A Slot Pull is a fun activity for a group on a cruise – usually people who met through the online roll call or people who meet in person at the Meet & Greet. In a Slot Pull, a team of people invest equal amounts of money into a single slot machine, and each take an equal number of pulls. At the end, the money remaining in the machine is divided among the players.
This is usually held immediately after the Meet & Mingle, which is usually on the first Sea Day.
It’s a good diversion for those who are not serious gamblers, but want to try playing a slot machine, and want to see the people they’ve met onboard again. Because it’s limited, you can only lose your entry fee, which is usually minimal.
In a recent Slot Pull, 11 players each turned $15 into $14, and two or three of them walked away with a T-Shirt, zipper pulls or luggage tags from the Casino Manager. So, they basically each spent a dollar to hang out with each other for an hour and play slots. This is not a bad investment, in my mind. You probably will not become wealthy, but the most you can lose is $15.
Sample House Rules
- The organizer announces the Slot Pull location (I know,
in the casino, I meant the specific machine) and time at the
Meet & Greet.
- On Royal Caribbean, the organizer will often meet with the casino manager on the ship to set up the Slot Pull time and date, so that can’t be done until you’re on board. Also, it’s one more chance for people to decide to join in.
- Standard entry fee in $15 cash per player.
- On many $1 machines, this will give a player five pulls at maximum bet. The organizer (or their able assistant "Vanna") will collect money at the start of the Slot Pull and record the names of people participating. They will also be responsible for recording each win, so we can determine who the highest winner was.
- The organizer deposits all collected money in the machine before the Slot Pull begins.
- Once the money is in, the roster of players is frozen. No late entries.
- Each player takes five Max Bet spins.
- It’s easier to just take Max Bet than to have players play random amounts. This way, all bets are equal, and you know how many pulls each player can take.
- Players take turns in the order of registration, or as determined by the organizer. Organizers generally go last.
- After all players have taken their turn, the organizer
cashes out the machine and
heads for the bordersplits up the booty! - If the machine takes player cards (most do), the organizer's card goes in the machine. This is about the only perk for organizing the slot pull. This is a friendly game!
- Payouts are in round dollar amounts – the player with the largest win gets the change(*)
(*) For example, if 11 players end up with $158 on the machine after everyone has had their pulls, 10 players would get $14 each, the person with the largest win would get $18 (158/11 = 14, with 4 left over).
