Anybody ever win big in a ship casino?

[atexsix]

Has anyone ever hit it big in a ship casino or do you know anybody that has?  We're not huge gamblers so I'm asking more out of curiosity.

Edited August 14, 2021 by atexsix

[Brentt_M]

5 minutes ago, atexsix said:

Has anyone ever hit it big in a ship casino or do you know anybody that has?  We're not huge gamblers so I'm asking more out of curiosity.

Winning Big when gambling is a relative term depending on the individual gambler.  What would you consider big?

 

My SiL won $5k which she considered big cause she only spends like $20 a day in the ship casinos.

 

For others a $5k win, while always nice is just a small blip on the gambling budget.

[DAllenTCY]

I've been lucky to have 3 cruises paid for completely onboard.   Not exactly "big" by any means; but huge at the time to me:

 

            Carnival Elation   $600 jackpot with 4 Aces single line video poker  (3 night cruise)

 

            Veendam   $2,000 cover all Bingo (4 night cruise)

 

            Vision of the Seas  $1,000 on Ultimate Poker 5 cents. (4 night cruise)

 

David

P.S.  I did see a grand celebration on where the guest was presented a check over $300,000 but I suppose that was one of the lottery type wins

 

 

[bozemanman]

I won $2400.00 in "Snowball Jackpot Bingo" once and it pd for that cruise

[drowelf]

While never hitting really big in the casino, over the course of 20+ years of cruising I have hit the End-Of-Voyage Jackpot Bingo on 2 cruises. They each produced enough $$$ to more than cover all our on-board expenses for each. 

[liketraveling]

I was on a 24 day Panama Canal cruise.  I hit the jackpot on video poker.  It was enough to pay off my bill.  But had to pay taxes on it.

 

Another time at the black jack table they had these little space to place an extra bid.

you would win extra like if you had doubles in the same suit that equaled 20.

 

Two queen of hearts paid 500 to one.  I won that once.  I only bet a dollar.

 

One time on the last night of a cruise, if you had two queen of heart and the dealer had a black jack the bet was 1000 to one.  When you win that one,  it is a real ordeal, the pit boss has to come and verify.  
 

I bet small and I give my self an allowance of what I can spend.  The time I hit the 2 queens and the dealer had the jack pot.  
 

You know your spending too much money when chocolate covered strawberries show up at your door.

 

I don’t spend enough to get free cabins.  I do get a casino discount.

 

It has only been since the pandemic,, I have been offered free inside.

 

Most of the time I loose.  
 

I invest in the thermal pass to keep me out of trouble.  Which is much more relaxing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[silversneakers]

Played $20 in a $1 dollar at a time slot and won $7800!  

[Caribbean Chris]

Years ago we were on a Med cruise from Venice to Athens. DH won enough playing blackjack to more than pay for the RT air tickets.

[BobbiSox]

I was playing one of the Buffalo slots and wasn't winning on a 60-cent bet so I played the $1.80 bet and with my first pull, I won $3,000.00. I put it all back in the following three weeks, so my gaming paid for itself on that cruise. I've found that all the ships' casinos pay pretty regularly, but there's no rhyme or reason to it that I've ever figured out I just have fun playing, win or lose. 

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

A friend of our's won big on the World Cruise. he was playing $1 slots max bet .

Edited August 14, 2021 by Gail & Marty sailing away

[Evilmuffin]

I won 3500 Euro once.   Some other small 700 - 800 wins.   I have only been on 6 cruises… but I have noticed that at the beginning of each cruise, the slots paid out more at the beginning than towards the end.   Actually it was quite significant.   I believe they loosen the slots at the beginning to get people to play and once they get hooked, they keep playing… then they tighten up at the end.   Just my observation and only for the slots.   I don’t play cards.   

[Laminator]

I gamble quite a bit as some of you know by the offers I receive. I have won several jackpots on cruises over the years. I can only remember two. One was a $5 double diamond machine where I hit the 3 double diamonds for $8000. What was memorable was the payout. It was a person that was training in the casino cage. His first cruise in there. He came to pay me along with the casino manager. He was shaking from nervousness the whole time he was counting the money. It took him 4 times to count it before he had it right. It was hilarious. Today that young man is now the casino cage manager on the new Rotterdam. I will see him on our cruise Nov 10th. 
The 2nd hit was a straight flush at the Let it Ride table. The table limit was $10,000 so that is what I wound up getting. That dealer was brand new and was almost in tears as she thought she would get fired. Poor kid. I felt bad for her. It was a casino event and many of the bigwigs were there. All worked out well. By the end of the cruise she was laughing about it.  

[DaveOKC]

56 minutes ago, Evilmuffin said:

I won 3500 Euro once.   Some other small 700 - 800 wins.   I have only been on 6 cruises… but I have noticed that at the beginning of each cruise, the slots paid out more at the beginning than towards the end.   Actually it was quite significant.   I believe they loosen the slots at the beginning to get people to play and once they get hooked, they keep playing… then they tighten up at the end.   Just my observation and only for the slots.   I don’t play cards.   

 I have heard this concept before and quite frankly I do not believe it.  They would have to adjust each machine and that would take alot of time, plus, more significantly, the casino does not have to do this as the "hold" is so great on slots that they are going to win anyway if you play long enough.

 

[Laminator]

2 minutes ago, DaveOKC said:

 I have heard this concept before and quite frankly I do not believe it.  They would have to adjust each machine and that would take alot of time, plus, more significantly, the casino does not have to do this as the "hold" is so great on slots that they are going to win anyway if you play long enough.

 

There is not one member of the casino staff or manager onboard that has a clue how to change the take on the machines. Those are set prior to the machines being placed onboard.

[nocl]

46 minutes ago, DaveOKC said:

 I have heard this concept before and quite frankly I do not believe it.  They would have to adjust each machine and that would take alot of time, plus, more significantly, the casino does not have to do this as the "hold" is so great on slots that they are going to win anyway if you play long enough.

 

Actually most modern slot machines these days are networked and the odds are set electronically and programmed into a chip. The days of the mechanical odds mechanisms are long gone.

 

 

A friend of mine was head of gaming IT for a major casino in Las Vegas prior to his retirement.

 

Cannot say how the ships handle their slots, but in the large Vegas casinos they are all networked and the casino can tell in real time the amount bet, and the amount paid out.

 

https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/slot-machine.htm

Edited August 14, 2021 by nocl

[DaveOKC]

2 hours ago, nocl said:

Actually most modern slot machines these days are networked and the odds are set electronically and programmed into a chip. The days of the mechanical odds mechanisms are long gone.

 

 

A friend of mine was head of gaming IT for a major casino in Las Vegas prior to his retirement.

 

Cannot say how the ships handle their slots, but in the large Vegas casinos they are all networked and the casino can tell in real time the amount bet, and the amount paid out.

 

https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/slot-machine.htm

Great article!  I copied a portion of it here to prove the previous point about casinos not changing the odds:

"The odds for a particular slot machine are built into the program on the machine's computer chip. In most cases, the casino cannot change the odds on a machine without replacing this chip. Despite popular opinion, there is no way for the casino to instantly "tighten up" a machine."

[nocl]

11 minutes ago, DaveOKC said:

Great article!  I copied a portion of it here to prove the previous point about casinos not changing the odds:

"The odds for a particular slot machine are built into the program on the machine's computer chip. In most cases, the casino cannot change the odds on a machine without replacing this chip. Despite popular opinion, there is no way for the casino to instantly "tighten up" a machine."

With the new technology it would be easy enough to build one that is programmable on the fly.  In most cases it is the appropriate gaming commission that prevents it. 

 

Though I do recall a  case where a maintenance person changed out some of the chips to make the odds much better as a way to rip off one of the casinos.

[njfredd]

My husband won $5k at the slot machine on the last day of our 20+ day Transatlantic/Mediterranean cruise in 2019 on HAL's Koningsdam. Great result as he did not have the chance to send the funds back to the casino through additional play. And I got a "free" martini out of the transaction 🍸- plus a complimentary 1099 memorializing the transaction! We have been receiving casino offers, and hopefully we will be able to take advantage when we return to cruising in July 2022 (Voyage of the Vikings).

[DaveOKC]

1 hour ago, nocl said:

With the new technology it would be easy enough to build one that is programmable on the fly.  In most cases it is the appropriate gaming commission that prevents it. 

 

Though I do recall a  case where a maintenance person changed out some of the chips to make the odds much better as a way to rip off one of the casinos.

I think the main point is that the odds are way in the house's favor, so why bother!

 

[nocl]

49 minutes ago, DaveOKC said:

I think the main point is that the odds are way in the house's favor, so why bother!

 

On a cruise ship probably, in an Indian casino most likely.  In Vegas the payout of the slot machines are defined by law and to be in compliance the casino slot machines are set to payout above the required amount to make sure that they are not in violation of gaming regulations.

 

[Chickadee910]

5000  on our cruise from Japan to Alaska and Vancouver..paid in cash with a slip just like at the local casinos. Can’t wait to play on the ship because we have not been to a casino since this mess began. On the Eurodam in October from Barcelona to Fort Lauderdale. Just holding my breath til it sails.

[tennispretzel]

I lost $30 on a 7 day cruise and then began getting offers for "free" cruises. I consider this a win LOL

[DaveOKC]

1 hour ago, tennispretzel said:

I lost $30 on a 7 day cruise and then began getting offers for "free" cruises. I consider this a win LOL

I agree.  We generally lose a bit gambling, but win big on our next cruise cost.

[KirkNC]

You know everyone wins, it’s like everyone in prison is innocent (from Shawshank Redemption)

[Traveling Dot]

While on the Nieuw Amsterdam two weeks ago a woman hit the jackpot on a slot machine near me for over $3000.  First time I ever saw someone hit for that much when I was actually there.   🤑