Has anybody ever really won in the Casino?

I always think threads/comments like this are so very subjective without the details of the denomination of the machine and how much the bet was.

My wife and I hit a few times every cruise for $800-1200 playing various penny video slot machines with bets around $2-2.50. Are we getting rich off that...no of course not. But a $2 bet paying $1000 is a pretty nice score and keeps you gambling on the casino's dime for quite a while.

I have had good cruises and bad in the casino. In 2009, I hit a slot for $3,500 on the first night while onboard the Enchantment OTS. They took my picture holding the money, and it was posted all over the ship. People kept coming up to me and saying "You're the casino guy, aren't you?"

Two summers ago, I won more than $4k on a cruise, and just last week I hit Symphony for several thousand.

It isn't all winning, though. I lost $2K last year while on the Radiance OTS. I blame that stupid bathtub sized craps table.

Any video poker enthusiasts here? When we went on the Crystal Serenity to Alaska last year they had good video poker 9/6 JOB and some quarter games with progressives. We did very well on that cruise. I recently returned from Mediterranean cruise, same ship, and they had downgraded the VP significantly. I could not find anything reasonable to play. Does anyone know if Crystal Symphony has the same bad VP?

I have won a few times but overall I think I helped build a couple ships.

In December 2016 I sat down at a slot machine and intended to bet 30 cents.Instead I accidentally hit maximum bet and won $547.00 .I put away the $500 and kept $47 to play the rest of the cruise (my winnings were on night #1) .

From that $47 I won an additional $300 on various nights and brought it all home. In December 2017 I was on the same ship and on night #1 played the same machine and lost my limit for the day,By the end of the cruise I won close to $600.

I recently returned from Crystal Serenity cruise where someone won $72,000 on a video poker machine.

wonder if it was the same person on the Celebrity Infinity West Coast cruise 5.17

A Guy won $40,000 and his wife won $30,000 in one night.

I heard they won over 100k during the cruise but not sure about that.

The Casino Host put the $40k in news letter and when I asked her about

it she told me about his wife winning too

It was also on a video poker machine

I don't know if you would consider this a big win, but it was for me! A few years ago I got $800 on a Quick Hit machine, and I was not playing the max (probably $.75). This was at a time when I went on this much needed vacation on a shoestring budget, and this more than paid for my cruise. I was thrilled.

I've had several hand-paid jackpots on slots over the past several years. It annoys me that they give out W2-G forms for wins over $1,200 just like back home. I can't say that I'm ahead of the shipboard casinos, but of the 15 cruises I've been on I've only paid for the first three. The rest have been casino VIP (very idiotic player, I think) invitations. Of course my casino donations more than covered the cost of those trips, but I'd have probably lost playing back home anyways, so it all balances out in the end.

Yes, people do win (not me as a rule) because I've seen it. On a cruise earlier this year, a woman hit one of the penny machines for $10K (no idea what her bet was). A couple of days later, she hit a different machine for another $10K.

I've hit some hand-pays a few times on cruises, but I'm pretty sure I'm not up overall. I have my "entertainment" money and enjoy using it.

On a 2 night to nowhere back in 2012 out of NY, I was playing a Quick Hit Platinum machine at $3 max bet. I was down to $12 in credits when I hit the Jackpot for $15,000!

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I was on Freedom of the Seas in 2009 and witnessed a woman win 3 different jackpots on a quick hit machine. All $5k and up. I never win big on the slots, they are tight on royal caribbean. Would like to hear about some jackpot winners!

I was on Freedom of the Seas in 2009 and witnessed a woman win 3 different jackpots on a quick hit machine. All $5k and up. I never win big on the slots, they are tight on royal caribbean. Would like to hear about some jackpot winners!

This last NCL Cruise we hit around $5k on slots. We saw someone hit $10k on a a lot machine that we had vacated, the worst!!

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Last year I hit a $2400 jackpot on Royal Caribbean - the last night of the cruise. The first night I made $800 off $20 during the first hour of the casino opening. My husband hit a $1,000 spin somewhere in the middle of the week. Also on that cruise a man hit $20K. Problem is.....when it's all said and done, we still lost more than we won. We enjoy the casino and put money aside all year for our cruises and never plan to make a profit. We get lots of free cruise offers in the mail and never pay for our cabins anymore - but they certainly aren't free!

Last year I hit a $2400 jackpot on Royal Caribbean - the last night of the cruise. The first night I made $800 off $20 during the first hour of the casino opening. My husband hit a $1,000 spin somewhere in the middle of the week. Also on that cruise a man hit $20K. Problem is.....when it's all said and done, we still lost more than we won. We enjoy the casino and put money aside all year for our cruises and never plan to make a profit. We get lots of free cruise offers in the mail and never pay for our cabins anymore - but they certainly aren't free!

This sounds exactly like us. The "free" cabins certainly help take some of the sting away from our losses but they certainly aren't free. Of course we would still gamble like we do so the comped cabin is a nice perk. The best thing is when you actually walk off the ship money ahead when the cruise was comped.

I always like to look at it like I get at least 2 for 1 on my money when gambling on a "comp" cruise....if I can come home with some cash, even better......if not, oh well, the all in price for a week vacation is still worth it!

Five years ago on the Triumph out of New Orleans I hit the $5,000 jackpot on a .25 cent machine. Max bet was only .50 cents. It was the first day at sea. Wow more than paid for my trip.

Last year on the Paradise first night at sea hit $1,300 jackpot on 88 Fortunes on .88 cent total bet.

So yeah you can win but the machines are definitely much tighter. Just have to be lucky

I've had several hand-paid jackpots on slots over the past several years. It annoys me that they give out W2-G forms for wins over $1,200 just like back home. I can't say that I'm ahead of the shipboard casinos, but of the 15 cruises I've been on I've only paid for the first three. The rest have been casino VIP (very idiotic player, I think) invitations. Of course my casino donations more than covered the cost of those trips, but I'd have probably lost playing back home anyways, so it all balances out in the end.

Had to laugh at your translation of VIP. I won 4 handpays on Royal Princess in March 2018 - total $7800 & change. BUT it is soooo easy to push that "charge to room" and lose track of what you've spent. I came out ahead that time, but only slightly. I, like you, though have not paid for a cruise in a while. Have been comped between Princess and NCL several times. NCL seems to comp more cruises but they charge $200 to book plus port/tax and service fee if you take the beverage package. Princess is fairly tight on their offerings but only charged port/tax (14 day cruise $225) - of course beverage package and service charge is not included. I currently have 2 comps booked - Caribbean Princess and NCL Jade. I'm sure they'll get every penny I won back in the end :confused:

Another myth has to do with putting your sign and sail card in the machine. You are only hurting yourself. In Vegas, AC, etc all have laws requiring that prohibit the cards from having a connection to winning or losing. Cruise lines basically follow those rules.

????

Not a hand pay, but hit a $1000 on Wheel of Fortune two weeks ago on Celebrity Summit. Also, had started the cruise off right when I hit for $275 on the first machine on the first night. Hit it a couple of times and got that bonus. Not too much action though between those two hits.

Carnival Glory ~ 9/26/15

Carnival Splendor ~ 10/8/16

Carnival Elation ~ 2/5/18

Celebrity Summit ~ 7/22/18

Norwegian Getaway ~ 2/3/19

????

Many people do not put their affinity cards in the machine because they think it has something to do with winning.

Many people do not put their affinity cards in the machine because they think it has something to do with winning.

Its hard to get comps if they can't see your play

Its hard to get comps if they can't see your play

Agree but you would not believe how many people I’ve seen do just what I said.

I am not a "seasoned cruiser," but I'm working on it! Not a seasoned gambler either, but I do enjoy playing slots, as long as I'm winning a little something back. I too wondered something about what was mentioned in the original post. The first day out at sea, slots seemed to pay off better and the other days that followed. Does anyone know if the casino staff programs the machines to do that? I've posed that question to a few fellow gamblers and most seemed in agreement. Anyway, regardless.....it's just good fun. I never expect to get rich.

$9186.16 on a 68 cent pull last April on the Sunshine. They wanted me to take it in cash, but we ended up agreeing I would take $1186.16 in cash and they would sent me a check for the balance which I received 7 days after the cruise by FedEx.

Were you nervous about getting the check? In Feb., 2018, I won $8000.00 playing 25 cent draw poker (I got a Royal with an 8X multiplier). I didn’t know that a check was an option. I just asked them not to pay me the cash on the casino floor where people could see me getting the cash. I would be nervous about actually getting the check.

I'm talking about playing the Slot Machines......I've always heard that the Cruise Lines count on the Casino revenue to help them make their quota for each sailing.

So, has anyone ever really won a substantial amount from playing the slots?

Well I haven't won thousands, but I won almost $500 on the Holland America Veendam "Kiss the Frog" slot machine a few cruises ago. When I was on Celebrity Summit, my husband and I were walking through the Casino. Just for the heck of it I put $20 in a machine, DH hit "max bet". I was like "Really, a $15 dollar bet? What the heck." Spun the wheel and won $300 on that single bet. Never won anything on the several NCL cruises we were on, also played on the Veendam on several other cruises, broke even or busted. So yeah, it was just dumb luck when I won. Still fun to play though.