This thread is for SLOTS players only

[Merion_Mom]

Okay, I am sitting in the internet café on board the Independence. I just came from the casino.

 

I was sitting at a slot machine, "minding my own business", not doing too badly, but apparently making enough noise with my machine that a very friendly gentleman came and sat down at the machine next to me, who said that he chose that machine because mine seemed to be paying.

 

We chatted.

 

I hit something nice, and he complimented me/my machine.

 

He hit something, and I did the quick math in my head, and said, "Hey, you just doubled your stake!" (he had inserted a $20 and had hit for $18, according to my calculations.)

 

We each continued playing.

 

A couple of minutes later, he nudged me. He said, "I think I hit something big.", as the machine dinged dinged dinged. I did the quick calculations in my head again, and said, with wide eyes, "You just hit for $450!!!!!"

 

The machine added and added and added.........and stopped at $150. I sat and stared. Nice Australian gentleman sat and stared. He looked at me. I said, "That's wrong." He said, "Maybe your maths is wrong." I said, "No, you have a line of five red 7's, and two of the spaces have the 3x symbol. Five red 7's are 1,000 on this machine, times 9, times the 5 cents per line that you bet. That's $450."

 

So, he flags down a bar server and asks her to get a casino guy.

 

Eventually (and it took a while), a casino (not manager) comes over. I explain the situation, ALSO explaining that it's not my machine, I don't know this guy, but I know that the machine is wrong.

 

Casino guy plays with the machine. He opens the machine. He pushes buttons. He plays with it. He plays with it some more.

 

He goes and gets the casino manager. I explain the situation, including the math involved, and he looks puzzled.

 

The casino manager opens the machine. He pushes buttons. He plays with it. He plays with it some more.

 

By now, about 20 minutes have been spent on this issue.

 

FINALLY, he points to tiny writing at the top of the machine.

 

UNLIKE EVERY OTHER SLOT MACHINE IN THE CASINO, UNLIKE EVERY OTHER SLOT MACHINE *I* HAVE EVER SEEN, THIS MACHINE DOES NOT GIVE 9 TIMES THE WINNING COMBINATION IF YOU HAVE TWO TRIPLES. IT ONLY TRIPLES.

 

Unfrickin' believable. It only paid $150, not $450, because TWO 3x symbols do NOT combine.

 

Seriously. The only machine that does that. I even walked around and looked at every other slot machine in the casino, including those that had the same "story" or design as that one. ALL of them combined multipliers.

 

JUST THIS ONE MACHINE DID NOT.

 

What a story, eh?

[Trekker954]

That does suck.

 

I am a slot player. So what exactly does the "tiny print" say, so I'll be sure to avoid those machines.

[Desertbelle]

We live in Las Vegas, Nevada and this is something I warn people about all the time when they choose to gamble on a ship. The are NO regulatory boards or people watching the ships to make sure they pay what they are supposed to pay, and do what they are supposed to do. And what you described is but a drop in the bucket of what the ship casinos do!!

 

The worse in my eyes is when they reset a progressive jackpot at the end of a cruise and on the next cruise the jackpot is back to the minimum, which means they are pocketing all that "extra money" that is put aside during the play of the machine for the jackpot. That could NEVER happen in Nevada, nor do I think in any state that regulates gaming.

 

And what they do with Bingo is a travesty....it's a total ripoff!!

 

And after you have spent hundreds of dollars you still have to beg for a free drink....what a joke!

 

Gamble on a ship at your own risk!!

[NorbertsNiece]

Sigh. Am too fond of slots. Trying to restrict playing to CC slot pulls and have participated in Casino pulls. Have only once come away with more than I went in with.... :/

 

From my mobile so apologies for predictive text

[Panda3]

Argh...disapponting to hear :-(. Will be reading the tiny print and avoiding those :-(

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[A&L_Ont]

We live in Las Vegas, Nevada and this is something I warn people about all the time when they choose to gamble on a ship. The are NO regulatory boards or people watching the ships to make sure they pay what they are supposed to pay, and do what they are supposed to do. And what you described is but a drop in the bucket of what the ship casinos do!!

 

The worse in my eyes is when they reset a progressive jackpot at the end of a cruise and on the next cruise the jackpot is back to the minimum, which means they are pocketing all that "extra money" that is put aside during the play of the machine for the jackpot. That could NEVER happen in Nevada, nor do I think in any state that regulates gaming.

 

And what they do with Bingo is a travesty....it's a total ripoff!!

 

And after you have spent hundreds of dollars you still have to beg for a free drink....what a joke!

 

Gamble on a ship at your own risk!!

 

I agree with you on the progressive for sure. We went to Vegas last July and stayed at the Bellagio. We met an Australian couple playing one half of the progressives. They literally were hitting one machine max play, continued down their half doing the same to the rest of their machines. This was a Saturday night and the progressives was over a million. There were two people on the other side, working separately doing the same thing. The did give up eventually, I guess they ran out of money.

 

They told us they were playing until it was won. Thursday at 7am they won it. It had gone up a couple of hundred thousand in the meantime. They played straight taking shifts and noting their wins. They had a table set up with bottles of water and their book of paper. They original flew to play poker but told us after that they saw how big the progressive was so they wanted to try to win it. After their win the progressive went back down to $80,000.

 

It really makes you wonder how much the cruise line pockets every week on that single aspect. I guess if you had a B2B one could see.

[davenew]

We live in Las Vegas, Nevada and this is something I warn people about all the time when they choose to gamble on a ship. The are NO regulatory boards or people watching the ships to make sure they pay what they are supposed to pay, and do what they are supposed to do. And what you described is but a drop in the bucket of what the ship casinos do!!

 

The worse in my eyes is when they reset a progressive jackpot at the end of a cruise and on the next cruise the jackpot is back to the minimum, which means they are pocketing all that "extra money" that is put aside during the play of the machine for the jackpot. That could NEVER happen in Nevada, nor do I think in any state that regulates gaming.

 

And what they do with Bingo is a travesty....it's a total ripoff!!

 

And after you have spent hundreds of dollars you still have to beg for a free drink....what a joke!

 

Gamble on a ship at your own risk!!

I think it was on the Allure, when the Casino worker came and sat next to me and opened up a computer cabinet. Being nosey, I watched him use the computer to check the payouts on the machines and then he altered the payout percentage downwards. Now that sucks big time.:eek:

[EmpressofPurple]

WOW. or in the case of rci's motto... not so wow.

 

Educational about info re gambling at sea. I re read my old review about being cheated at roulette at a hotel casino in San Juan (distracted by live performers in casino, dealer moved my winning bets), but it never occurred to me that SLOTS could be manipulated or poorly run like the stories in this thread.

 

For shame! House already has the edge in everything... do they really need to chintz out on triple payouts and progressives to ensure enough "onboard revenue"?!?:eek::(:mad:

 

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[Folk Singer]

That does suck.

 

I am a slot player. So what exactly does the "tiny print" say, so I'll be sure to avoid those machines.

 

 

will keep an eye out.

[skiiergirl]

Thanks for the info! As far as slots, I wish they would put in better machines! (need new machines.....the old ones are getting boring)

[gerif]

Another slot machine addict weighing in. While I've known for years that cruise ship slots are stingy at best, I'll play for fun if it's not too smokey - but this is really pathetic. I quit playing bingo years ago.

[marci22]

I think it was on the Allure, when the Casino worker came and sat next to me and opened up a computer cabinet. Being nosey, I watched him use the computer to check the payouts on the machines and then he altered the payout percentage downwards. Now that sucks big time.:eek:

 

It always seems that people win big the first couple of nights. Maybe that's why.

 

Bingo is ridiculous. You have to spend a lot just to be able to play. And even if you do win, there are 2 other winners so your jackpot is divided 3 ways.

Edited April 28, 2014 by marci22

[iheartbda]

Carol, I think I would have been PO-ed if you had pointed that out to me.:D I just play for fun, never noticed the fine print and take whatever the slot gives me.:o I actually came home last time with $200 clear after subtracting what I put in. :)

 

Marci, I'm convinced that they pay out the first night or so to get people hooked. The last couple of nights are the worst because they already got you. There have been discussions about the slots and some swear there is no manipulation. Yeah right, tell me another one.

 

It always seems that people win big the first couple of nights. Maybe that's why.

 

Bingo is ridiculous. You have to spend a lot just to be able to play. And even if you do win, there are 2 other winners so your jackpot is divided 3 ways.

Never play Bingo because it's ridiculously expensive.

[Mac303]

On a cruise I only go in the casino to play slots or table games for fun, the house has to much of an advantage.

Edited April 28, 2014 by Mac303

[Cruisegirl6]

That really is horrible! BUT...I do know there are tricks in that trade that cheat us....also, RC can loosen and tighten those machines in the master control room, its just a matter of figuring out when the best time to play...you have to figure they have to make money and it also depends on the last cruise whether the last couple of days the house made money or not is how they determined when to let those machines looser. They do make the machines loose at times during a week cruise so that they continue getting the people to play...my other half ALWAYS wins a few hundred dollars up to over 1k many times at least during EVERY CRUISE but he also spends 3/4 dollars a hit (I am cheap lol) and what he noticed, is during the daytime when people are at the pool or doing other activities the slots get the tightest mainly because there will be less people playing during this time....he also found that sometimes the last night is looser if the house makes their quota....the first night also could be loose if the house wins money from the last cruise...trust me we go on many cruises (sometimes just so he can play his slots and have a getaway) and he says there is no pattern its just a matter of when the cruise line loosens the machines and then he says some types of machines are more looser than others, maybe that is how he always wins he knows?

 

You also have to read the machine too sad.

[trev71]

I agree slots never seem to pay out what they say they pay out. Bingo I wouldnt bother playing either cost way too much.

 

Ill stick with Black Jack or Roulette

[Cruisegirl6]

Bingo in these days are a joke! From the money what they get from us to what they actually pay out is a joke actually insulting.

[finallyonboard]

I have been in the casino a few times on the 2nd. to last night of the cruise and watched them change the machines.

[bouhunter]

There's no doubt casino's everywhere can and will change payout percentages, but there's also no doubt slot players spend too much time thinking about when things are "tight" or "loose" when it's mostly just attributed to plain old good or bad luck.......:rolleyes: Anyone who thinks they've got things figured out about when machines will pay more is fooling themselves.

[bouhunter]

what he noticed, is during the daytime when people are at the pool or doing other activities the slots get the tightest mainly because there will be less people playing during this time.....

 

Maybe it seems like the machines are "tight" because there aren't as many people playing then so there are less winners:rolleyes: Why would they "loosen up" the machines when lots of people are there, then the casino would lose more money........

Seems like the time to make them "tight" is at night when everyone is there and you can take their money.

 

It's fascinating how gamblers can rationalize and twist logic around to fit their conspiracy theories:D

Edited April 28, 2014 by bouhunter

[Daghis]

In the same vein, but on the opposite side, let me share this shot of a spin I had on a machine on Allure of the Seas last year.

 

 

It looks like it's a shame that the Double Double Diamond symbols didn't land on the payline, doesn't it? That's why I was surprised that the machine wouldn't spin again and started beeping at me.

 

Well, the fine print on this machine (on the left and right sides of the paytable above) says that if they land just off the payline, they are 2x wilds, and for two of them, it's 4x total.

 

In this case, it paid as 7 - 2x - 2x. I was playing $5/credit and I played two credits, so the total payout was 120 * 2x * 2x * $5 credits or $2,400!

 

I'm glad the machine locked up on me. Since I wasn't paying attention, I would have passed right by this winning spin.

[BamaGuy44]

Maybe it seems like the machines are "tight" because there aren't as many people playing then so there are less winners:rolleyes: Why would they "loosen up" the machines when lots of people are there, then the casino would lose more money........

Seems like the time to make them "tight" is at night when everyone is there and you can take their money.

 

It's fascinating how gamblers can rationalize and twist logic around to fit their conspiracy theories:D

 

Too true. It would take a pretty solid statistical analysis of at least several hundred pulls on various machines to see if the they are playing tighter or looser at a given time. You can't just "tell" that the slots "seem" to be looser just by hanging out in the casino on different nights.

[joand452]

We were on Indy a couple of weeks ago, Granted, we don't pay a lot to gamble ($.25 video poker for DH, the penny slots for me -- maybe $20 a night total), and I mentioned to DH that these machines didn't pay much at all. I can usually make a couple of bucks off my $.80 spin. Finally on the last night of the cruise I actually one $33! I gambled away $5 of it, but kept the rest. First time I've walked away ahead of the game. We just do it for fun, but those slots were terrible on that ship. I found a few on Allure and Oasis that I really liked, but nothing too much fun on that ship. And even on a few of the $.01 slots, they made you play $2.00 at a pop.

 

Too rich for my blood!

[smoosh21]

We live in Las Vegas, Nevada and this is something I warn people about all the time when they choose to gamble on a ship. The are NO regulatory boards or people watching the ships to make sure they pay what they are supposed to pay, and do what they are supposed to do. And what you described is but a drop in the bucket of what the ship casinos do!!

 

The worse in my eyes is when they reset a progressive jackpot at the end of a cruise and on the next cruise the jackpot is back to the minimum, which means they are pocketing all that "extra money" that is put aside during the play of the machine for the jackpot. That could NEVER happen in Nevada, nor do I think in any state that regulates gaming.

 

And what they do with Bingo is a travesty....it's a total ripoff!!

 

And after you have spent hundreds of dollars you still have to beg for a free drink....what a joke!

 

Gamble on a ship at your own risk!!

 

I think some cruise lines treat Bingo as Paramutual, others just pay out flat amounts. I know that the slot tournaments work the same. I have won two slot tournaments and one paid out paramutual because I remember it being an odd total, like $432 or something.

Of course that might also be up to the Casino manager, I don't know.

 

I do always check out the odd on the machines because I have same game type have different payouts in different locations in the casino.

[critterchick]

I think it was on the Allure, when the Casino worker came and sat next to me and opened up a computer cabinet. Being nosey, I watched him use the computer to check the payouts on the machines and then he altered the payout percentage downwards. Now that sucks big time.:eek:

 

I had a guy on Vision walk up behind me with a remote transmitter and change a machine I was playing on. I was winning. As soon as I saw him do it, I cashed out.

 

It seems that I spend less time in the casino on each cruise. That's a good thing for me.