Slots on Oosterdam: should I bother?

[constructiondude]

The slots on the Westerdam were the tightest I've ever seen anywhere; I planned on spending a great deal of money in the casino until I found out they were set for very low returns. HAL would have made more money off of me if they had been the least bit generous. My first visit turned out to be my last and I never went back to the casino.

 

Does anyone know if the slots on the Oosterdam will be just as tight?

 

I think the casino is a great place to spread germs with all the money being handled and the 100 or more different people to touch the slot machine handles. So it might be just as well to avoid it.

[lougee1043]

The slots on the Westerdam were the tightest I've ever seen anywhere;

Does anyone know if the slots on the Oosterdam will be just as tight? quote]

 

cruiseships have never been known for loose slots --------the odam slots will most likely be just as bad

 

if you want to lose a lot of money why not try blackjack or craps

[mike35]

Does anyone know who regulates casinos on cruise ships? Most non-Indian casinos in the U.S. are closely regulated by state gaming commissions, but to the best of my knowledge, there is no such regulation on the high seas (most cruise ship casinos are concessions operated by private companies). Let's say hypothetically that the black jack "shoe" is populated not by the normal 5 or six decks of "normal" cards, but by a like amount of cards rich in high cards, which would tilt the odds even more in favor of the house. Who would know? And of course setting the slots as tight as can be with few payouts - again, the suckers will still feed them in the hopes that "it's their turn to pay out". Bottom line -- on cruise ships I play gin with DW, and I even let her win on occasion;)

 

Mike

[dakrewser]

Strange, I find cruise ship slots are much looser than Vegas hotels....

[Krazy Kruizers]

Very few pay-offs on our recent Volendam cruises.

[michmike]

We invest $40 a trip in the slots. And quit before that is gone if we hit anything worthwhile. Just too many other things I'd prefer to do with the money. Plus as non-smokers, that's about as long as we care to hang in the casino anyway. We won $120 in January on Volendam, but lost our $40 in 15 minutes this October on Westerdam.

 

Very infrequently hit the Indian casinos here at home and am always struck by the fact that there are a fair number of folks in there that appear to be betting the rent money. Guess it's a matter of different strokes...

[Enchanted]

The slots on the Westerdam were the tightest I've ever seen anywhere.

 

We found them to be the tightest slots we've played on all our cruises too!

A casino employee on a previous HAL cruise told me they were not regulated at all.

I switched to the tables for the most part and played with their money for the first week but then gave it all back + another $100 the 2nd week.

I'm okay with that because i look at it as the cost of entertainment.

It would be nice though if you got a bit of playing time on the slots, it's not very entertaining when you put your $ in and go all the way out without even hitting stinking cherries!

 

I should know better by now but those slot jingles just draw me in!

[Sea King]

it would be easier to determine the source of the universe than trying to figure out whether a slot machine will pay:D

 

on the other hand, you know it's time to leave and head to the explorer's lounge for a "little Bach" when you've been at a machine for an hour with the only excitement being 7's on different lines and as soon as you stand up, someone sits down, opens the rum he/she snuck aboard and bingo!! your money comes flying out as the whistles blare:eek:

[JohnR49er]

Oh, thats why some people detest those that bring their own rum.......... They are also robbing the slot money from those that don't........:confused:

[Rotterdam]

I only play the slots when I am on a cruise. last year on the Prinsendam transatlantic - it was ridiculous...usually I can win a few $$$, but the slots were so tight- nada over 2 weeks. I usually go in with $100 a nite & when that is gone I quit... I also noticed it on the Volendam a few years back.

 

Last year on the Costa Med - I won about $800.....much better odds.

[lougee1043]

forget bringing booze on board ---im bringing my own slot machine --- is there a 15% tip subtracted from my winnings if i bring my own machine and ask them to set it up in a corner of the casino

[Tricia724]

As someone who loves those little spinning reels and goes to the casinos from time to time, I can tell you there is no such thing as "loose slots".....not in my local casinos, not in Atlantic City, not in Las Vegas, not in the Indian reservations, and sure as heck not on the cruiseships. Sometimes it seems like you get more play than others, but that's just the luck of the draw. If you go often enough, they get it back:rolleyes:

 

I consider it entertainment and allot myself a certain amount of money, and when it's gone.....I'm gone. And I'm usually gone fairly soon.

[constructiondude]

Well, then I got my answer, thank you everyone. If I go into the casino at all it will only be to kill some time before the show in the Vista.

 

I do play roulette but their outside bets had outrageous minimums; instead I'd bet one chip per spin on the inside which can last you quite a while.

 

I've always been curious about craps but it sounds complicated-I don't want to have to think that hard when I'm on a cruise.

 

The blackjack/poker players intimidate even me!

 

And if I really want to visit the one-armed bandits, I will play on the nickels, which weren't as tight as the quarters on the Westerdam.

 

LOL @ Enchanted and Sea King.....yes, on the Westerdam I don't even think the old "consolation prize" of one cherry came up. And it doesn't matter where I'm at whether it be a tribal casino or Vegas, somebody always walks up to the machine next to me and wins on the first pull of the handle....grrrrr.

 

P.S. If nobody is regulating the casinos then they can employ "shills" without anybody knowing about it, although I can spot them fairly easily in those little rinky-dink vegas casinos.

[lougee1043]

I do play roulette but their outside bets had outrageous minimums; instead I'd bet one chip per spin on the inside which can last you quite a while.

P.S. If nobody is regulating the casinos then they can employ "shills" without anybody knowing about it,.

 

im not aware that you have to increase your bet beyond one chip just because you are playing the outside bets

 

the last thing the casinos need on a cruiseship is a shill -- pax flock to the casino without being led there by a "fake winner"

[noblepa]

I don't believe that there is any statutory regulation of cruise line casinos. However, HAL and all other CCL-owned lines belong to the ICCL (International Council of Cruise Lines, or something). They do have rules governing shipboard casinos. I believe that they require that member lines run their games according to rules used in Las Vegas, London or Atlantic City.

 

However, that applies to the rules of the games, not to payouts. AFAIK, there is no rule requiring minimum payouts for slots, the way there is in Las Vegas. There, Nevada state law (or gaming commission rules, which have the force of law) requires that slots payout, I believe, a minimum of 90 percent. At least, that's what I read somewhere.

 

But, then, I could be wrong...

 

Paul Noble

[Sailorgirlseattle]

When I lived in California the casinos in Tahoe and Reno would put up billboards along the freeways advertising their "loose" slots at 97 percent payout. You're still losing, just more slowly.

 

That said, I do gamble on occasion, only I expect to the lose the money I'm playing with. As someone previously said, I consider it the price of the entertainment.

[duck tune]

DH and I played the slots on the Oosterdam in March and had no return whatsoever. You would think we would know better living in Reno! We have always had much better luck at slots and Bingo on NCL than on any HAL ship.

[rodree]

If you don`t want to lose just use the 3.5 system.

Just stay 3.5 feet away from them all. Works every time.

I have occasionaly played the slots but,never hit it big.

Tend to agree they are set not to pay off very well but, that is what they are there for........to make money.

[Sailorgirlseattle]

, that is what they are there for........to make money.

 

Exactly! If you REALLY want to win, look for machines that pay out at 101 percent.

[Jim Gallup]

The fact that you and/or a few of your friends didn't make a killing on slot machines is hardly a scientific study on the odds. Remember - that's why they call it gambling.

 

Payouts on slot machines are determined not only by the odds set for the machine - but even more importantly by the amount of money that goes into the machine before it pays out.

 

Machines in Vegas generally get much higher use than machines on cruise ships. More money going into them faster means more money coming out of them faster.

 

NCL and Carnival casinos generally have more money paid out by slot machines - not because the odds are better - but because they attract a clientele that gambles more money - and more often.

[whogo]

"We were right there in the casino on the Veendam when the man next to us won $10,000 on the slots. He was paid off and came in the next night and darned if the same man didn't do it again!" This was posted on another thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=429882

 

Is there any way anyone but a shill could win $10,000 twice?

[Pete Jackson]

Actually the best gamble in the casino for casual bettors is the much-underused and much-maligned roulette wheel. It has a bad rap because of the 7% house take (they don't pay on 0 or 00) on even money bets such as red or black, odd or even compared to blackjack or the pass line at craps. However, betting correctly, choosing only one number out of the 37 possibilities can yield a 35-1 return on a single bet, with the same 7% house take. Sure, you'll lose most of the time, but if you have a hot streak, you can win big money quite quickly. There is another big advantage, you get your result (win or lose) fast on roulette, so you can leave the casino and do something else with your valuable vacation time!

 

I used to play it a lot, especially when the sea was rough, to see if the rocking of the ship would favor certain parts of the wheel over others. But the two opposite rotating shells randomize things quite well :mad:

[constructiondude]

Uh huh...I'm not surprised Whogo......although Lougee is right; on the Westerdam people were actually sitting at slot machines with their hands on the handles just waiting for the moment the switch was turned on....it was amusing to watch....like they were desperate for their fix; the Westerdam obviously had no trouble getting fools to part with their money.

 

However, I still feel that if there is no regulating agency watching over the cruise lines casinos, what is stopping them from employing shills or using weighted dice? I'm not making accusations; I'm just pointing out the obvious here. To say that the cruise lines are somehow above dishonesty is naive.

[Sunshine91]

For us it's just entertainment. I can make my $10 last an hour on the nickel slots. John usually loses his $10 in about 15min. then annoys me for the rest of my hour :rolleyes: . But that's OK, because about an hour is all we can take in one sitting because of the smoke (no smoking here in DE casinos :) ).

 

I think the casino is a great place to spread germs with all the money being handled and the 100 or more different people to touch the slot machine handles.

 

SO completely agree with you! I plan to take the little alcohol wipes I use for cleaning my fingertips before a blood sugar test.

 

Even tho my daddy taught us all to count by playing blackjack & craps, I'm too intimidated to sit at the card tables in the casino. And poker - forget it! :eek:

[constructiondude]

im not aware that you have to increase your bet beyond one chip just because you are playing the outside bets

 

the last thing the casinos need on a cruiseship is a shill -- pax flock to the casino without being led there by a "fake winner"

 

 

There were minimums on the Westerdam unless they changed their rules or maybe they switch it around on certain days to drawer people in; I've encountered outside betting minimums at tribal and vegas casinos too.

 

Can anyone confirm this?