http://brokopp.casinocitytimes.com/articles/600.html

Wow check out what this guy says about the Ocean Players' Club on Carnivale ships.

"The only example of a cruise line casino player's club made me laugh. It was Carnival's "Ocean Players Club." The good news is that the program affords the opportunity for frequent casino guests to accumulate points based on play. The points are redeemable for future cruises, cash, and/or discounts. The bad news is that in order to qualify for membership a player must maintain a minimum bet of $25 or more and play for a minimum of two hours per day! It is further noted that failure to meet the requirements results in no ratings for the trip. A six-day cruise, therefore, would require the passenger to play for 12 hours while making bets of $25 or more.

So flexible and unregulated are onboard casino operations that there's a note stating the maximum bet in the casino is $300, but that higher bets must be requested prior to sailing and approved by the casino director. It's as if they get to write their own rules, a very dangerous aspect of gambling in unregulated, international waters.

Is it all worth it? Say, for example, you play blackjack for 12 hours at $25 per hand. If there is a hand dealt every two minutes, that's $750 at risk per hour or $9,000 at risk over 12 hours. Not only that, are the blackjack rules in effect favorable to players? Are there multiple decks and restrictions on splitting and doubling down? If there are, the price you pay for playing is too great to justify any rewards you may receive.

Can you imagine any casino the Chicago-area, or the entire country for that matter, restricting membership to players who make average bets of $25?"

Higher bets than $300 required approval prior to sailing?