Asking for a friend - is the shipboard casino tight?

[mdwcruises]

A friend is getting an offer to go on a free cruise and would like to know how a ship board casino's payout compares to Vegas?

[WindsorFred]

Very tight.IMHO you have much better odds in land based casinos.

[peekinglemer]

I have done well on cruise ships ($7,500.00 jackpot; $1000.00 win); and I have done horrid. Same for any land based casinos I go to.

 

I will say that it always seems like I do better the first night of the cruise as compared to later in the week.

[hockeyluver]

I also find it best on the first night..... to lure you in !! then blah after that! Although I did hit for $750 the last night of one of my cruises :D

[WindsorFred]

We also always seem to do better the first night.

[cb at sea]

The ship doesn't go by Vegas rules...and yes...they are tighter than a ticks A**!

[OfcSupport]

Yes, very tight.

[USNUZULOOSE]

I don't know, in 09 DH and were in the art auction. DH went out for a few minutes and came back and someone on a quarter or dollar machine, can't remember hit the jackpot for 98 K. And a machine behind them hit if for 10k.

They had to wait till we got to St. Thomas for someone to verify the machine before payout. I wish I had my camera and took a picture. They were a much older couple.

[kona_wahine]

I guess my experience is different. I've been to Vegas several times and hit local Indian casinos. I've always seemed to make my $ stretch more on a ship. Our last cruise we walked away $700+ to the good.

[RWolver672]

On our first cruise on the first night, a guy in our group won over $1000 on a slot. His wife won over $1000 on the same machine on the last night of the cruise. Like everyone else has said, it's better on the first and last nights but still tight.

[blueteam]

My favorite game is craps, and if it gives you a data point to compare: Casino craps tables seem to allow only 1X or 2X odds. "Real" casinos offer 3-4-5X at a minimum in my experience.

 

I think Carnival had one night of double odds. Formal night, in fact.

[joeyancho]

Vegas=good

Indian casino=bad

Cruise ship casino=ugly

[ccruisequeen]

Sea days are tighter than port to port

 

 

[dallas52]

tight

[rferr]

How are the cruise ship casinos regulated? I mean the states have gaming commissions.

[katiel53]

How are the cruise ship casinos regulated? I mean the states have gaming commissions.

 

 

Someone asked that question of John Heald the other day and he said they are self regulated, but follow Las Vegas. On the ships I don't do anywhere near like I do in Vegas. If they follow Vegas, I think they are wayyyyyyyyyyy behind them--no where near same payoffs for me.

 

I have NEVER come out ahead on the ships. Our biggest win was $360 on a 3 quarter machine, not saying much for anything else.

[vacalovers]

On the splendor last week there were 2 huge jackpots on the penny machines one for 22k and another for 18k I need to start playing slots

[SkyMaster]

VERY TIGHT IMO.....:eek:

 

"SKY"

[manmachine]

A friend is getting an offer to go on a free cruise and would like to know how a ship board casino's payout compares to Vegas?

 

Craps is the only game worth playing.

 

And I am not a big craps fan...

[Coopdog08]

A friend is getting an offer to go on a free cruise and would like to know how a ship board casino's payout compares to Vegas?

 

To all who said the ship casino is tight.. It's easy to say it's tight.. Please validate your reasoning, nobody is validating just saying it's tight.. Is this strictly based on you losing verse winning.. Interested to see some validation.

[Honolulu Blue]

To all who said the ship casino is tight.. It's easy to say it's tight.. Please validate your reasoning, nobody is validating just saying it's tight.. Is this strictly based on you losing verse winning.. Interested to see some validation.

 

blueteam gave an example above of how the craps tables on cruise ships offer lower odds bets. The odds bet has zero house edge, so lowering the max on them increases the overall table odds for the house. Bad odds = tight, in my book.

 

Here's another example. There's a video poker variant called Bonus Poker that can be found just about everywhere. The best machines pay 8 for a full house; you can find them all over Las Vegas (except the Strip) and occasionally in other places around the U.S. The Carnival dollar Bonus Poker games I saw pay out 6 for a full house. That is, overall, about 2.2% worse for the players, and better for the house. I'd call that very tight.

 

One more example. Recently Carnival made a change to the blackjack payouts at their lowest minimum $6 tables. At those tables they "generously" pay out $6 for each $5 bet when you get blackjack. That's about 1.5% worse for you than the standard payouts for blackjack, which is $7.50 for each $5 bet. 6:5 tables are very tight, considering the rest of the rules are just OK.

[RWolver672]

To all who said the ship casino is tight.. It's easy to say it's tight.. Please validate your reasoning, nobody is validating just saying it's tight.. Is this strictly based on you losing verse winning.. Interested to see some validation.

 

What other way of validating is there. You put money in and and you don't get any back means it's tight in my book and according to all of the above posters, it was the same for them.

 

A few months back a poster said that he either worked for a Vegas casino or dealt with fixing slots. I don't remember which but he said that the machines are made with a range of payouts. They can be changed by the casino at will. He stated that Vegas sets theirs a lot more lenient than the ships do. Vegas wants you to keep playing where the ships want your money quick because the casinos are only open while at sea.

[RuthlessBoss]

If you happen to be sitting at a slot machine and there's a win, you just happen to be the one sitting there when that computerized chip inside allows the win. They can change the chips to a higher payout chip or a lower payout chip.

[Golfing Dan]

NJ and Nevada regulate slot payouts by state agencies. The tribe regulates the payout for their casinos. Carnival regulates their payout percentage and does NOT publish this percentage. Most large legit casinos pay between 95-98%. Most tribes pay 85-95%. It is widely estimated that Carnival payout is around 80%. The problem is that there is no real hard data that must be reported to a regulating agency. The law of the high seas pretty much applies. THE CRUISE SHIPS SLOTS ARE GENERALLY CONSIDERED TO BE VERY STINGY.

 

 

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[Coopdog08]

NJ and Nevada regulate slot payouts by state agencies. The tribe regulates the payout for their casinos. Carnival regulates their payout percentage and does NOT publish this percentage. Most large legit casinos pay between 95-98%. Most tribes pay 85-95%. It is widely estimated that Carnival payout is around 80%. The problem is that there is no real hard data that must be reported to a regulating agency. The law of the high seas pretty much applies. THE CRUISE SHIPS SLOTS ARE GENERALLY CONSIDERED TO BE VERY STINGY.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

Thanks everyone who replied back.