Why all the excitement about Casinos?

Ok I understand why the ships include Casinos as it makes they lots of revenue but have always wondered why passengers appear so keen to spend time playing "slots" or spending hours at card tables. I admit it is not my thing but I go on cruises to try and experience different things and you can go to a Casino or play slots anytime you want when you are at home. Please enlighten and not flame me.😃

In the U.S., not everyone has casinos near them. Some states/communities are very resistant to permitting casinos/gambling and do not issue permits. It can be a plane ride for some folks to visit a casino.

While my state is right now in the process of voting and deciding about permitting casinos, any of us from my general area would have to drive about 3 hours to get to a 'full service' casino. Not worth it to me, for sure. :)

In the U.S., not everyone has casinos near them. Some states/communities are very resistant to permitting casinos/gambling and do not issue permits. It can be a plane ride for some folks to visit a casino.

 

While my state is right now in the process of voting and deciding about permitting casinos, any of us from my general area would have to drive about 3 hours to get to a 'full service' casino. Not worth it to me, for sure. :)

AH I see. Do you not have slots in Bars, Betting Shops and other places as well.

AH I see. Do you not have slots in Bars, Betting Shops and other places as well.

If we live in a state/area that does not permit casinos, they do not permit slot machines either. In my state, a slot machine must be old enough to be antique, must be registered with U.S. Treasury and can be for private use only. We do not have slots in bars and betting shops are illegal.

We do have a dog racing park and until this month, there was a horse race track but that has closed.

We do have lottery and the lottery sponsors Keno gambling in bars/restaurants etc.

If we live in a state/area that does not permit casinos, they do not permit slot machines either. In my state, a slot machine must be old enough to be antique, must be registered with U.S. Treasury and can be for private use only. We do not have slots in bars and betting shops are illegal.

 

We do have a dog racing park and until this month, there was a horse race track but that has closed.

We do have lottery and the lottery sponsors Keno gambling in bars/restaurants etc.

 

 

Well thank you for the info that explains lots😄

Thank you, too, from me....I always wondered why UK ships such as P&O, Thomson etc had such small casinos which were not over frequented. ;)

Happy to be helpful. :)

Yes, that is it. In the US visiting a casino can be a big deal and involve travel and a vacation to do it. Where I live, Ohio, we just built 4 casinos about two or three years ago. That's it. 4 in the whole state.

Also, many of these posters belong to organizations similar to Casinos at Sea or some variation. They have agreements with land based casinos and a relationship with the cruise lines. If you gamble enough, you can be awarded "free cruises", room upgrades, free meals and other comps or perks. Many feel if they are going to gamble anyway, they may as well receive some perks.

Also, many of these posters belong to organizations similar to Casinos at Sea or some variation. They have agreements with land based casinos and a relationship with the cruise lines. If you gamble enough, you can be awarded "free cruises", room upgrades, free meals and other comps or perks. Many feel if they are going to gamble anyway, they may as well receive some perks.

But some people think the casinos on the ships have even lower payouts than many on land.

We do not have casinos nearby (thank goodness!), so I enjoy going to the one on the ship every night. I like to play Blackjack because of the interaction with other passengers. We have had a lot of laughs around the Blackjack and Roulette tables.

Yes, that is it. In the US visiting a casino can be a big deal and involve travel and a vacation to do it. Where I live, Ohio, we just built 4 casinos about two or three years ago. That's it. 4 in the whole state.

Yes it is a bit different over here. We have about 4 in Edinburgh itself and slots in every bar!!!

Unfortunately were we live FLorida and when we lived before Maryland both have casino's WAY too close. I have family who think nothing of going a couple of times a week and they spend several hundred dollars each time. (Sorry, but way too much money for dh and I.) So dh and I made a pack when Casino's first were opened on land that we would only go to Casino's when we were on a ship. And even then we have a maxium we are allowed to spend.

We only broke our "pack" once and that is when my brother moved away and he wanted us to go with him "one last time" the night before he left (for us it was our first) We did it and set a limit of $20.00 each for the slots. Of course we lost and went home.

Anyway we, rather I do love to go into the casino on the ship and play 3 card poker. So that is my treat to myself. The funny thing is on our last cruise we were so busy we never even got to the casino! I missed coming home with the cruiselines money!

I have been pretty lucky for the most part and usually come out at least even and a number of times on the last night when I cash in my chips I usually go to the front desk and pay off my shipboard account!

I don't get the casino appeal. I'll go to Vegas, but even then gambling is secondary, and even then I usually bet sports and not much else. Slots and table games are only a "meh" to me. I remember the first cruise my wife and I took on Liberty of the Seas, we walked through the casino...and kept on walking. Never even step foot near it the rest of the week.

But those who love the casino have no negative impact on me, so c'est la vie.

(As a side note, I have now lived in Kansas City for about 12 years and we have a few casinos. I have no idea what any of them look like inside! But it's a good thing they don't have sports books, or else I might know a bit too well what they look like inside)

When I gamble onboard or on holidays, I consider it entertainment.

If I go to a casino at home, I'm just a gambler.;)

BTY, I don't visit casinos at home unless there's a show/entertainer performing in town.

If I gambled at home I'd have no reason to go to Vegas.:)

Thank you, too, from me....I always wondered why UK ships such as P&O, Thomson etc had such small casinos which were not over frequented. ;)

Crikey, I have seen passengers almost fighting to get on the caribbean stud table on Thomson ships. My last cruise on P&O had the casino very busy almost every night. IMO warm water cruises have busier casinos, as have short cruises.

Spending a couple of hours or more in the casino each evening is a enjoyable part of the cruise. I am not there to make money but to socialise and be entertained. I only visit casinos on ships and at home my gambling is restricted to a couple of lottery tickets per week.

I play table games, blackjack, poker and roulette. The expected returns on the slots are apalling. Blackjack is my favourite game but it is rare to see anyone else at the table who knows what they are doing, this adds to the entertainment :D

Why folks flock to casinos is simple: intermittent reinforcement.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I find the casinos onboard more entertaining than the bingo, karaoke, production shows, etc.

Casinos don't interest us whether they be on a ship or on land.

I don't like "contributing" my money them.

We don't even buy lottery tickets.

But some people think the casinos on the ships have even lower payouts than many on land.

 

But that's only the slots (if it's true - I have no idea). I often enjoy casino gambling, but at tables rather than machines. For many table games, the odds don't change much between different casinos.

Living in Palm Springs we have 5 casinos within a 30 minute drive that I don't bother gambling in. For my business I go to furniture shows in Vegas 2x a year and gamble a bit while there. On Princess, I set myself a limit and enjoy the casinos, watching the waves go by. I also have won decent jackpots on princess slots,including paying my balcony cabin fare on a full transit through the PC! It's part of the whole cruise experence for many of us. ( I can't stand bingo onboard, so to each their own...)

It's entertaining for us. We like the table games and enjoy meeting our blackjack table mates. We bring only money we are willing to lose and then set an evening budget. If we lose oh well. If we win we have more playing money.

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

Crikey, I have seen passengers almost fighting to get on the caribbean stud table on Thomson ships. My last cruise on P&O had the casino very busy almost every night. IMO warm water cruises have busier casinos, as have short cruises.

 

Spending a couple of hours or more in the casino each evening is a enjoyable part of the cruise. I am not there to make money but to socialise and be entertained. I only visit casinos on ships and at home my gambling is restricted to a couple of lottery tickets per week.

 

I play table games, blackjack, poker and roulette. The expected returns on the slots are apalling. Blackjack is my favourite game but it is rare to see anyone else at the table who knows what they are doing, this adds to the entertainment :D

Hi, Dave...our last 2 ships were Ventura/Azura, with quite small rooms which are also part of an entertainment bar- yes, they were busy at night, but as you say, it was socialising more than gambling; enjoying the entertainment in the other part of the room and watching sport on the TVs. I didn't see the same in the day time opening hours- and the gambling area was tiny compared to what I saw on Independence OTS. Perhaps the fact that the latter allowed smoking indoors was part of its attraction?

Hi, Dave...our last 2 ships were Ventura/Azura, with quite small rooms which are also part of an entertainment bar- yes, they were busy at night, but as you say, it was socialising more than gambling; enjoying the entertainment in the other part of the room and watching sport on the TVs. I didn't see the same in the day time opening hours- and the gambling area was tiny compared to what I saw on Independence OTS. Perhaps the fact that the latter allowed smoking indoors was part of its attraction?

I think that american cruisers are just keener on gambling and this is reflected in their large casinos. The new german TUI ships will have a 'casino' with a few slot machines and an electronic card table, no dealers and hardly a casino at all. Apparently germans gamble even less than the british. I would not consider cruising on a ship that did not have a casino

I'm also of the school of - I don't care one bit about gambling. We have casinos here, but have never been to them, and have no desire to go to them. To each their own, I guess. I now know, and have known, many people who were addictive/compulsive gamblers and lost nearly everything due to gambling losses. Though I'm sure that there are many who are responsible with it, I just can't see the point of giving my hard-earned money to anything where I get little to no return on investment, but again, that's just me.