I & my fellow Florida chipper, better known as Mark Lighterman, just returned from a glorious day sail on the MV New Yorker aka: Stirling Casino Lines. The ship departs from Port Canaveral, approximately a 3 hour drive at 90 mph, north of Hollywood, Florida. Stirling Casino Lines is leasing the MV New Yorker until it takes delivery of the Ambassador which is being refurbished in an unknown port. This is likely to take place in November of this year. A few boring details of this new day cruise boat. Maiden voyage took place Friday night, September 11th, with the inaugural day sailing on 9/12/98. The ship has four decks with 865 slot machines, which were counted twice & verified by the casino manager. There are nickel, quarter, $1, $5 & $25 machines. Slot tokens are $1, $5 & $25. There are 26 black jack tables, 4 craps tables, 4 roulette tables, 1 Let it Ride, 1 Caribbean Stud & 1 mini-baccarat table. The ship is between 300 & 350 feet in length & can carry approximately 1,500 to 2,000 passengers. An interesting aside, the casino managers name is Ralph Capone who is believed to be a distant relative of the infamous Alphonse Capone who we all love. Now the interesting part.
The MV New Yorker began sailing as a Hudson River day cruise boat. After completion of this mission, it went to Gary, Indiana & sailed as the Majestic Star, which I believe someone on this BB was looking for a few months ago. It sailed from 1995 to 1997 approximately, & was then brought to Florida. Once the new ship is delivered, it's anybodys' guess where this ship will turn up.
I almost forgot! They have $5, $25, $100 & $500 Paul-Son h/c chips. $1 slot tokens & half dollars are used to pay off black jack. Nickels & quarters are used as well. Mark & I have the $5 chips & $1 & $5 slot tokens to trade. NO GO's WERE MADE.