set i wanted (not the only reason for the comments above).

These game protection guys will try anything, huh? Looks like I got out just in time XD

Quote: Face

These game protection guys will try anything, huh? Looks like I got out just in time XD

I thought you were still in game protection.

As the craps crew on the boat I interpreted it more as the stickman willing to send the dice out any way the player wants so that the player does not have to take any time to re-position them.

In general, I've found the Victory boat to be a nice place overall and to have a sharp, alert crew that interacted well with players particularly those who were tipping.

M/V IslandBreeze out of West Palm Beach, FL has been undergoing repairs.
Web site says next sailing will be Friday May 16th.

I've not been on this boat but just got a free boarding card in the mail.

There are the various discounts and player club cards available but its basically:
Fifteen dollars to board and Fifteen dollars to have the buffet.
AM: Sails at 11:00 am Returns at 4:00pm.
PM: Sails at 6:30pm Returns generally at 11:30pm.


web site ibreezecasino DOT Com and will soon have deck plans for the boat.

Tradewinds Cruises out of John's Pass in Madeira Beach south of Tampa is geographically inconvenient for me and its craps game offers only 2x odds so I've never been on it and didn't realize the ship left for dry dock last December.

Now the Escapade is to sail out of Savanah, GA on five hour gambling cruises. No announcement has been made regarding any resumption of Florida sailings by the company using an alternative boat.

Have you been on the Genting superfast ferry out of Miami and the latest news on it.

Quote: Deck007

Have you been on the Genting superfast ferry out of Miami and the latest news on it.

I've not been on it but others on this board have taken it. I've only received the mailers which showed both the "day trip" and the various "overnighter" trips available.

M/V Escapade, formerly of St. John's Pass, FL (near Tampa) spent six hours hard aground in shallow waters on its maiden voyage out of Savanah, Georgia. Trade Winds Casino Ships now expects its Escapade to undergo additional repairs and testing before resuming its gambling voyages and having a "second maiden voyage".

Meanwhile, the company keeps promising a replacement vessel will leave St. Johns Pass to resume voyages into the Gulf but gives no dates and does not identify the vessel.

Superfast from Miami stopped the cheap night cruise late last year. From what I read back then they have to employee US workers for "cruise to nowhere" outings. Obviously that would require them to pay the employees way more so the axed that only only do day trips with extended hours.

Paying anywhere from $50-$150 (plus like $25 parking) depending on any promotions going on does not entice me to take that trip.

They were battling in court but I think at this point they gave up-- also no law changes so no casino builds coming from Genting.

Have been on Superfast several times. They will comp just about any warm body. Parking was free, but last time it was $8. If you want to go, call a casino host.

I will be in south Florida next month and hope to get out on "The Big M" casino boat. Last time I tried a hurricane blew in and the boat took off for safer waters.

Quote: docsjs

Have been on Superfast several times. They will comp just about any warm body. Parking was free, but last time it was $8. If you want to go, call a casino host.

You must like the ship to go several times. Do tell me more.
When the Gov. stop their night cruise, Genting said they will suffer incalculable losses.
Seem like they are still operating the casino ship.
Has the court case been settled, are they now building the jetty in Bimini.

Quote: docsjs

Have been on Superfast several times. They will comp just about any warm body. Parking was free, but last time it was $8. If you want to go, call a casino host.

Hmm, your saying you can get on cheap/free? I just called and their 75% off for 2 ends up being $178... thats nuts

Oh, how great it would have been to see the passengers aboard that gambling boat do the Sally Ship!

Unfortunately, the Coasties rescued all passengers and some crew members and the ship then waited for the next high tide and freed itself using full power.

You know, I wonder... if the Captain had ordered Sally Ship.... would even the crew members have known what to do? These days yachting school teach button pushing and drink mixing.

$1,500.00 slot rebate.

The Casino Ship Victory
Friday, Sat and Sunday 26th to 28th. All sailings.
Cumulative losses from all six sessions will be rebated as FREE PLAY at rate of one-third on each of:
Jan 14, Feb 12 and Mar 17.

If I'm aboard, I'll be at the craps tables and poker variant tables. Edit: I won't be able to make it at all, but good luck to those who opt to play slots.

I was bored and on a whim decided to play some poker at my local poker room.
Silks poker room at Tampa bay downs.
Its a pretty nice poker room with a great view of the track.
Its off season for horse racing so usually its just holdem no limit cash games and tournaments, typical 9 player tables .
Of course simulcasting of horse races also offered.
Walked in and immediately noticed a table game.
3 card poker.
I thought the Seminole Tampa Hard Rock had a monopoly on table games in the area.
I don't play 3 card but I love Pai Gow poker.
Asked the Silks poker room cashier if they were looking into BJ. He said no way.
Asked the same cashier chances of introducing Pai Gow poker. Cashier said they are looking into it and may see it soon :-)
Interesting.

Interesting. I thought the parimutuels could only spread traditional poker games (players against each other, not the house). Do you know if there there was a change in the FL laws, or are they trying to squeeze through some loophole?

I might have to check out the Jax Poker Room to see if there are any new developments.

Quote: Joeman

Interesting. I thought the parimutuels could only spread traditional poker games (players against each other, not the house). Do you know if there there was a change in the FL laws, or are they trying to squeeze through some loophole?

I might have to check out the Jax Poker Room to see if there are any new developments.

I think they are trying to squeeze through the poker allowed loophole.
Their advertisement reasons that a lot of new players are intimated by regular 9 player poker with all the strategy and betting choices.
They advertise this is the perfect game for those just looking to put their toe in the water or a newbie that wants to play and not be played due to lack of expereience.

Quote: terapined

I think they are trying to squeeze through the poker allowed loophole.

Well, more power to them for trying. I wonder if the Seminoles might try to point out the difference between "poker" and games like 3 Card Poker to the authorities to try to maintain their monopoly. If there's one thing I've learned about Florida politicians, it's that they do not know much about poker, or gambling for that matter.

I remember playing the $1/$2 limit game at the Hard Rock in Hollywood about 10 years ago. At that time, the $2 limit game was the highest limit allowed by law. But tournaments were a different story. There was a $540 buy-in tournament game going on the next table over from mine!??

Lawyers and Local Politicians ecstatic about appeals court ruling allowing a race track in the Panhandle to have slot machines despite an opinion from the Florida Attorney General that restricted slots licenses to race tracks in counties near Miami where existing legislation and surveys indicated a desire for gambling.

If state grants such a slot license, Seminoles may not have to pay large sum previously agreed upon.


http://miami.cbslocal.com/2015/05/29/court-backs-slot-machines-at-north-florida-racetrack/

Had an itch to play some poker.
My usual poker room is Silks at Tamp Bay downs.
On a whim, decided to cross the bay and play at the Derby Lane poker room at the dog track.
I haven't played there in years.
Walked in, was amazed how busy the place was.
1pm afternoon about 30 full poker tables and a 3 card poker table game.
Played the cheap 1-1 cash game, 1 buck small, 1 buck big.
Its small stakes, just playing for fun.
They have a high hand promotion, every 30 min high hand wins 500 bucks.
Got 8D 9D, limp
flop 7D 10D KS
A small bet, 3 callers including me
4C
Small bet, 3 callers including me
JD
wow, my biggest hand ever in a holdem cash game where I held 2 cards.
I only bet 12, wanted callers, 2 callers, won.
Had to sweat out 15 min to win the 500 bucks for the high hand in the room.

A unique thing about this room.
The dealer chip trays are removable.
When they change tables, they take the chip tray with them.
Makes for faster game, they don't count the chips when they sit down.

Nice hit, terapined! I went to the Best Bet card room in Jacksonville yesterday for the first time in a long time and noticed many similar things there. I wonder if they share notes with Derby Lane? It was very busy as well. Probably 35-40 tables going. They also had a high hand promo going that was $1000 + $200 table share every 1/2 hour. But I didn't come close to hitting it! :)

Quote: terapined

The dealer chip trays are removable.
When they change tables, they take the chip tray with them.

They did this there, too.

I also noticed that they now take $2 out of every pot to pay for these promos. I'm not sure how I feel about this. I think advertised bad beat/high hand/etc. jackpots bring some dead money to the tables, but $2 per pot on top of the $5 rake? Seems excessive.

On another note, now Best Bet is advertising that they will also be spreading the poker carny games you mentioned a few posts back.

Quote: terapined

Had an itch to play some poker.
My usual poker room is Silks at Tamp Bay downs.
On a whim, decided to cross the bay and play at the Derby Lane poker room at the dog track.
I haven't played there in years.
Walked in, was amazed how busy the place was.
1pm afternoon about 30 full poker tables and a 3 card poker table game.
Played the cheap 1-1 cash game, 1 buck small, 1 buck big.
Its small stakes, just playing for fun.
They have a high hand promotion, every 30 min high hand wins 500 bucks.
Got 8D 9D, limp
flop 7D 10D KS
A small bet, 3 callers including me
4C
Small bet, 3 callers including me
JD
wow, my biggest hand ever in a holdem cash game where I held 2 cards.
I only bet 12, wanted callers, 2 callers, won.
Had to sweat out 15 min to win the 500 bucks for the high hand in the room.

A unique thing about this room.
The dealer chip trays are removable.
When they change tables, they take the chip tray with them.
Makes for faster game, they don't count the chips when they sit down.

Rake?

Quote: AxelWolf

Rake?

Not sure, assume its 10% of the pot, minimum 10 in pot, with a max rake 5 bucks.
I thought the promotion rake was a buck a hand but Joeman says its 2 a hand which I also think is excessive.
I guess I should pay more attention to the rake.
Poker is kind of unique because the whole rake thing is easy to ignore.
Fold, rake doesn't effect you.
Win a hand, as a pile chips is being pushed in your direction, you kind of forget about the rake :-)

In the Jacksonville rooms, the rake has been 10% with a $5 max since I started playing there around 2004. There is no competition within 90 miles, so they have never had incentive to reduce it. This was HUGE as a percentage of the pot back in the max $2 limit days, less so now with higher/no limit games. It's still higher than Vegas rooms I've played in. They also will not reduce the rake for short tables like I've seen elsewhere.

I'm not sure when they went from $1 to $2 for the "jackpot rake." Maybe 2-3 years ago? The dealers now have pink $2 chips in their trays now specifically to drop for the jackpot rake. When it was $1, it was specifically for the bad beat jackpot. Now, they have high hand promos all the time. I also saw a sign advertising a "money added" tournament, so I guess they are salting tournament pots with it as well.

Like I said, I'm kind of ambivalent about it. It is high, but if it brings the "jackpot seekers" to the tables, it might be worth it.

I just heard the commercial again yesterday. The Jacksonville area poker rooms are advertising that they will have 3-Card Poker, 2-Card Poker, and Pai Gow. But I have not heard the date when they will start offering them, and I don't see mention of the new games on their website.

Moss Marine's Big M Casino Boat no longer operates from Fort Myers, only from South Carolina.
The Fort Myers casino operation is permanently closed.