RCCI Slot Payouts Percentage?

[bamelin]

Does anyone know what the payout percentage is on casino slots on RCCI cruises? I know most land based casino's pay out anywhere from 80 percent of their takings up to the high 90's.

[Pomperaugrr]

RCI Slots actually pay out? :eek:

 

 

 

;)

 

Eric

[loudbmw]

As cruise lines operate in international waters, I don't believe they fall under any regulatory authority. I read a while back they "voluntarily" abide to payouts similar to what land based gaming commissions require (85 percent?). Many land based casinos choose to have have a much higher payout than the minimum for competitive reasons.

 

As the ship has no competition, I expect they are at the minimum payout.

[tracysue]

well, i disagree.... i always play "wheel of fortune" - love it! and I on;y have 50.00 per trip usually to play $1.00 slots....

I always come out ahead - and this last time on 20.00 - won 2500.00 woohoo!

the 1st 2 - 3 nights tend to pay out more - don't know if it is our imagination or not..... but - we always come out ahead.....

say it with me "wheel of fortune".... just makes you feel like a winner.... right?

[miched]

Payout percentages really don't mean anything. In Vegas there are machines that are advertised as 99.9% payback. I have played them a few times and each time I did 20 plays and never hit for even 1 credit.

 

For all of the zillion losers there will be a winner, the lotto is a good example.

 

The cruise ships have to have some winners otherwise no one would play.

[arc918]

well, i disagree.... i always play "wheel of fortune" - love it! and I on;y have 50.00 per trip usually to play $1.00 slots....

I always come out ahead - and this last time on 20.00 - won 2500.00 woohoo!

the 1st 2 - 3 nights tend to pay out more - don't know if it is our imagination or not..... but - we always come out ahead.....

say it with me "wheel of fortune".... just makes you feel like a winner.... right?

 

nothing like some anecdotal evidence to prove a point...

 

I respectfully suggest that your experience is atypical - but that's awesome for you!

[xcomet]

The sign at the cashier on the Oasis , said 99 percent, but I dont believe it, neither did anyone else on the ship.

The usual loose on the way out, tight coming in, didnt even apply.

[bamelin]

Payout percentages really don't mean anything.

 

Actually it does matter in my opinion. If the payout percentage is higher the likelihood of the machine to payout is greater (makes sense right?!).

 

That may be in the form of more frequent smaller payouts, or in the form of a "bigger" payout when the numbers hit.

Edited April 14, 2010 by bamelin

[cb at sea]

The cruiseships don't really have a gaming commission like Nevada does...

I don't know what the percentage of payout is, but it's set pretty tight....and of course, you know that just because something says it's a 90% payout, doesn't mean YOU will win 90% back....that 90% is over a year's time, or the "life" of the machine...or some other timetable that no one knows about!

[Lou33]

While it is true that you cannot determine the % payback for slot machines, that is not the case for video poker. The payback percentage (with the correct play) is set by the pay tables for each hand. From what I have seen, the % payback for video poker on a cruise ship is much worse than the typical Las Vegas casino, in fact, it is the worst I have ever seen anywhere. I can only guess, and it is also generally understood, that slot machines are also tighter on cruise ships. There was one case where the Celebrity Mercury had a few older video poker machines that take coins, and those machines surprisingly had decent pay tables of about 98.5%, but that was an exception.

 

My advice: Play a few rolls of quarters, maybe a few rolls of dollars, maybe you will come out ahead, but quit after that. If you pay for hours and hours, there is no way you can overcome the casino odds.

[Gonzo70]

The sign at the cashier on the Oasis , said 99 percent, but I dont believe it, neither did anyone else on the ship.

The usual loose on the way out, tight coming in, didnt even apply.

 

I think the sign meant that the casino wins 99% of the time. :D

[Lou33]

The cruiseships don't really have a gaming commission like Nevada does...

I don't know what the percentage of payout is, but it's set pretty tight....and of course, you know that just because something says it's a 90% payout, doesn't mean YOU will win 90% back....that 90% is over a year's time, or the "life" of the machine...or some other timetable that no one knows about!

 

This is an interesting observation, and it's something that gamblers may not consider. Because it also works the other way. If slot machines in general are set to payback 90% over a year, or over a lifetime, it is also true for the person who plays it (over year or over a lifetime). Unless you hit Megabucks, you "will" get a 90% return on your bets over a lifetime. And the more you play, the more likely this will happen. If you play often over a one year period, then maybe there is an 80% chance that you will have a return of 88-92%, and over a lifetime there might be a 99% chance that you will have a return of 88-92%. The numbers are not facts, they are generalizations to make a point.

 

After I studied Probability and Statistics in college it really affected my feelings about casino gambling. But I still play video poker and blackjack for fun sometimes.

[one9marine]

i think the 99% payout includes every time you win a credit on a spin. so a person could win 1000 credits but keep playing and lose it all.

[JTJ]

I've always wondered about a set payout on video poker. Some Vegas casinos advertise 99.9% payout on VP.

 

How does that work? Does every once in a while the machine forces a 4 of a kind? That goes against a fair deck. And a fair deck is what all the how to books are based on.

 

I can see how a slot machnie can hit all 7s deliberately, but how can a fair deck suddenly dish out 4 of a kind?

[marimojo]

I always count when I play the slots - and the most I counted without winning anything (not even a cherry) was 18 pulls - which is a lot. I play all monetary amounts. That being said, I had $200 allocated to gambling on my recent Voyager cruise and came back with $380 - and that was after spending some - so I did win. Once I won $420 at one machine. There was a sign in the Voyager casino, by the cashier, that said "every day the casino pays between $5,000 and $50,000 in winnings" - that is a pretty large spread. I played slots for about 5 hours, spread over 7 days. The first two days, I was in the hole. The 3rd day I won the $420, the remainder of the cruise was probably breaking even. The highest annoucement I heard someone won was $2,500.

[Lou33]

I've always wondered about a set payout on video poker. Some Vegas casinos advertise 99.9% payout on VP.

 

How does that work? Does every once in a while the machine forces a 4 of a kind? That goes against a fair deck. And a fair deck is what all the how to books are based on.

 

I can see how a slot machnie can hit all 7s deliberately, but how can a fair deck suddenly dish out 4 of a kind?

 

Below is a really good website to explain the odds for video poker, and other casino games.

 

http://wizardofodds.com/videopoker

 

Video poker is different from slots in that it uses a fair deck of cards, and every card has an equal chance of appearing. THIS IS NOT TRUE FOR SLOTS. On a slot machine, the three jackpot symbols do not have a equal chance of lining up on the center line. MANY (MOST?) PEOPLE DO NOT KNOW THIS. How many times have you got two 7s and the third 7 just missed? That is not by accident.

 

In video poker, the machine does not force a 4 of a kind. It has an same probability as if you were dealing a real deck of cards.

 

If you have a fair deck of cards and you know the pay tables for each hand, then a computer can calculate the correct strategy to draw for each hand. And if you always use the correct strategy, then a computer can calculated the % return for each machine. In some cases, this is greater than 100%. Those 100% games are almost impossible to find anymore, and certainly not on a cruise ship. You must always use the correct strategy to get that rate of return, you can't just guess at what to draw for.

 

Sometimes in a casino I will see two "Jacks or Better" machines right next to each other. One machine pays 45 for a full house and 30 for a flush and has a 99.6% return. But the machine right next to it pays 40 for a full house and 25 for a flush for a 98% return. Even if you don't know the % return, it's not hard to guess which machine is better. But which machine is getting played? Yes it seems more often than not, someone will choose the low pay machine.

 

My wife loves to play video poker. Since she switched from slots to the "full pay" video poker, her losses are negligable. I have no problem watching her play for hours and hours because know the laws of statistics say that she cannot lose in the long run. When we factor that we receive discounted and free rooms from the casino, and other perks we come out slightly ahead. But this is not possible on a cruise ship and it drives me crazy to see her play for any length of time on a cruise. But she says I would be more fun if I wasn't so analytical, and she's probably right.

Edited April 14, 2010 by Lou33

[tracysue]

My advice: Play a few rolls of quarters, maybe a few rolls of dollars, maybe you will come out ahead, but quit after that. If you pay for hours and hours, there is no way you can overcome the casino odds.

 

so important - after I hit the 2500.00 - they came over - counted it out to me - and I said "thank you and goodnight".... and never walked back in there !!!! it was sooooo tempting to just throw a 20.00 in the machine.... but I already knew the luck was hit! :D just always remember "waw".....

walk after winning....otherwise you'll be saying "waw waw" (crying.....lol!) . i had read that years ago on cruise critic - and it stuck!

Edited April 14, 2010 by tracysue

[Janice M]

RCI Slots actually pay out? :eek:

 

 

 

;)

 

Eric

 

LOL Not to me they don't.

 

Jan

[pltag]

the 1st 2 - 3 nights tend to pay out more - don't know if it is our imagination or not.....

It is your imagination and one of the older "urban myths" of cruising... that is that slot payouts decrease during the week. It's just not practically possible. Some friends and I shared a catamaran excursion with some of the ship's dealers and a casino manager a few years ago... and we had a good laugh about this one. :D

[tracysue]

It is your imagination and one of the older "urban myths" of cruising... that is that slot payouts decrease during the week. It's just not practically possible. Some friends and I shared a catamaran excursion with some of the ship's dealers and a casino manager a few years ago... and we had a good laugh about this one. :D

 

you're encouraging me! stop!!! LOL!

[danzur]

This thread is pretty humorous.

 

Lou33 is a pretty smart guy, and pretty accurate.

 

I'm in the slot biz....I can tell you that most likely the machines are as tight as they can make them because there is no competition when you are on a cruise ship. Most likely that means 85-88% RTP (return to player). Yes, you can determine the RTP% of a poker machine based on the paytable. Any other video or mechanical slot you cannot.

 

The 99.9% sign....in NV that means 1 or 2 (or more) machines on that "bank" are truly 99.9% (or whatever is posted)-required by law. No idea what law would govern a cruise ship, but I'm certain they are adhering to some corporate rule to post this number.

 

Remember-there is no reason to lie, or fool anyone with false claims in regards to slot machines. Over time a slot machine cannot be beaten. The program is the program...it will hold a certain % over it's entire life. That said...anyone can get lucky and be a winner at any given moment, or any given day.

 

If a machine is 90% RTP, for example, one day (or week, or month) it could return 105%, another day (or week or month) it could return 75%. It's all RNG (random number generation) and basic laws of probability.

 

The key is to have some fun. That fun may cost a few bucks, or you may win a few bucks....or you may even come close (or actually) to winning a huge jackpot.

 

Hence the term "gambling" :)

[yogimax]

My wife loves to play video poker. Since she switched from slots to the "full pay" video poker, her losses are negligable.

 

The problem is that most VP machines on RCCL are set to a very poor return.

[Havingfun2010]

I don't know the payout, but for some reason, I end up a few, and I mean a few dollars richer. Heck, one time, I came out about $22.00 richer!

[Lou33]

The problem is that most VP machines on RCCL are set to a very poor return.

 

And most people don't realize how poor that return is. If you are used to playing a full pay Video Poker machine with a 99.6% return, you might be lucky to find a machine with a 95% return on a cruise ship. So what does that mean?

 

If the house edge goes from 0.4% to 5%, that is more than 10 time greater. That machine on the cruise ship should expect to make over 10 times more money than a full pay machine in a Las Vegas Casino. And the people who play that machine should expect to lose 10 times more money. But usually, a person wouldn't lose 10 times more money, only because the cash they allocated for gambling would be depleted quicker, and that would be that.

[yogimax]

Most of cruise ship Jacks of Better VP is set at 5/6 return for flush/full house. Not the best odds, by far.