Cruise ship video poker

[OTABILL]

Taking a cruise... just shoot me!   



You don't like cruises? Didn't think I would until my wife booked a 7 day one for me to try out. Now I am hooked!

[FloridaPhil]

Living in Florida, we have been on a lot of cruises.  Personally, I find them extremely boring.  You can't get off when you want and drinking and stuffing myself is not at the top of my fun things to do list.   We took a land and ship vacation to Alaska a few years ago.  I totally enjoyed the land and getting off in the small towns was great, but the ship part was just another boat ride for me.   The scenery was great, but I was bored out of my mind and stayed in the casino the whole time at sea.  Maybe it's because we were boaters our while life and the novelty isn't there?

[ko king]

Despite poor pay tables I really haven't done very bad on cruise ships.

[tampaluke]

I have to take a family cruise in June, like a huge family cruise. The thought of it has really stressed me out but I agreed to it because I want to expose my parents to cruises. They are gamblers and their idea of a vacation is Biloxi. I want them to see and do more while still being able to play craps at night so I agreed to the awful cruise.

But, I got really excited when I saw the reviews and a youtube video of the Norwegian Escape casino. The VP selection appears to solid for cruises. I know it will be awful 6/5 DDB pay tables but has anybody been on this cruise? I am looking for the best options I can get. I plan on sticking my face in a machine for as long as possible.

[ko king]

I have to take a family cruise in June, like a huge family cruise. The thought of it has really stressed me out but I agreed to it because I want to expose my parents to cruises. They are gamblers and their idea of a vacation is Biloxi. I want them to see and do more while still being able to play craps at night so I agreed to the awful cruise.

But, I got really excited when I saw the reviews and a youtube video of the Norwegian Escape casino. The VP selection appears to solid for cruises. I know it will be awful 6/5 DDB pay tables but has anybody been on this cruise? I am looking for the best options I can get. I plan on sticking my face in a machine for as long as possible.

I just got back from Biloxi, my first trip there, will never go back. We stayed at Rivage which was okay as far as hotels go. I walked back to find the vp machines, found some at one bar which was full of quarter players, not a machine open. Went to the very back found a large bank of vp machines that had 2 machines open, every player I watched was playing $1 DDB. I sat down at the machine, put a $100 in it and was horrified to see 7/5 pay tables. Needless to say I didn't play a hand there, so I searched the entire casino and found a small bank of machines that offered 9/5 TDB, not great but I still played a little. As far as cruise ships go I have been on several cruises and the pay tables are never good, at the $1 level max bet the best I have seen was 7/5 DDB. My results have actually been better than land based casinos. If you play enough in the casino they will give you a free drink pass so I never purchase a drink package which is expensive. Most cruises I have been on have great bands in the casinos also. My best advice is if the vp turns cold just play Let It Ride at the tables.

[FloridaPhil]

At one time my wife and I were making 3-5 long Beau Rivage trips each year.  We loved the hotel and the staff treated us like family.  Without question the Beau is one of the nicest hotels on the Gulf Coast.  Things started going down hill after the economy tanked in 2008.   9/6 games went to 8/5, then 7/5.   Slot players started complaining about their losses and fees and taxes started increasing to the point where we could no longer stomach our trips.  If there ever was a poster child for "Rigged" machines, the Beau wins hands down.  The one glimmer of hope for Biloxi VP players was the Margaritaville Casino.  They offered decent payouts in a scaled back low overhead facility.   Their competition temporarily gave VP players a break.  Unfortunately, through political wrangling their request for a hotel permit was denied and the Margaritaville casino closed.  As soon as this occurred the other Biloxi casinos dropped their odds even lower than before.  In addition, the State of Mississippi has a 3% state tax on all hand pays.  They take their money out before you are paid and there is no loss offsetting or any way to recoup this tax.The only way to enjoy the Beau Rivage is to pay to stay there and gamble somewhere else.   There are decent VP games in Biloxi, but they are rare.  Scale back your play to an absolute minimum,  play as slowly as you can and take frequent drink and bathroom breaks.  A three hour buffet trip is a lot cheaper than losing your money in one of their reverse ATMs.  Don't even think about playing anything bigger than quarters in Mississippi unless you like having a 3% partner that never kisses you goodnight or says Thank You. 

[gentlemobster]

I went on my first cruise on carnival. Always heard the gambling was bad. I played enough vp to get free drinks and still came out ahead. Played the same two machines on that trip. Paytable was bad just had some hot rolls. Got some perks towards the end of the cruise from the casino host.

[DaBurglar]

[QUOTE=OTABILL] [QUOTE=Casino Knight] A few years ago I hit a sizable jackpot on a Progressive VP machine. Low and behold, they had me sign a US taxable form before they would pay me. Middle of the ocean and the IRS is right there.

Same happened to us a few years ago with a RF jackpot just over $1200.[/QUOTE]

To add insult to injury, on this cruise bought and paid for by Fort McDowell Casino, we ventured into the casino before heading to our suite. The progressive $1 jackpot was over $8k. When we ventured back after we reached the 3 mile limit, they had reset it to $4K. At that point, I approached the Casino Manager who was chatting up our regular casino host and told them we wouldn't be dropping a dime and would let the rest of the Fort's players know what they did. Within 10 minutes the progressive had been reset.

Two days later I hit the Royal for over $8500.

Good Times.[/QUOTE]Wow......quite a tale of intrigue, shenanigans, righteous indignation (& intimidation), culminating in a happy prosperous ending out on the high seas (a Tale which originated for the most part, ironically,  in the middle of the desert....i.e. ARIZONA!)First off:      ".... Middle of the ocean and the IRS is right there...."    You bet your government insured gluteus maximus the  EYE (I) ARE (R) EHHZ (S)  is right there!   How else do you expect     [LGBT] "UNCLE SAM / SAMANTHA / SAME" [/LGBT]   to pay it's largest "dependent", er....I mean, vendor, Lockheed, for the  1.5 Trillion Dollar Turkey, the F-35????   Plus, once the airfields and aircraft carriers on which the F-35s will be based in the forthcoming war with China are swarmed, overwhelmed and destroyed by  wave after wave of efficient and effective People's Republic Army guided cruise missiles (probably made in Taiwan lol), the USA will need even more money to buy lots and lots of other, PROVEN planes (like the good ol' F-15 "Eagle") to stem the tide!    So fork it over.....Second, let me inquire of the following:    What was your manner, method and tone in confronting the Cruise Ship Casino Manager (along with your regular Casino host/contact) about these apparent shenanigans with the meter on the progressive?   What exactly did you say and how'd you say it???   Not to say you didn't have an legitimate issue, but it almost sounds like you intimidated and threatened them....not to say, also, that they didn't deserve some of it at least......I'm always approving when a casino, any casino, takes a lump or two.....

[FAA]

The progressive $1 jackpot was over $8k. Ater we
reached the 3 mile limit, they had reset it to $4K. I
approached the Casino Manager who was chatting up our regular casino
host and told them we wouldn't be dropping a dime and would let the rest
of the Fort's players know what they did. Within 10 minutes the
progressive had been reset.
Two days later I hit the Royal for over $8500.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Amazing story. You are obviously a proactive Type A personality. And it personally paid off to the tune of $8,500!

[Tedlark]

Having Susan Powter flashbacks right now.