Casino - Claw Game for the bundles of money

[jiggs]

This may be the least important post I've ever started, but I'm curious, has anyone ever won or witnessed anyone winning the claw game in the casino?  The one with bundles of money sealed in plastic from maybe $100-$300.

 

I've watched endless numbers of people try, but never win.  The casino staff seem to open the machine periodically and rearrange the cash, but i've never seen anyone actually walk away from the machine with money.  The psychological aspect is there for sure as people feel they were 'so close' and put more $$ in the machine, but the result remains the same.  I know the machines are only set to allow a given number of wins, and if you don't have the perfect grabs during one of those turns, you still lose.

 

So, anyone a witness to a win?   Not hearsay, like you or someone you watched took actually cash from the machine. 

 

 

[bdever]

My ex won $100 from that machine. The trick is the claw has to pick up the bundle vertically I believe. The face sides of the bundles are too slippery. 

[cruisingguy007]

Those machines are a sucker bet, they loosen the screws in the claws just enough that it may allow pick-up of the item but the jerking motion (side-to-side/front-to-back) from stopping/moving will cause it to drop. They are set up so that physics make it all but impossible but visually it looks totally doable.  

 

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/claw-machines-have-long-been-designed-steal-your-money-180955565/#:~:text=A simple look at a,machine to drop prizes midair.

Edited August 17, 2022 by cruisingguy007

[MeganGC1983]

I saw a family grab $1000 on the Liberty. We had just returned from Nassau, and everything else in the casino was shut down. We were at the bar and they were so excited as it slowly raised and dropped it. Then they kept feeding it trying to win again. 🤦🏼‍♀️

[Super27]

I've grabbed a $100 bundle on two different occasions.

[tallnthensome]

On the Spirit right now and have seen no one including me .... win, lol. 

[TX Cruise Girl]

I saw someone win $100 Christmas day on the Vista last year. He did it on is second try.

[sgttami]

Saw a lady walk up and put a dollar in and got the $2500  bundle right away.

 

A few days later the same lady got the $500 bundle on another dollar.

 

This was on Splendor from NY, 8 years ago.

 

Never saw any hits since then!

 

[auburn77]

Never seen anyone win on that one. However, I have seen several win on the keyhole game.

I've never tried either.

[jiggs]

good to hear there have actually been winners, I had my doubts 

 

[cruisequeen4ever]

Fun thread; I’m glad people have actually won! 

[ShakyBeef]

DH won.  Circa 2016 on Pride.  $100 bundle, after putting a total of $15 to $20 in on various occasions throughout the cruise, passing through the Casino on the way to MDR each night.

[BlerkOne]

2 hours ago, jiggs said:

This may be the least important post I've ever started, but I'm curious, has anyone ever won or witnessed anyone winning the claw game in the casino?  The one with bundles of money sealed in plastic from maybe $100-$300.

 

 

The first mistake people make is thinking skill is the secret. It isn't. It is a game of chance like any slot machine.

[kdr69]

Saw a person win 2500 on the key game but not on the claw game

[ray98]

I have literally spent dozens of hours around these machines.  Once of my favorite hangouts is the seating along the windows adjacent to the casino bar on the older ships.  I have seen one person out of all these cruises win and those things are played non-stop.

[sunonfire]

We saw a man win $300. It was a day we were in port. Maybe it was easier because the ship wasn’t moving. 

[cruisingguy007]

7 minutes ago, sunonfire said:

We saw a man win $300. It was a day we were in port. Maybe it was easier because the ship wasn’t moving. 

 

Makes you wonder how much he spent doing it, there is a tendency for gamblers to have selective recall and overemphasize their wins, while at the same time, minimizing/trivializing loses. "I hit for 5K the last trip" while failing to mention that they were down way more than 5K already lol. I've seen folks sit at those claw machines for long periods of time feeding them over the course of a cruise. 

[DCDragonfly]

I hit the $100 crane twice on the Fantasy back in 2014.  They must have scrapped that machine with the rest of the ship, because I haven't hit it since.

[knagl]

2 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

It is a game of chance like any slot machine.

 

This is mostly correct.

 

These machines have a set payback percentage, and they simply will not pick up the cash (or put the key through the opening, or whatever the gimmick is for that particular machine) until the machine has taken in the required amount of money to meet the payback percentage.

 

Modern slot machines also have a set payback percentage, but that percentage is calculated over millions of random spins, and the outcome of previous spins does not impact the outcome of future spins. In a nutshell, that's the difference between slots and these "games of skill" that, well, aren't.

[Gypsywych]

I won $500 on the Spirit back in March.  I was so excited, you'd have thought I won a million. 😃

[psikic]

We've won a $100 bundle about 5 times on three cruises.  There are two secrets to winning:  first, we hang around the machine on a sea day evening and let the drunk people fill the machine with money, them being too drunk to operate the machine properly, and then when they give up and walk away my wife and I will play it.  At that point the machine has taken in enough money that the win ratio will allow it to pay out, and it can be operated as a game of skill and not just luck.  Second, one person stands on the side of the machine as the other person operates the controls and the spotter can help the operator align the claw in one direction while the operator can align the claw in the other direction.  With practice, if the machine has earned enough to start paying out, you can win pretty easily.

[wemjam]

Just saw a lady win a bundle while playing in the Casino on the Sunrise.  Don't know how much it was, just know she pulled one out and started screaming and jumping up and down.

[EllieinNJ]

Someone on FB said they just won a $500 packet.  They took it to the service desk to pay off some charges.  When they unwrapped it it only had $250 in it.  If they had unwrapped it when they were alone they couldn't prove it was short.  The service desk apologized and credited them the full $500.

[tytanbri]

My son won three times ($100 each) on one cruise in January 2019. I won once ($100) in July 2019. We have not had any luck since the return to sailing.

[iria64]

19 hours ago, auburn77 said:

Never seen anyone win on that one. However, I have seen several win on the keyhole game.

I've never tried either.

I saw a video on the keyhole game once... this game may be rigged even more than the claw game.  Basically, the machine is programmed to let 1 win per so many tries and no matter how good you are stopping the key you are always going to just miss.  There is no chance to these machines, if it is not ready to payout you will not win.