Trip Report: Ocean Jewel, St. Petersburg, FL

[Etaipo]

I had been meaning to visit the Ocean Jewel since I heard that it had (re?)opened. I finally got the chance last weekend when I arrived at Derby Lane too late to register for their daily tournament. Deciding that I was not going to let my poker day be a complete wash, I called a friend and had them get me the directions. It was only about a 15 minute (if that) drive from Derby, and it was in the direction I needed to go to get home anyways.

I arrived around 1:30, in time to make the 2:00PM shuttle boat. Parking is $5 and includes entry. Not too shabby.

You park in a garage, then hop on a tram which takes you dockside. Shuffle into a building, and if you don't have a 'Pirates Club' membership, they swipe your drivers license, and you have your membership inside of 60 seconds, and go through an airport type security check (I even got wanded). Next, you get on the shuttle boat. Nothing fancy, and I believe they seated 100+ passengers. They do have a bar (didn't have a lot of choices, but drinks are free).

It takes an HOUR to get out to the boat, which is 9 miles off shore. That is a damn long time. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] The highlight of the trip is that you go under the Sunshine Skyway which was pretty cool.

You arrive at the boat. The crew did a fast, efficient job of securing the ship, then you step onto a makeshift dock, and into the belly of the ship.

Right away you will notice that all of the ''crew'' are VERY friendly (I'm sure Vegas visitors are used to this type of treatment. However, due to Florida's low limit gambling, I've found the majority of land bound casino employees to be full of hatred and contempt, so this was a welcome change) and are easily identified by their tacky tropical shirts.

You immediately are surrounded by the modern beeps and dings of electronic slot machines. I headed straight for the poker room on the third floor, but I did notice that on the first floor they had slots, as well as a large, open, seperate room that contained the rest of the table games, roulette, black jack, and I'm guessing caribbean and 3 card poker as well.

I found the poker room after asking an employee (again, very friendly). The poker room manager was quick, attentive, and very helpful (compared to the Hard Rock. From my experience, complete cuntwaffles).

Unfortunately, I obviously came at a shitty time of day, 2 PM on a Saturday. The casino seemed populated enough, but the poker room was almost empty.

They spread $3/$6 - $20/$40 as well as a No Limit game.

The only games running were a $3/$6 table, and the $300 max buy in NL game, which had a 5 person waiting list.

I had to take the 5:30 boat back (had a home game to be at in Sarasota at 8), so I opted for the $3/$6. I was seated immediately.

Once again, I'd like to emphasize how friendly and professional the staff were. Just complete night and day from my other Florida casino experiences.

The dealers all seemed to have ample experience. They were quick, and I did not witness any horribly judgement (granted, I was only there a few hours, so I only saw a few dealers).

The table ended up being a great table, friendly and chatty, mostly thanks to a lady across the table from me, Barbara. She seemed to be quite the player, and indeed seemed to make the most profit at the table that day. She made a point to introduce herself and get my name as soon as I was seated, then proceeded to introduce EVERYONE at the table to me.

Every time a new player was seated, she did the same thing. It was GREAT. She put everyone at ease as soon as they sat down, and there didn't seem to be any hardasses at the table, and if there were, she loosened them right on up.

It should be noted here that you SHOULD go to the second floor and get ''signed up'' for a return shuttle. The process consists of walking up to a desk, telling them which time you want to leave (they leave every hour on the HALF hour, i.e 4:30, 5:30, 6:30, etc), and they give you an armband. Takes all of 15 seconds.

If you do NOT get an armband, you are NOT guaranteed a seat on the boat. Worst case scenario, you can't get on a shuttle, and are stuck until 3 in the morning when the ship docks. GET AN ARMBAND.

Back to the room. As I said, the staff was great, including the waitresses. I don't drink alcohol, but I don't think the drinks are free, of course coffee and soda is. Maybe drinks are free in higher stakes games? The reason I know they're not free is because after an hour or so Barbara decided to buy a round for the table [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] She's a sly dog that one.

In the end, I played from 3:20-5:00. Grand profit of $26 dollars or so. [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img] I would have loved to have stayed, but as I said, had a previous engagment.

Other notes on the card room: It's small, maybe 8 tables max, if that. The chips are nice, but I'm not an expert, so I couldn't tell you the brand, though they are clay, not ceramic. You can't tell you're on a boat, though it was a calm day, so I'm sure it can be worse on rough days.

The return shuttle is uneventful. Get in line 15 minutes after the hour, board, take the ride home. ALCOHOL IS NOT SERVED ON THE RETURN TRIP. This boat did have a tv though, and was showing a movie, so that was bonus. Wish I had a book with me though.

All in all, I had a great time, and I will be returning, during a better time of day, and for MUCH longer as soon as my schedule arrives.

Now I'm going to rest my hand for a moment or three, then start typing up my next trip report (Hollywood Casino, Aurora IL).

Hope you enjoyed, and SW Florida residents, see you on the boat.

[pokerswami]

Thanks for the report, especially the warnings regarding the shuttle back and time of day/day of the week.
A number of us have been interested to find out someone's experiences.
How bad was the smoking?
You said in the boat that you couldn't tell you where on the water. How about the shuttle? Any signs of any passengers getting seasick? (a particular concern of mine)
Also, I would think that often gamblers of all sort would occasionally bust out or otherwise stop gambling some time before their scheduled shuttle or the boat trip back. Was there a decent lounge area on the boat for them to sit down and relax for awhile while waiting.

[PhatCasino]

Great report, has every detail... Ima def. give this NL game a try.. You said there was one table going with a 5 person waiting list, was that on a fri or sat?

Also just to get an idea, how far off of I-4 is this port? Looks like probably 20 minutes from the Seminole Hard Rock? I'm not a local to that area of Florida, any help would be appreicated. That 1 hour shuttle ride does seem like a killer late at nite, I guess some drunk girl clinging to you or an IPOD would have to do [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]

btw I have heard only good things about this game from Florida locals playing in the horrible 2-2 games and in AC and at many tables in Vegas...

[Loci]

Thanks for the report, I'll be down there in a few months and give it a try!
Ez

[Etaipo]

[ QUOTE ]
Thanks for the report, especially the warnings regarding the shuttle back and time of day/day of the week.
A number of us have been interested to find out someone's experiences.
How bad was the smoking?
You said in the boat that you couldn't tell you where on the water. How about the shuttle? Any signs of any passengers getting seasick? (a particular concern of mine)
Also, I would think that often gamblers of all sort would occasionally bust out or otherwise stop gambling some time before their scheduled shuttle or the boat trip back. Was there a decent lounge area on the boat for them to sit down and relax for awhile while waiting.

[/ QUOTE ]

Smoking is not allowed inside of the cardroom, you have to step just outside. I was at the end table, and the 8 seat, so it was literally enough for me to stand up, turn around, and walk three feet.

The shuttle ride wasn't bad either, it's quite a large boat. However, it was relatively calm that day. I would imagine it could be much worse than it was.

I didn't really see much of the boat, except what was on the way to the poker room [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] but I believe it is four decks, and I'm sure there are plenty of lounges.

[Etaipo]

[ QUOTE ]
Great report, has every detail... Ima def. give this NL game a try.. You said there was one table going with a 5 person waiting list, was that on a fri or sat?

Also just to get an idea, how far off of I-4 is this port? Looks like probably 20 minutes from the Seminole Hard Rock? I'm not a local to that area of Florida, any help would be appreicated. That 1 hour shuttle ride does seem like a killer late at nite, I guess some drunk girl clinging to you or an IPOD would have to do [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]

btw I have heard only good things about this game from Florida locals playing in the horrible 2-2 games and in AC and at many tables in Vegas...

[/ QUOTE ]

The five person waiting list was at roughly 3 PM on a Saturday. One detail I believe I forgot to mention is that they DO have call ahead seasting! Go to the webpage, navigate to the poker section, and you'll find the number to the poker room. I believe you can also email them ahead of time.

From the I-4/I-275 junction it is probably a 20 minute ride, so 25-30 minutes from the Hard Rock.

I'm sure I'll try the NL game at some point, but my next few visits will probably be prime time to closing on a Friday or Saturday night to play 5-10 and 10-20. My roll has taken a beating lately due to a vagina.

[Brainwalter]

I went there a while back, but never posted a trip report. My thoughts:

The shuttle took longer than I expected. Also, don't ride on the top (open air) if it's chilly out, it got really cold and wet, as it got dark.

I also chose a really bad day to go. The ship left late, and I was on the first shuttle so no games were started yet. I had brought enough money to play 20-40 but they never spread a limit game higher than 3-6 that day.

My drinks were free, maybe your lady had to pay to buy a round for the whole table. And the cocktail waitresses were all very gifted.

The room did seem very well-run, there was an abundance of floor/supervisors for how few games they had. They were running chips, etc. I think they ended up spreading 2 NL games and 2 3-6 games.

I'd like to go back on a more action-packed night sometime soon and play in a higher game. The players bad enough, but I got really cold cards and lost almost 2 racks. The NL looked really betable too, some punk (WPT wannabe) kid built about a $1200 stack.

[Etaipo]

I'm planning on going Saturday, hopefully in time for the 5PM shuttle at the latest. I will report back on how Saturday nights are.

I'm hoping they are spreading 5/10. If it's busy enough, and things go well enough, I plan to move up to 10/20.

The day I was there the NL game looked....old. Table full of creepy looking old guys.

[Etaipo]

As planned, I went back on Saturday night.

I got out the door a little later than planned, and traffic was horrible. Nevertheless, I made decent time getting there. Keep in mind, this is a one hour drive for me.

I get to the parking garage shortly before 5. I ask the attendant if I'm going to make the 5 PM shuttle, and he tells me no, becasuse it's sold out. He says not to go anywhere though, because the 6 PM would sell out shortly too. Great.

I get parked, and ride the tram to portside. The line is spilling out the door. Great. Am I even going to make the 6 PM?

Then I realize, hey, I already have my 'Pirate's club' card, and I can go around the people waiting for their cards, and go immediately to security. So keep that in mind, once you've been aboard once, you don't have to stand in the long line, just cut through the divider and walk to security.

Shuttle boat arrives, it's the catamaran. People are saying that one of the three shuttles is out of commision, which is why things are backed up.

It's PACKED, and it's COLD outside, and I get stuck outside on the upper deck. UGH! I had jeans and a sweater on, but I was freezing. The ride took more than an hour, because there was something wrong with the boat, it would not go top speed. So it's actually around 7:30 when we arrive.

Another note, I did use the call ahead seating when I was waiting for the shuttle. At the time, they had 2 3/6 games going and the no limit game. I had them put me on the list for 3/6 and on a waiting list for 5/10. I got a wristband for the 1 AM shuttle.

I arrive, and sure enough, he has a seat ready for me....at the tightest 3/6 table I've ever seen. Great.

Fortunately, we managed to get a 5/10 game going within a half hour.

And it was good.

Unfortunately, it was hard to keep the game going. Through the night, there was 3 3/6 games going, and the no limit, and our 5/10 table. The room still had empty tables. I asked the dealers, and they said they are usually a little busier. At some points, we were down to six players. I wasn't complaining, but others were.

We were at 7 players, right around 11 PM. I flop a nut straight and rake a huge pot. I busted two players with that hand, and the table broke =/

We managed to get another game going again, but then it was 1 and I had to leave, or else I would be stuck until four in the morning. I would have stayed, but that 5/10 wouldn't last much longer, and I was dreading the ride back and home.

The boat ride back wasn't too terribly crowded, and it wasn't nearly as cold. I managed to nod off for a minute on the ride back, so I was nice and groggy for my hour ride home.

Another good night, but the damn 4 hour commute makes me a sad panda.

[PhatCasino]

thanks for the report.. sounds like your better off taking a 4-5 hr flight to vegas........

was the NL game a full table when you left? and how'd the stack sizes look