Anyone every hit it big on the on board slot machines?

[bean24]

On the Star in 1/07 my husband hit a royal flush on a poker machine 1000 on a 1.25 bet. They also had a bonus wheel at the bj table for a side bet you got a spin with a bj. I won about 3,000 so between the two of us our whole 2 week vacation including the 8 day cruise was paid for.

[obxcruiser]

I usually hear of at least one person per night making a decent hall at one of the machines. As for me I usually break even or leave down about twenty bucks,but this is after a good three to four hours of entertainment and laughs which I think is a worthwhile investment. I did however hit a royal flush in videopoker on RCL Monarch of the Seas in 2008, bet three quarters and walked out with two grand!

[BEFdoc]

I'm probably living in a dream world, but wonder who has hit it big on the on board slot machines? Wonder what the highest paid jackpot has been???

 

 

Working in the casino industry, machines can be "chipped" up or down according to the percentage of payout the casino wants to allow. Each state has their own percentages, ie Nevada, California etc. These ships are international and don't have to conform to the same regulations. So...they set their payouts lower than lets say Vegas. Also, they reserve the right the reset each progressive slot at the start of the cruise. I wouldn't bother playing on a progressive with those restrictions. Just my opinion.

[gooch47]

At least for the Princess cruises we take, the reason you have to pay USA taxes is because the parent corporation (Carnival) is incorporated in the USA. Being in international waters doesn't help, unfortunately.

 

Not on a slot machine, but I won $4000 on one hand of "Let it Ride" poker on the Golden Princess in 2001.

[Fishbait17]

Won exactly $1200 (hello W2g) on a Cashman machine on the Pearl max bet. It was very nice but didn't make much of a dent in my overall losses for the week. :p. Haven't had very good luck on NCL ships, maybe this will change with my next sailing!

 

Robin

[dznymom]

Hit for $3002 on a 2 cent machine with a 60 cent bet on the Jewel in August. Held my own for the rest of the week, so I bought a cruise reward and booked her again for next Sunday :D

[garycarla]

Slot winnings of $1200 or more will generate a W-2G (not a 1099). Must be something to do with corporate location and/or agreement with the Feds somewhere along the line. By the way a 1099 is sometimes used in a poker tournament, but that is another very long discussion, much of which is still being fought in the courts.

 

And yes, I have two W2-Gs to prove what the form looks like.

Edited November 7, 2010 by garycarla

[PorkChopKid]

Never won... EVER... but, then again I haven't lost either... EVER. I simply don't play.

Love all the lucky stories I'm reading here but suspect there is a lot more losing going on than most care to admit. Why else would NCL build an even bigger casino on EPIC.

If you enjoy trying then have at it. Good luck to all....

Edited November 7, 2010 by PorkChopKid

[cmh]

I won $8400 on a cruise on the Carnival Liberty with my kids (DH had to work) in January. It was the Little Green Men slot with the stacked wilds. I have also won $200+ numerous times on the Wild Wolf/Wolf Run slots, also with stacked wilds.

 

They give you your winnings in cash, probably in the hope you will give it back. I was good,though; I put it allin the in-room safe and surprised my husband when we got home. Boy was he a happy camper!!

 

Wow, the is an amazing amount of money to win on a cruise. My son in law won $800 playing the slot machines on the Jewel a couple of years ago. I, on the other hand, have never won any money on a cruise ship.

[Us2inFL]

We were on Epic 10/9 to 10/23.

 

The $1 Wheel of Fortune paid off after a few pulls with $800. A few days later the same machine paid $500 then calmed down.

 

The Sun slots were good to us a year or two ago, also somewhere like $600.

 

NCL has been the only cruise line where we come out ahead.

[gooch47]

Back when Princess used paper survey/comment forms I blasted them on one cruise because the casino was unbelievably tight. I turned it in, went back to the casino that night and won back all the money I had lost. I sorta felt bad about that. :D

[Dajbman22]

On the Spirit I used the buy $10, get $10 in free slot play. I wound up $2.50 ahead (total winnings of $12.50). Better than nothing.

[chrisnleigh]

I'm probably living in a dream world, but wonder who has hit it big on the on board slot machines? Wonder what the highest paid jackpot has been???

 

 

I hit $1,000 on four times slot machine in Oct. 2010. Never happened before, but nice.:)

[PreciousMissy]

On the Spirit I used the buy $10, get $10 in free slot play. I wound up $2.50 ahead (total winnings of $12.50). Better than nothing.

 

 

That's my kind of win!!! :p I walk out with my money (maybe a little of their money) and I've been entertained for a bit!

[LadyShiva]

I just try to make up for the hubby's losses at card tournaments. ;) On the Pearl, I used my slot game winnings to tip the kid's club counselors well (on our October cruise, my daughter had pretty much one on one care and the counselors were better than our Disney cruises!).

 

I used the NCL coupons to get my seed money, too.

[Veronica Beaverhausen]

I put a $10 bill in a 2 coin dollar machine on my wedding anniversary (Explorer of the Seas ship) and won $2800 on the first pull. They paid me in cash and I locked the money in the safe and did not go back to the casino.

[hockeygirl14]

My grandmother won around $10,000 all together on the Pearl in March. She won $4500 one time, $2000 another... it all amounted to $10,000. Great vacation! Very rare too , haha

[ken85121]

I won $1,200 on the Pearl last December. :)

[BEFdoc]

they still take the taxes, and then you have to hire someone to get it back.(a tax firm-have seen the ads on tv for them) I don't see how they can give a 1099, when the ships are flagged as foreign and not out of US ports. The tv program about NCL-just saw it again the other day, says since they are flagged for convenience out of foreign ports they pay no US taxes and don't have to abide by employment rules and wages for the US..makes ya wonder!!:rolleyes:

Dona

 

Yah, but the foreign cruise lines have a separate agreement with the U.S. government that says:

1. Casino winning above a certain amount a W2G is required.

2. U.S. citizens that are employees of the cruise line will also pay federal income tax.

3. Winnings above $5000 a W2G will be given and withholding will also be taken from the winnings at the 26 or 28% tax bracket.

 

Ain't that a b***h!

Edited November 13, 2010 by BEFdoc

[boaterette]

Yah, but the foreign cruise lines have a separate agreement with the U.S. government that says:

1. Casino winning above a certain amount a W2G is required.

2. U.S. citizens that are employees of the cruise line will also pay federal income tax.

3. Winnings above $5000 a W2G will be given and withholding will also be taken from the winnings at the 26 or 28% tax bracket.

 

Ain't that a b***h!

 

 

I won 5700 on the Carnival Pride two years ago. They did give me a W2-G but did not withhold anything. It was a great week.

[deejae]

My husband hit $1000 playing slots on the Carnival Liberty 4 yrs ago, then 2 yrs ago I won $1000 on the Miracle the 1st night and continued to win every night after that. After playing all week and sharing with my family, I went home with $1900. Because the winnings were spread out and never more than $1000 at once I didn't have to pay taxes.

 

Janet

[SASA13]

This past September, DH hit $2400 on the Miracle.

The year before, he hit $2000 on the Destiny.

 

These were both quarter machines.

[alikaalex]

Oddly, my only true jackpot slot win was on one of the Addams Family (or was it the Munsters?) machines last year on board the Norwegian Star. Granted, it was a nickel machine that only paid about $450 with max coins inserted, but hey! My only true jackpot ever! :D

[Cathy p]

The only ships we ever won on was the Celebrity Constellation $1000 and then $1500.

[Love my butler]

The stories about all the 'winning' are a bit disingenuous because the teller rarely admits how much they lost in the machine before they 'won'. If you drop $1000 into a machine over an hour or two then hit a big jackpot of $800 you still lost $200. Most people conveniently leave that part out because it ruins the story.

 

Gambling on a cruise ship is a bad bet, no pun intended. Much worse than a regulated casino in the states and other places.