NCL Pearl Casino Confusion

[QuakeRubie]

Just came back from a great cruise on the NCL Pearl. Family had a great time, no major problems. Having said this, I do want to send a cautionary note to all about the Casino.

 

Several friends and I were playing the coin-push machine. (You know, its the one where you drop a coin in, it falls to the tray below and forces all the other coins outward off the ledge. Whatever falls into the payout slot, you get to keep.) Well... sometimes the coins that fell off the edge never showed up in the payout tray. We were dumbstruck. So we tried this several times. Sometimes it would work, and sometimes... nothing. I called the attendant and she explained that there is a mechanism in the machine to prevent the roll of the ship from accidentally causing an unearned payout. The casino offered up a T-Shirt after much complaining on my end.

 

Also, there are 2 tables in the casino that are 5 dollar minimum; Texas Hold'em and Three Card Poker. The problem is you can't play either game for 5 dollars. On the Texas Hold'em table you must ante 5 and blind 5 before you even see your cards. On the Three Card Poker its 10 to see your cards, and another 5 if you want to play your hand.

 

If it wasn't for the casino, we would have had a near-perfect vacation.

[johnql]

I can understand your complaint about the coin-pushing game. If the coins fall off the ledge, they should be yours.

 

However, I don't see the problem with the two table games - the rules for those games are explained in a pamphlet and also at the table (either by the dealer or by printed instructions on the plaque and/or tabletop). If a particular game requires a certain amount, them's the rules. If you don't like the rules, just don't play the game.

 

Glad you had a great cruise otherwise.

[Toyz711]

with 3 card, 4 card poker games and the texas hold-em table game, it's the same as a regular casino. it's still at $5 min per bet! same as it tunica and vegas...it's the min allowed per the bet. doesn't mean you only make 1 bet. "let it ride" you need to make 3 bets. it's a long list of games that require more then 1 bet, but the min bet can still be $5.

that other game you describe is known as a "sucker" game, sorry. nothing to do with the casinos..the only things that drop down to come out have to hit a certain area. otherwise people would just shake/rattle/roll the machine all the time. a bet has to be made, a sweep of the arm..if something comes down a certain way..you get it. if something just falls, it doesn't come out at your end. i have seen those machine build up right on the edge, thick with coins..? not a skill game, just a game of very (risky) chance.

nothing to warn anyone about, normal casino business as usual. my warning is to learn the games before you play..all game rules can be found on the internet.

(yes, i know...too much time at the casino myself)

[CMurph]

We were once on a cruise where the roll of the ship did cause the coins to fall in that machine. We were playing at a table right next to it. Whenever they would fall, our dealer would roll her eyes toward the machine so one of us at the table would get up and get the money. It was never more than 2 or 3 quarters at a time. That isn't a game I would spend my quarters on. As far as the $5 minimum at the Poker games, I have to ask if you have ever gambled before. If so, you would have understood how betting works. I'm sorry you found the casino to be an unpleasant experience. If you are a novice, you should take the time to read the instructions...or many casinos will offer classes on how the play the games.

[jetskier]

If the casino did not make money on something, it would NOT be offered. If you pay real close attention to those machines, you will notice two drop holes on each side on the bottom tray. This keeps pressure from building up so not as many coins drop off the tray.

 

That being said, my wife did win a bottle of champagne and a t-shirt after spending $30.:(

[BeachBumMama]

Glad you had a good time and appreciate the tips.:)

[kdg51]

I was playing late one night and had that bottom tray full of quaters one minute and the next thing I knew all I had was a token for the free champagne. If it fit in the quarter slot I would have given that back too before I was done.

Decided one night to start with $50 in quarters...was doing great until 2 AM when I looked up and Hubby was sitting across from me...Oooops! Never won again. I think it's cruel that the coins fall down the sides but I never asked for an explanation.

Last year they had 6 penny machines on the Majesty. Hoping that the Pearl will have more than that.

[TanyaAri]

Wife and I got hooked on that *&%#$ machine!!! After a while, it was just pure entertainment...

 

Most of the times, I did see $5.00 blackjack tables on the Pearl (on 2/25 sailing), and there were always the $5 3 Card, Texas Hold Em, as well as Let It Ride tables. I did find this to be a good thing, because anytime you walk into a casino in Atlantic City or in Vegas, you will almost never see a $5.00 table! It hurt a lot less losing at a $5 table than a $10 or $15 table.

 

We enjoyed the casino, would've enjoyed it more if we had one! I did play in the blackjack tourney, and tied for 3rd. I got the lousy T-Shirt as my prize...

[Holg]

First of all, you have a better chance of getting some of your money back if you were to stand on the deck and throw quarters into the wind and then try to catch them. The coin-push machine is SUCH a rip-off. NExt time you want to play one of those things, take all the money you were going to play and put it on red, black, odd, even, 1-18, or 19-36 on the roulette table. At least then you have a chance.

 

Secondly, if you didn't know that $5 on Hold'em didn't mean you could not play for ONLY $5 then you don't much about hold'em and you're better off not playing.

 

Three-card is a terrible game anywhere. The house advantage is simply too great. What is house advantage? For example: most state lotteries have a pick three game where you pick three numbers, 0-9, and if you get the right combination you get paid $500. Problem is, the actual odds are 1000 to 1, not 500 to 1, so the state is ripping out off for $500! The house advantage on three card poker is not that bad, but it's pretty bad.

 

Whoever said finding $5 games in Atlantic City and Vegas is difficult wasn't whistling Dixie. Over the past five years, $5 games in AC and Vegas have all but disappeared.

[garycarla]

....you have a better chance of getting some of your money back if you were to stand on the deck and throw quarters into the wind and then try to catch them. ....

 

 

Thanks for the chuckle, and a dose of reality. Actually, I tried doing that, but the quarters kept hitting me in the head. Switched to dollar bills. They never hit me. Of course, I don't catch those either but I get if over with quicker.

 

Been there, done that. And I like our little trailer better than that big house with all those rooms to clean anyway!

[jetskier]

Whoever said finding $5 games in Atlantic City and Vegas is difficult wasn't whistling Dixie. Over the past five years, $5 games in AC and Vegas have all but disappeared.

 

The same is happening on the Gulf Coast. Minimum at Harrah's in New Orleans was $10. Most of the casino's on the coast are $10. I was at Island View and waiting 40 minutes to get on the only $5 table for Blackjack. After an hour, they raised the minimum to $10 even though there were empty chairs at the $10 tables. But hey, I got a free hotel room out the deal and won $100.

Dave

[Toyz711]

min at most of tunica is $10, sheraton has a few $5 tables. but it's the budget casino of the area. horsehoes has full tables but the highest mins.

at the hollywood you just have to watch, if it's not crowded you can find $5 tables. don't have much experience with the resorts chain, they took over one of harrah's casinos. they are still trying to find their market..some night low mins, sometimes not. one time DH was playing craps at a $5 table, when they annouced it was going to $10..everyone picked up and left:mad:

best time is mid-week, weekends are awful.

[goldmom]

DH and I were planning the pusher machines on one ship, don't remember if it was NCL or another line. We saw coins drop down the slot and reached down and there was nothing in the tray. Said something to one of the attendants. He said there were 2 chutes, one that paid the player and one for the casino!! Like they weren't already getting plenty from us!:D

 

All the other ones we'd played always gave all the dropped coins to the player. At least we thought so. They are kind of fun games to kill a little time, but that's about it.

[shoreguy]

DH and I were planning the pusher machines on one ship, don't remember if it was NCL or another line. We saw coins drop down the slot and reached down and there was nothing in the tray. Said something to one of the attendants. He said there were 2 chutes, one that paid the player and one for the casino!! Like they weren't already getting plenty from us!:D

 

All the other ones we'd played always gave all the dropped coins to the player. At least we thought so. They are kind of fun games to kill a little time, but that's about it.

 

Look closely there are two slots on on each side where most of the coins go and do not drop to the tray.. Never understood the fasination with that game. On the Pearl transtlantic however as we cruised thru a couple of storms coins were falling out every couple of minutes. We did out part and returned them to the machine. I would say in an hour $10 fell out.

[Fishbait17]

While there IS a drop side that goes "to the casino" (on both sides), there is also a lock-out on these machines where coins dropped into the "player" area will not get paid in the tray (specific to the Pearl). If you listen while you are playing, you will hear the alarm sounding the lockout.. It seems to go off every few minutes (with absolutely no relation to the ship's rocking), usually twice in a row; do NOT drop coins into the machine while these alarms are going off and you will be fine (or as fine as you can be on that game). I watched some guy sit there for at least 4 hours trying to "release" a clip of bills right on the edge one day. It never seemed to get any closer to the edge to me!

 

The two table games are perfectly normal; as for 3 Card, they call it a $5 minimum because thats the minimum you can lose ($5 ante, with no pairs plus bet, and a folded hand), I am pretty sure they were allowing antes with no Pairs Plus bets, if not it would be something I have never seen before. Same goes for Let It Ride. A $5 minimum in that game actually requires you to put $15 on the table, but you can pull back the first two bets of $5 each, so the minimum you can lose is $5. Have never played the Hold 'Em game so wouldn't have a clue on that one.

 

I found the cards to be tight but the slots loose on my cruise, and the weird part is they didn't really get tighter the last couple of days for me. Of course, I still lost money overall, but that's normal :D .

 

Robin

[goldmom]

Look closely there are two slots on on each side where most of the coins go and do not drop to the tray.. Never understood the fasination with that game. On the Pearl transtlantic however as we cruised thru a couple of storms coins were falling out every couple of minutes. We did out part and returned them to the machine. I would say in an hour $10 fell out.

 

That's exactly how we started playing them. We were walking past and some coins dropped down, so we "returned" them and of course added a few of our own.;)

 

I know it's a really stupid game and a losing proposition, but somehow we got hooked on them and managed to play for about an hour on $5. Of course we ended up putting it all back, but probably cost us less than the slots or tables.:rolleyes: