Non-refundable OBC taken as cash in casino

[zuggie]

It's been awhile since we've sailed on Celebrity, and I believe there have been some changes in how you can withdraw non-refundable onboard credit in the casino.  Is it still possible to do this?  And if so, what is the best way to do it?  Table play?  Slot play?

[Islandbuoy]

9 minutes ago, zuggie said:

It's been awhile since we've sailed on Celebrity, and I believe there have been some changes in how you can withdraw non-refundable onboard credit in the casino.  Is it still possible to do this?  And if so, what is the best way to do it?  Table play?  Slot play?

Yes , it still works. Play either depending on ur preference.

 

[cruisestitch]

If you use OBC in the casino they will give you marked chips which you cannot cash in, they must be played.  You can keep any winnings.  Or they will put the money on for slots, and again you keep the winnings but can’t cash out the OBC.

[Jim_Iain]

We met a couple on our last cruise that have a strategy on Roulette.    They place two bets one on Red  Line and one on Black Line.    They claim you can come pretty close to beak even and came back with a handful of cash.   Not really sure how it works as I don't gamble.

[DYKWIA]

30 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

We met a couple on our last cruise that have a strategy on Roulette.    They place two bets one on Red  Line and one on Black Line.    They claim you can come pretty close to beak even and came back with a handful of cash.   Not really sure how it works as I don't gamble.

 

Red and Blacks pay evens - so effectively if a Red comes in you lose your black bet, but win your red bet - getting your stake back plus same again in winnings (vice versa if black comes in).  So you don't win anything but you don't lose anything either and you have converted your non refundable OBC.  Sounds fine, but there is a risk of 0 or 00 comes in these are neither red or black and you lose both bets.  36 numbers, 18 red and 18 black and on US roulette tables 0 and 00 - so there's a 1/19 chance you lose your money. I believe this bet used to be frowned upon / banned in some UK casinos as it is an effective way for criminals to launder money.  There is a similar bet where you can bet on odds or evens, with zeros losing on all bets - same odds.

 

We play our non refundable OBC slots and on every win religiously  print the win out as a voucher as we are playing.  This way you never accidentally play your winnings your are always playing your non refundable OBC.  It is very easy if you are not careful to start playing your winnings.

Edited February 16, 2019 by DYKWIA

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, DYKWIA said:

 

Red and Blacks pay evens - so effectively if a Red comes in you lose your black bet, but win your red bet - getting your stake back plus same again in winnings (vice versa if black comes in).  So you don't win anything but you don't lose anything either and you have converted your non refundable OBC.  Sounds fine, but there is a risk of 0 or 00 comes in these are neither red or black and you lose both bets.  36 numbers, 18 red and 18 black and on US roulette tables 0 and 00 - so there's a 1/19 chance you lose your money. I believe this bet used to be frowned upon / banned in some UK casinos as it is an effective way for criminals to launder money.  There is a similar bet where you can bet on odds or evens, with zeros losing on all bets - same odds.

 

We play our non refundable OBC slots and on every win religiously  print the win out as a voucher as we are playing.  This way you never accidentally play your winnings your are always playing your non refundable OBC.  It is very easy if you are not careful to start playing your winnings.

Thanks for the explanation.   We have almost  always been able to use the OBC's but on a recent cruise we ended up with about 1,500 OBC and the Agents portion was screwed up and didn't post until 2 days before the end of the cruise and ended up being Non-Refundable instead of Refundable as we had expected.   We really had to hustle to spend it.   I ended up with a GoPro that I have been wanting.

[C 2 C]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

We met a couple on our last cruise that have a strategy on Roulette.    They place two bets one on Red  Line and one on Black Line.    They claim you can come pretty close to beak even and came back with a handful of cash.   Not really sure how it works as I don't gamble.

It depends on how lucky the gambler in your family is.... My wife was very lucky on our recent reflection cruise playing the "penny" machine.. until she got very sick and spent nearly seven days in the cabin... and cracked a rib while coughing..

 

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, Arno. said:

It depends on how lucky the gambler in your family is.... My wife was very lucky on our recent reflection cruise playing the "penny" machine.. until she got very sick and spent nearly seven days in the cabin... and cracked a rib while coughing..

 

Sorry to hear of your wife becoming ill.   Must have been a terrible cough.    Nothing worse than being sick while on a cruise.   I always bring cold and flu over the counter meds with us. 

[C-Dragons]

2 hours ago, Arno. said:

It depends on how lucky the gambler in your family is.... My wife was very lucky on our recent reflection cruise playing the "penny" machine.. until she got very sick and spent nearly seven days in the cabin... and cracked a rib while coughing..

 

Been there, done that, and had to go to work the next day. My deepest sympathy to your wife.

[NantahalaCruiser]

3 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

We met a couple on our last cruise that have a strategy on Roulette.    They place two bets one on Red  Line and one on Black Line.    They claim you can come pretty close to beak even and came back with a handful of cash.   Not really sure how it works as I don't gamble.

Not sure if it is allowed, but the best way to convert $380 OBC to cash would be to get 38 $10 promo chips and bet $10 on each number - including 0 and 00. No matter which number comes up you will get back $350 in regular chips and a $10 promo chip. Then bet the $10 promo on an even odds bet until you lose it.

 

Assuming the above is not allowed, you can approximate it by betting $180 on Red, $180 on Black and $20 on Green (i.e. 0 and 00.)  Whatever happens, keep your won regular chips and bet your remaining promo chips with approximately 5% on Green and the rest split between Red and Black. Keep betting until you run out of promo chips.

 

Note that playing Roulette to convert OBC to cash has a higher "transactional fee" than the 5% they used to charge to convert OBC to regular chips. If you know how to play Craps, there are similar methods (splitting your promo bets between the Pass Line, Don't Pass Line bar 12 and 12) to convert promo chips to regular chips but with about half the "transactional fee" of Roulette.

[mimbecky]

18 hours ago, NantahalaCruiser said:

Not sure if it is allowed, but the best way to convert $380 OBC to cash would be to get 38 $10 promo chips and bet $10 on each number - including 0 and 00. No matter which number comes up you will get back $350 in regular chips and a $10 promo chip. Then bet the $10 promo on an even odds bet until you lose it.

 

Assuming the above is not allowed, you can approximate it by betting $180 on Red, $180 on Black and $20 on Green (i.e. 0 and 00.)  Whatever happens, keep your won regular chips and bet your remaining promo chips with approximately 5% on Green and the rest split between Red and Black. Keep betting until you run out of promo chips.

 

Note that playing Roulette to convert OBC to cash has a higher "transactional fee" than the 5% they used to charge to convert OBC to regular chips. If you know how to play Craps, there are similar methods (splitting your promo bets between the Pass Line, Don't Pass Line bar 12 and 12) to convert promo chips to regular chips but with about half the "transactional fee" of Roulette.

Very interesting!!!! My husband is quite the gambler...Black jack.  I always use our OBC at the spa but this gives me reason to pause.  Our OBC is only $300.  Do you have a method there without using our own money?

[WAVTAM]

I would skip going to cage with OBN and getting promotional chips to play the roulette options. I just ask for draw at table where they have NO promotional chips. (5%) charge. Then just walk away from table. Cash out at cage later.

[mimbecky]

8 hours ago, WAVTAM said:

I would skip going to cage with OBN and getting promotional chips to play the roulette options. I just ask for draw at table where they have NO promotional chips. (5%) charge. Then just walk away from table. Cash out at cage later.

Sorry, this is Greek to me..."ask for draw"? So if we have $300 OBC it would play as if he had $285 in cash? Please clarify how this would work.

[jkgourmet]

DH plays Texas Hold 'M.  Has not ever been able to use OBC for playing that game.  Nonrefundable or refundable.  Several ships, several requests to different casino staff.

[WAVTAM]

13 hours ago, mimbecky said:

Sorry, this is Greek to me..."ask for draw"? So if we have $300 OBC it would play as if he had $285 in cash? Please clarify how this would work.

Correct ...State you want 300 of chips draw of your OBN acct. You will sign receipt that states you where charged 315..(5%).

You will get actual 300 worth of chips. Walk away and cash anytime later.

[jagoffee]

1 hour ago, WAVTAM said:

Correct ...State you want 300 of chips draw of your OBN acct. You will sign receipt that states you where charged 315..(5%).

You will get actual 300 worth of chips. Walk away and cash anytime later.

Have you successfully done this with non refundable OBC in the last year?

i am always afraid to try it.

[WAVTAM]

22 minutes ago, jagoffee said:

Have you successfully done this with non refundable OBC in the last year?

i am always afraid to try it.

Did it in Oct last year twice doing b2b.

[zuggie]

Is there any way to use Non-ref OBC in a slot?  Seems like once on a Royal ship they gave me a ticket with my OBC amount, I put it in a slot, pulled the handle once, cashed out, and the cage gave me the cash. But that might have been a long time ago.

[cruisestitch]

That won’t work on Celebrity.  You can cash out winnings but not the OBC.