I thought I'd add some detail since we have so many new caribbean collectors.

St James Club was a whole different animal. It was teenie-tiny with only about 6 tables and maybe 20 slots. The resort was beautiful, and the casino nicely decorated. As you mentioned, the resort was not near the cruise ship docks. In fact, it was on the opposite side of the island and across the rain forest.

The road going across the mountain/rain forest was pot hole city, and in parts the road was half washed away. Once you got within a few miles of the resort, the road because all dirt. Quite an adventure.

Oh....and if you just happened to make the trip during the daytime, you'd find you waisted your time because the casino was only open from 9pm-1 am . The night I played there they decided not to open until 10. Ya gotta love it!

I was told by someone that rented a taxi (maybe it was you Fred) that it cost 40.00 to get there.

The Grand Princess on the other hand, is the largest casino ever on the island, and the nicest too, by far.

It's funny....the original casino was called the Reef Casino which burned down, chips and all. A few boxes remained in the owners basement and he reopened the reef Casino as the "Coral Reef Casino" in a shopping center about 100 yards from where the Grand Princess stands. He used the chips from his basement.

Talk about hard to harvest chips! The manager, who was a Edward G. Robinson wannabe (cigar butt stump and all) watched them like a hawk.

The place was a closet and didn;t even have a bar. The waitresses would take your order and then go next door to get the drinks!

Anyway, he finally got the Grand Princess built, and in the tradition of the Caribbean, it took years and years before it was competed. It was a cinder block eyesore at Jolly Harbour for a long time.

Interestingly, the Reef Casino chips for some reason are a well kept secret. even though most were destroyed in the fire, the ones that are out in the hands of collectors trade as if they are common and current. For some crazy reason, most collectors just don't understand how rare they really are.

Fred, I'd love to use some of your pictures in my caribbean chipping website.