Make a night of it at Stone Pier Card Room: dinner, then the casino
Stone Pier Card Room keeps five tables going most nights: five hundred, euchre, crib, rummy, canasta and bridge, with friendly poker at no buy-in some Fridays. There is no online play here, not even an app — everything happens in person, a short walk from the causeway. No wagering, no cash prizes, and not a poker machine anywhere on the premises, just chips that keep score under a house dealer's watch.
Who Was Standing Behind These Doors First?
Who actually opened the doors at Stone Pier Card Room, and why here, right by the causeway? The short answer is a fisherman with bad knees and a deck of cards worn soft from use.
Wal Petherick spent twenty-odd years on boats out of Encounter Bay, and belowdecks, on the slow trips back in, cribbage and five hundred passed the hours better than anything else going. When the work got too hard on his knees, he didn't look far for what came next — the old stone goods shed near the causeway had sat empty for years, and it was built solid enough to still be standing.
He fitted it out with five tables, borrowed a dealer from a card night that used to run out of someone's kitchen, and opened the doors under his own name for exactly one week before everyone started calling it Stone Pier instead. The house has kept his rules ever since: chips only, a dealer who never plays, and a seat for anyone who turns up.
These days the room runs most nights of the week under different hands than his, but the tables, the stone walls and the short walk from the causeway haven't moved an inch.
Wal Petherick
Opened the doors after twenty years fishing out of Encounter Bay
Five tables
Set up in the old stone goods shed, still standing
What's on tonight by the causeway
The kitchen runs independently of the card tables — a short menu, cooked fresh each evening by the causeway.
For dinner: vegetable soup, then a chicken pie with mash.
For dessert, a slice of carrot cake. A dinner-only table is booked separately from the game.
Vegetable soup
To start.
Chicken pie
House-made, with mash.
Carrot cake
With cream cheese icing.
What Should You Expect Before You Arrive?
- Everyone needs photo ID at the door — regulars included, and nobody under eighteen gets past it.
- Chips only ever track a score; they don't buy anything and don't leave the building as cash.
- None of this moves online — the cards come out in person, and that's the whole of it.
- Whoever's dealing works for the house, not for either side of the table, so nobody at the table has a stake in how a hand turns out.
- Staff keep an eye on how a table's going and step in if a night needs slowing down.
What's Waiting in the Casino's Second Room?
Step past the main floor and there's a second space tucked behind it, built for anyone who wants their game without an audience.
The dealer moves between both rooms through the night, and the rules travel with them — nothing changes except the volume.
What's on
Mostly crib, sometimes a slow canasta
The feel
Lower light, hardly anyone standing about
Still house-dealt
Same dealer, just working both rooms
So When Are the Doors Actually Open?
| Evening | Running | What you'll find |
|---|---|---|
| Mon–Tue | 6 pm – 1 am | A gentle start to the week |
| Wed | Closed | The room rests, nobody's dealt in |
| Thu | 6 pm – 1 am | Canasta regulars claim their corner |
| Fri–Sat | 6 pm – 1 am | Busiest nights, every table going |
| Sun | 6 pm – 11 pm | An early close, bridge included |
Where Exactly Does Stone Pier Sit?
33 Ocean Street, Victor Harbor SA 5211
+61 8 8552 7318 · info@stonepierr.com
Monday to Tuesday and Thursday to Sunday, 6 pm until 1 am, with an early 11 pm close on Sundays. Closed Wednesdays.
What Does the Room Look Like Before It Fills?
What Do People Usually Want to Know?
How far is it from the causeway itself?
Close enough to stroll — most people cover Ocean Street in under five minutes on foot.
Is there anywhere to park nearby?
Street parking along Ocean Street is free after six and rarely a long walk from the door.
Do you take cards, or is it cash only at the door?
Cards or cash both work for chips at the door — chips themselves are never bought back for money.
Is there an entry fee just to walk in?
No — there's no cover charge, just the cost of chips if you want to sit down and play.
What's the minimum age, and is it actually checked?
Eighteen, and yes — every face gets checked at the door, regulars included.
Can my teenager wait inside while I play?
Unfortunately not — the whole building is restricted to adults, so under-18s can't wait indoors even for a few minutes.
Do I need to book, or can I just turn up?
Turning up is fine most nights; it's only larger groups that really benefit from calling first.
What Would One Page off the Calendar Show?
Every night at Stone Pier Card Room runs much the same way, but Friday is the one regulars circle on the calendar — five hundred and euchre on every table, well past midnight.
Why Not See if There's a Chair Free?
Six o'clock most evenings is when the first cards go down, and nobody needs an appointment to join in — bring ID, find the dealer, and there'll be a seat within minutes.
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