Opus Casino Cruise- Trip Report

#1
I took one for the team and took the Opus cruise out of Freeport NY last week. And this is how it was:

There were about 8 BJ tables open, one 25-500, one 50-1000, and the rest 10-200. High limits were NMS. There was one unlicensed SP21-type game called "Ocean's 21" and one unlicensed Blackjack Switch game called Switch Blackjack. All games were 6D, and offered late surrender, although there was some confusion as to whether you could surrender after switching on the switch game. There are no written rules and no standard shuffle procedure; every dealer shuffled differently but there was nothing spectacular about any shuffle I saw. Be very careful with these BJ derivatives; it appears the exact rules depend somewhat on the opinion of the dealer and the PC and our advantage depends on the exact rules.

Penetration varied between a playable <1.5 decks to an abysmal >2.5 decks depending on the dealer.

They do spread the cards before they begin dealing. I watched. They were all there. So if they cheat you, it won't be that way.

The Ocean's 21 used the crappy Mohegan rules where the bonuses aren't paid on split hands. I didn't stick around long enough to see if they would let you draw to split aces but I suspect not if they are using those nasty gyp Mohegan felts.

Playing the switch game was interesting. They use the lousy rule where when you switch to a natural it counts as 21 and not a natural. LS makes up for some of it, I tried to estimate the correct strategy and how much it is worth and figured it was somewhat less than what it's worth in regular BJ because you are going to be escaping a lot of your bad hands by switching.

So I played and started chiseling. I tried betting slightly more on one side than the other and it flew. I got hard, and trembled like a schoolboy working on a front-snap bra: "How far is she going to let me go with this?" Sadly, she threw me out at second base, made me bet equal amounts, so frustrated I left and went to a BJ table and did what I had to do, one hand only.

It was successful trip thanks to good variance, EV probably wasn't that good especially due to the $35 fee to get on the boat and play for 4 hours.

There is a poker room upstairs. I would guess the game is very soft but I'm not that well qualified to judge it, so I didn't observe.

Playing environment: dirty and nasty, crowded. Rocking, but that can be used to your advantage for those who go beyond counting. most carnival games are dealt in a way as to support that. Very few Asians. Tables very close together- I can't imagine a white guy enjoying the boat but it would be a fun place for spooks. ;) There was BO, and by the end of the trip there will be vomit in all the bathrooms. I was being hawked by the guy I believe to be the casino manager, who has a disturbing resemblance to Bugsy Siegel.

Amenities: The buffet would gag Linda Lovelace. Only a couple of things looked edible. See above about vomit; be careful what you eat before and during your trip unless you want to be a contributor to the problem. On the other hand, the drinks were large and very strong, and if you like to spend your night drinking you will easily get your $35 worth of alcohol at the tables if you try to.

A note about parking: the parking attendant will try to guide you into a captive-queue parking area, which means you won't be able to leave until all the people in front of you leave. This also means that if you get in any trouble on the boat, it won't be over when you leave the boat. If you believe you may have to get out of there quickly choose the municipal parking lot a block past the boat.

Overall opinion: worth it if you are an experienced player who can bet up to the table maxes to make up for the fare, and just happen to be stuck on Long Island. It may also be worth it for other types of table game players, or poker players. For most players there will be someplace else more profitable.
 
#5
Opus casino update - out of business/hiatus

FYI - AS OF 8/6 opus has ceased all sails/operations. Allegedly they have new investors and will resume sailing in the spring. We shall see. They went from 14 sails a week in winter to 7 in summer, so they can't have been doing well. Kind of sad to see gambling in Freeport come to an end in the middle of peak season. Boats have sailed from Freeport since 1988, so hopefully someone else will pick it up if Opus doesn't return.
 
#6
psipsimj said:
FYI - AS OF 8/6 opus has ceased all sails/operations. Allegedly they have new investors and will resume sailing in the spring. We shall see. They went from 14 sails a week in winter to 7 in summer, so they can't have been doing well. Kind of sad to see gambling in Freeport come to an end in the middle of peak season. Boats have sailed from Freeport since 1988, so hopefully someone else will pick it up if Opus doesn't return.
Aw hell, really? I didn't hit them that hard!
 
#7
$35 boarding fee

FYI, if you asked the host(Stacy, drop dead gorgeous black girl, and sweet as can be,) they would give you a $25 off coupon for your next trip. They used to give free trips, but stopped. Allegedly because they still have to pay $10 in port taxes per passenger whether you are paying or not. $25/$50 players they would give you a coupon good for 2 weeks for as many trips as you want.

Not that it matters anymore, unless they do in fact start up again in the spring.
 
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