How tight are the slots on HAL casinos?

[Kobra_Kommandor]

I'm a big gambler and love slots in Vegas and CA reservation casinos.  I know that cruise ships are not regulated by a gaming board or commission like Vegas so my question is are they just a bit tighter or are they WAY off?  Vegas is over 90% payback (obviously not per player).  How bad are the slots on HAL ships?  Last time I his a casino on a ship was over 20 years ago.   I'm not looking to make any money, but more to ride out a few nights with cocktails and slots and wondering if it will be a fast downhill race to broke or if I will be able to play tug-o-war for a few hours before the inevitable.  Thanks for your feedback y'all!!!

[Caribensun]

my experience only; I found the slots to be very tight on Zuiderdam  last month.  Needed to play max bet to win most were $10.00 bets, still didn’t win much or get enough play.  I would rather play in Vegas. Princess was much better at least got more play time.

[vswan]

I have been on 2 casino-offer cruises this past year. My husband laughs that they must have made a mistake because I am not a big gambler. Over all I budget about $30 per day for the casino. I have found that at the beginning of the cruise the machines pay much better than mid-way or toward the end of the cruise. I figure they are hoping to hook people early in the cruise and then keep them coming back. Toward the end of the cruise I figured it was cheaper to just buy my drinks than to throw a lot of money in the machine for my free one.

[BobbiSox]

FYI, drinks aren't free in the ships' casino unless you have a specific offer for free drinks from the Players Club. On occasion, the casino manager will offer a free drink to a player, at his/her discretion.  Before Covid I had won $3,000.00 on a Buffalo machine, playing a $1.80 bet. Playing in the ship's casino is like any other casino; win some, lose some. The perks sho up later in your mail box in the form of heavily discounted cruises and free-play on the next cruise. I play because it's fun. 

Edited June 13, 2022 by BobbiSox

[Sir PMP]

They're like your pants..

[DaveOKC]

No doubt in my mind that slots on ships are tighter than in Vegas.  I good way to tell - the video poker machines on ships have much lower payout schedules than most land based casinos.  By looking at the payout schedules you can even determine the machines "hold".  You can look up this information on the internet.  So, if the video poker machines, where a knowledge person can tell the "hold" (the percentage win for the casino over the long term), what do you think they are setting the "hold" at for slots where you cannot see/calculate this?  Of course, it is worse.

 

Another comment - the idea that the slots are set to be looser or tighter during certain times of the cruise is not true IMO.  Why would the casino reset these machines (alot of work I have been told) when they so heavily favor the casino in the first place?  They are going to win over time anyway, and thats how casino's make their money - over time the odds catch up to you.

 

Like any gambling, you have hot and cold streaks, which makes people think that the machines are reset daily, which is not the case.  Look at Blackjack - you see hot and cold runs all the time, so does this mean that the dealer is altering the game depending on the time or day?  Of course not.

 

On thing to add - if you want more play time, select machines that have low jackpots as they are programmed to have more frequent smaller payouts.  Its because of the "hold" again, the large payout machines have to pay out smaller payouts in order to afford to pay the large jackpots occasionally.  Its all a matter of simple math.

 

 

[Laminator]

5 hours ago, Kobra_Kommandor said:

I'm a big gambler and love slots in Vegas and CA reservation casinos.  I know that cruise ships are not regulated by a gaming board or commission like Vegas so my question is are they just a bit tighter or are they WAY off?  Vegas is over 90% payback (obviously not per player).  How bad are the slots on HAL ships?  Last time I his a casino on a ship was over 20 years ago.   I'm not looking to make any money, but more to ride out a few nights with cocktails and slots and wondering if it will be a fast downhill race to broke or if I will be able to play tug-o-war for a few hours before the inevitable.  Thanks for your feedback y'all!!!

It depends how busy the cruise is. I just got off the Rotterdam in Amsterdam and you could have shot a cannon thru the casino and not hit anyone. With no roll thru the machines all you are doing is chasing your own money. I was very fortunate to hit a jackpot for $5000 and one for $1900. I played alot of Blackjack. There is no one in the casino, the casino manager or the slot manager, that has the ability to reprogram the chip in the machine that determines the payouts. That is all done at the corporate level when the machines are ordered.

[kangforpres]

I think they are in the 87% range. Which I think is the lowest they can go just by the random number generator algorithms. Having said that I've had better luck on slots then at the tables my last few cruises. When you get a run of cold cards it's no fun.

 

-Paul

[Laminator]

57 minutes ago, kangforpres said:

I think they are in the 87% range. Which I think is the lowest they can go just by the random number generator algorithms. Having said that I've had better luck on slots then at the tables my last few cruises. When you get a run of cold cards it's no fun.

 

-Paul

Have everyone get up and leave the table. It forces them to reshuffle.

[BEAV]

10 hours ago, Kobra_Kommandor said:

I'm a big gambler and love slots in Vegas and CA reservation casinos.  I know that cruise ships are not regulated by a gaming board or commission like Vegas so my question is are they just a bit tighter or are they WAY off?  Vegas is over 90% payback (obviously not per player).  How bad are the slots on HAL ships?  Last time I his a casino on a ship was over 20 years ago.   I'm not looking to make any money, but more to ride out a few nights with cocktails and slots and wondering if it will be a fast downhill race to broke or if I will be able to play tug-o-war for a few hours before the inevitable.  Thanks for your feedback y'all!!!

 

@Kobra_Kommandor, an optimist would've titled this thread "How LOOSE are the slots on HAL casinos"!  With that outlook, are you sure you should be a gambler!?!?

 

 

[kangforpres]

I have a relative who works for a slot company in South Dakota, servicing the Indian Casinos and the ones in Deadwood. He says the Deadwood Casinos are the lowest payback in the US at around 85%. I think Vegas is about 90% on the strip and about 94-95% off strip and downtown. 

 

Reno claims to have the loosest at about a 95-96% payback.

 

Even gamblers don't go on cruises expecting to find loose slots. So stick to your budget and have fun, you might get lucky but don't count on it.

 

-Paul

[eagletwo]

Wife plays slots on any ship we cruise. Wins big sometimes and helps pay the fuel bill on a few cruises. Great entertainment. We have seen big winners on every cruise. It was their lucky night. Tight slots, no idea.