Are Cruise Ship Slots Really Tight?

I hear conflicting comments from knowledgeable authorities whether payback settings on cruise ships are either similar to most American casinos or are much tighter. Can you settle the confusion?

The last time we ran the answer to this question, in 2018, it was unanimous: Avoid cruise-ship slot machines at all costs. The consensus was that the bandits are "set to the lowest minimum payout," but we wonder if there is such a thing.

United States cruise ships have offered gambling since 1991’s Cruise Ship Competitiveness Act. This allows U.S. ships to open the doors to their casinos as soon as they hit international waters.

And once they’re outside U.S. jurisdiction, casino regulation gets a bit muddy. An organization called the International Council of Cruise Lines (ICCL) claims some regulatory control, though a lot less than land-based casinos are subjected to, and enforcement of the regs is spotty at best. For example, you won’t find a Council representative on board your cruise ship in the event of a dispute with the casino.

As far as slots go, the ICCL mandates that cruise ships “meet the regulatory standards of the Nevada Gaming Control Board or other licensed jurisdiction for payback and internal software.”

That’s fine in theory, but our understanding is that cruise ships, especially those flagged in foreign countries, don’t have to release their payout percentages, so who would know for sure what they are? And even if the slots are set for the minimum payback, that's a miserable 75% in Nevada.

And it doesn’t take an economist to know that not only does a cruise-ship casino have no competition, it also has a captive audience. The casino isn’t unaware on any level that it’s the only game in town and its clientele are on vacation, looking for a good time, and have pockets full of cash to blow.

Also, though cruise-ship casino patrons are onboard for a week or so and the casino would like them to spend all their nights therein, they’re not exactly repeat customers. Once they disembark, it’s highly unlikely they’ll be back, ever. So the casino has every incentive to slaughter, rather than shear, its sheep.

That’s why cruise ship casinos are fairly notorious for their dismal payback percentages. We’re sure there are some exceptions (and yes, we did hear in the comments to the last answer about a big winner on a cruise ship, but that was 30-plus years ago, on a video poker machine, where the player was preternaturally lucky at picking the high card on the double-up feature), but as gaming writer Mark Pilarski eloquently puts it, “Plan on a bruising when cruising.”

Most commenters suggested sticking to the table games, where the odds are known. Also, comps can be plentiful and lucrative for regular casino patrons who can play the tables for long enough, while limiting their losses.

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[email protected] Jan-06-2023

Celebrity Apex Christmas

Jacks or Better VP, only paid back "5" coins for two pair!  Just like with Bonus Poker: I have never seen this, how is this even legal?

Dave_Miller_DJTB Jan-06-2023

Jackpot resets / poker rake

On my last cruise, I saw a sign near the cage which read, “Casino reserve the right to reset progressive jackpot between sailings.”

——

A typical casino poker room will take 10% of every pot, for a maximum of about $5 rounded down to the dollar. This cruise took 10%, but a maximum of $15! Additionally, they had 50¢ chips so they wouldn’t lose so much due to rounding. 😳

When we crumbled about it, the dealer actually said, “Don’t like it? Go to the casino next-door.”

Mike Jan-06-2023

Victory Casino Cruise Cape Canaveral

We will be in Orlando/Tampa in April and the Victory Casino Cruise was on the list of considerations.  

5-6 hour cruise
27 live table games
Live sportsbook
Boarding 1 hour prior to departure
Gambling starts 30 min after leaving dock
$13 per person to board

Anyone ever take this cruise?

[email protected] Jan-06-2023

day cruise for gambling

Mike, I have taken the 4 hour gambling cruise from Little River, SC many times. I do not play slots so can not speak to tightness, but they do frequently post pictures of 4 figure (and occasionally 5 figure) winners. My concern is that 10 value cards might be removed from blackjack decks. I have asked pit bosses and get evasive answers. Anecdotally, it appears my blackjack results are worse than when I play in a regulated casino. However, they do pay 3-2 and allow early surrender. Prior to covid, there was a nice craps table that was great fun ($5 pass line bets). It was removed when the boat re-opened after covid. Because there are repeat customers, I feel this boat may be severely shearing the flock but not slaughtering us

Kevin Rough Jan-06-2023

Mike

Mike, I have taken the Tropical Breeze Casino boat out of Port Richey (northwest of Tampa) a few times.  I have only played blackjack.  Some cruises seem to be mostly locals and some seem to be mostly tourists.  I have come home a winner more often than not.

Brian Jan-06-2023

Gotta game for you.

I'm usually running a dice game in Cabin 414-A. Y'all come on down and play. ;-)

Kevin Lewis Jan-06-2023

Object lesson

As soon as the ship enters international waters, there is NO regulation of the gambling other than what they wish to impose on themselves--and no enforcement, and no recourse. So if you wish to gamble in such an environment...good luck!!!

For similar reasons, gambling in an Injun casino that's on tribal land is foolhardy in the extreme.

jay Jan-06-2023

RNG

The basis of any slot is the RNG (Random Number Generator). Your 3 numbers are chosen when you hit the spin button. If they match something on the paytable you win. Totally random each time regardless of what the percentage payback is or isn’t. The difference between a 75% and a 95% payback is the number of winning combinations in the internal paytable. There is always just 1 Top award winner, and 1 second level winner but there can be multiple of any of the others. To tighten the platform up they reduce the number of smaller winners. 

Most people will insert a $20 - and unless they hit something big don’t cash out the majority of the time. So if you’re hunting for the big awards your odds are exactly the same regardless of the payback %% - I too prefer a slow bleed with lots of play time but it doesn’t change the odds.

Srgntpep Jan-06-2023

@Dave_Miller

Just wanted to say the "go to the casino next door" thing made me laugh pretty hard.  Sure, it sucks for an answer, but it's pretty funny for being so honest.

Raymond Jan-07-2023

Cruise Ship Craps

I was on a cruise back in 2014, and I noticed that every time the craps table filled up, they'd change dice--and everything went "cold".  After some people left, they'd change dice again--and the table would heat up a lot.  

This kept happening.  I had been down a lot, but started playing "Don't" when they'd change dice after a nice roll, and "Do" when they changed dice after a lot of people left.

The pit boss had a tough choice, I guess--leave the table open and I might get even, or close the table.  He chose to  keep it open.  I played until I got even, then smiled, tipped, and played blackjack the small amount of time I played the rest of the cruise.

Now I'm not saying the dice had been tampered with in any way, but...

Question of the Day - 06 January 2023

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