Has anybody ever really won in the Casino?

No, it seems like the only way we win anything is via other things. My mom won $500 slot tournament and I won $700 in casino raffle. Only time we came home with more than we left with.

I usually just find the cheapest slot machine and play it very slow while waiting for the free casino drinks, so I guess in that way to come out ahead.

I had a couple of hand pays on the TA for Bliss back in April, but they paled in comparison to my losses the rest of the trip. However, I can say that the Dancing Drums machines payed out multiple $10k plus jackpots the first night. I sank a lot of money into them and had a good run or two, but nothing even close to a hand pay. I did however finish at Sapphire level by the end of my trip from Pearl. That allowed me to book into a comped mini suite for my upcoming 10 day in February on the Dawn.

 In June 2018 on Serenade of the Seas one woman won $10,000 and another I watched won $4,000 on slot machines.  I just donated, lol.

For 20 years I have detailed, annual records of my gambling on land and sea. Best year I had was $24k ahead, worst was an $8K loss. I generally take 5K with me per trip and give myself a bankroll for each day the casino is open. Biggest wins on a cruise ship were 3, 2K payouts on VP plus 8k royal flush on Star Princess in 2015/16 around South America. And a $14,575 royal flush payout at WPT Ultimate Hold Em a couple of weeks ago on Emerald Princess. But generally, I am happy to walk off the ship with no bill.  Icing on the cake to walk off with more cash than I came on with!  

Every night that I “win” I make a visit to the purser and pay the excess towards my bill. And use that bankroll the next day!  It is all about fun and self-discipline. 

And I get the casino discount and a fair number of free cruises, more than I can use. 

Get this...The last Cruise I was on (Carnival Feb 2018) Some lady hit the jack pot for $20,000.00 ..she was in my roll call..... Everyone jokingly asked what machine it was so they could avoid it because it already hit ..and i crap you not the same Machine hit again for $20,000.00 

Never say never my friends 🙂

Lots of people win.  Unfortunately, more lose than win from my experience.  But...it does happen.

On ‎3‎/‎5‎/‎2018 at 3:04 AM, rexy69 said:

I'm talking about playing the Slot Machines......I've always heard that the Cruise Lines count on the Casino revenue to help them make their quota for each sailing.

So, has anyone ever really won a substantial amount from playing the slots?

Last year; Carnival only a few minutes after the casino opened on the very first day a woman sitting next to me was betting .88cents (min.) on a penny slot...I was on the same machine next to her betting the max. $8.80. wouldn't you know it SHE hit for the $10,000.00. It was on one of the bonus things where she had to match 3 and she matched 3 Mega jackpot symbols.....I had to pretend I was happy for her....not!!! LOLOLOL

On my last cruise,Dec.2018 I lost every day in the casino.The worst luck ever .I may just gve up casino gambling.

My 20 year old grandson paid his first visit to a casino a couple of weeks ago on Empress of the Seas. 

He won $200, put it in his pocket and walked out. 

College boys, what do they know!

Come on now. Just like fishing. I caught a fish THIS BIG. Everybody wins?

Cruise Casinos are like Las Vegas in the 50's and 60" and I spent some time there.

What happens in the Casino stays in the Casino. Everything else is just chatter. I learned this from a distant cousin who happened to own the Silver Slipper.

I can say I won a bundle but, did I really? You will never know. LOL

We won over 3k on a 7 day Royal Caribbean cruise. It was slots and broken up over 4 big winnings. We brought $200 each to gamble with for the week. 

The 3rd time they brought out the paperwork for us to sign, they joked about us taking them to the cleaners.

the next year, on princess we lost all our $600 obc in the 1st two nights.... slots again. I think they knew it was obc and the House always wins.

in alaska, even with 9 nights, we didn’t seem to make it to the casino much at all while it was open... probably a good thing since we had a drink package on that cruise! I think we broke even, mixed it up with the tables and slots.

We were on the January 10th cruise to Cuba on the Majesty of the Seas.  I sat down at a penny machine and five minutes later hit for $2600.

MadamG2U

On January 24, 2019 at 2:42 PM, MadamG2U said:

We were on the January 10th cruise to Cuba on the Majesty of the Seas.  I sat down at a penny machine and five minutes later hit for $2600.

 

MadamG2U

Congratulations.I lived in Brooklyn most of my life and always like to hear good things about Brooklynites.

23 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

Congratulations.I lived in Brooklyn most of my life and always like to hear good things about Brooklynites.

Thanks going on the Harmony in March hoping for a repeat

In 2017 I sat down at a penny machine intending to bet 30 cents.Instead I played $3 and on one spin won $547 .

I literally just got off the Grand .  Won 3200 the third night. 

you braggart  lol ..... congratulations 

I was sitting next to a woman on the Crown Princess in January 2019, when she hit a jackpot of $20,000. She was playing a 5-coin dollar machine. Of course, you don't see that kind of win often.

My two Royals on NCL.  First was Oct 2016 on the Gem, literally the third time I ever played UTH and the second last Nov on the Sky. 

I have to admit I've never had a hand pay or any slot win over $800 on a ship, but I've had luck at the tables. 

I won a progressive jackpot of $4300 on Explorer last week and the same night someone won the 'grand' jackpot of $13000 2 machines down (both on new slots where the progressives are linked and which had only been on board a couple of months apparently).  Saw a lot of handpays (over $1200) on my cruise.  This is the first cruise I have seen so many big wins (or had one myself).

On 8/7/2018 at 11:49 PM, chloemonkey said:

 

????

Sorry, I worded that badly. Some people don’t put their cards in the machine because they think when you do the casino knows it and doesn’t allow you to win.

On 1/5/2019 at 10:40 AM, Harry and Lucille said:

 

Come on now. Just like fishing. I caught a fish THIS BIG. Everybody wins?

 

Cruise Casinos are like Las Vegas in the 50's and 60" and I spent some time there.

 

What happens in the Casino stays in the Casino. Everything else is just chatter. I learned this from a distant cousin who happened to own the Silver Slipper.

 

I can say I won a bundle but, did I really? You will never know. LOL

I won a large life changing jackpot at MGM  in Vegas. A couple of people on the Celebrity board have seen my picture with the big check so I can prove it. 

anyone play craps on the ships? 

Most ships have one time odds and a few have two times, even found one that pays the 3,4,5. 

Just got off the Empress and was happy to see the casino is smoke free but only had 1 time odds unless your place bet was $25 or more. Then it was 2 times odds.

 Usually the table only had myself and one other person playing . 

So here is my strategy that worked.

Place 25 on pass and don't pass and cover the 12 with one dollar . then place true odds up to $50. Also placed the come and don't come with odds. 

To do this you will need to buy in for $1K and you will have lots of money on the table at times but use your odds to your advantage and with any luck you will walk away with a few buck .But don't get greedy. 

The one dollar covering the 12 only hit a few times but that's insurance. 

As shown by posts in here, there are certainly some winners. Congrats to those who have hit!

On a long enough timeline, everyone will lose. Sample size / Variance allow some to win in the short term. Those who are smart enough to quit while they're ahead will retain those earnings. Those who continue to play will eventually give those earnings back and then some, on a long enough timeline. 

Comps certainly help take the sting off for some, but are based on a percentage of theoretical loss, so they too are factored into the math and will not compensate for the losses... long term. 

That said, for most folks the sample size of cruise travel may be short enough to show positive variance. When you factor in the "entertainment expense" factor... that explains why many enjoy gambling on cruise ships. I prefer table games where I'm actively playing (Craps, Blackjack, Poker) vs pressing the same button over and over, but others prefer the relaxation of not having to think/do much. Different strokes for different folks! 🙂

5 hours ago, Young and Restless said:

anyone play craps on the ships? 

Most ships have one time odds and a few have two times, even found one that pays the 3,4,5. 

Just got off the Empress and was happy to see the casino is smoke free but only had 1 time odds unless your place bet was $25 or more. Then it was 2 times odds.

 Usually the table only had myself and one other person playing . 

So here is my strategy that worked.

Place 25 on pass and don't pass and cover the 12 with one dollar . then place true odds up to $50. Also placed the come and don't come with odds. 

To do this you will need to buy in for $1K and you will have lots of money on the table at times but use your odds to your advantage and with any luck you will walk away with a few buck .But don't get greedy. 

The one dollar covering the 12 only hit a few times but that's insurance. 

 

I enjoy craps, but there is no system that can result in +EV

Place bets 2/12 on crapless tables are among the worst non-middle bets on the craps table, with a house edge of over 7%. 
House edge on pass line on crapless tables is bad as well (over 5%) vs the standard 1.41% on traditional craps tables. 

Are all craps tables "Crapless"? (allowing place bets on all numbers including 2/3/11/12)? If so, that sucks. 😞 
The images on Celebrity's website shows standard craps tables. Fingers crossed for the Equinox next month.