Grand Casino on Star Princess

Grand Casino on Star Princess

A PARNAMI Cruise Page

After dinner each evening, passengers exiting the Portofino Dining room bound for the Princess Theater, Star's primary showroom, find themselves routed through the Grand Casino. Unlike as was the case on sister ship Grand Princess, the Casino on Star is quite lively, extolling an air of excitement intended to capture the fancy of passing passengers. Enroute to their intended destination, if they happen to become distracted, stopping to insert a coin or two, into one of the hundreds of machines, or at one of the nearly two dozen tables, well, that is all part of the design!!

Grand Casino exudes a fun, high energy design; one quite different from that I experienced on her earlier sister. Her machines include the latest designs, and range in value from $25 dollars all the way down to a selection of penny machines! Yep..I said PENNY!! On Star Princess, EVERYONE gets to play!

Twenty gaming tables give gamers a wide variety of avenues through which they can "lose" their money. Sure, the old staples are there, including the requisite Blackjack, of which there are 8 tables; Roulette - 2 tables; and, Craps - 1 table. But, Star Princess also provides gamers with some interesting variations of the old standbys:

3 Tables are designated for a game called Let It Ride, where players try to create the highest poker hand possible, using the three cards dealt them PLUS the two dealt to the dealer. Pay is given against an established payout schedule rather than to just the winning hand. In Let It Ride, each hand of at least 10's or better, receives back his original bets. Payback schedules are as follow:

10's or better - 1:1

Three of a Kind - 3:1

Full House - 11:1

Four of a Kind - 50:1

Straight Flush - 200:1

Royal Flush - 1000:1

Bonus bets make things yet more interesting increasing the payouts by up to 20,000 to 1. Yes...20,000!

2 tables are designated for another poker derivative, Caribbean Stud. With Caribbean Stud, 5 cards are dealt to each player, face down. Players, after looking at their hands, must decide to play or quit. Players wishing to continue indicate their intention by placing an additional bet of exactly twice their ante. Players not wishing to continue lose their ante.

The dealer's cards are dealt 4 faces down, 1 up. After completion of betting, dealer turns up his cards. Provided the dealer has a hand of at least an ace and king, play continues. If he has lower than a king/ace, the hand ends with even money payed on the ante, and nothing on the bet.

If the dealer's hands meet the minimum requirements, his hand is compared against that of each player, the higher hand winning. Winning hands receive even money on their ante plus a bonus according to the following schedule:

Three of a Kind - 3:1

Full House - 7:1

Four of a Kind - 20:1

Straight Flush - 50:1

Royal Flush - 100:1

A progressive super jackpot, with payouts paid from yet another schedule if available for players who have placed an additional $1. bet. Payouts range from $25 for a flush to 100% of the progressive meter, up to $12,000!

Caribbean Draw, with one table, is played similarly to regular draw poker, with the exception of a 2 card limit for replacement cards. After the original cards are drawn, the player must decide to play or fold. Play requires an additional bet equal to twice the ante, at which time the player may replace up to two of his original cards. Play is against the dealer who must have a pair of 8's or better. If the dealer fails to qualify, players remaining in the game receive even money on their antes. If the dealer does qualify, each hand is compared to his, and payment made to those beating him, according to a payment schedule similar to that used for Caribbean Stud.

Players may also contribute to a progressive jackpot with payouts based on the original hand drawn, before replacement cards are taken.

Spanish 21 is played at one table. Played similarly to Blackjack, except with a deck containing NO 10's, Spanish 21 is claimed to provide more excitement. Differences from ordinary blackjack include:

Player blackjack and 21 ALWAYS beats the dealer.

All pairs may be split creating up to 4 hands AND hitting and doubling of split hands is permitted.

Players may double down with two or MORE cards.

If after doubling down, players are NOT satisfied with their hands, they may "rescue" the doubled portion of the bet, forfeiting the original bet.

Bonus payouts come into play as follows:

5 card 21 pays 3:2

6 card 21 pays 2:1

7+ card 21 pays 3:1

6-7-8 mixed pays 3:2

6-7-8 suited pays 2:1

6-7-8 spaded pays 3:1

7-7-7 mixed pays 3-2

7-7-7 suited pays 2:1

7-7-7 spaded pays 3:1

A super bonus is paid to players holding suited 7-7-7 against any dealer up card of 7 according to the following schedule:

$1,000 for bets of between $5 and $24 and,

$5,000 for bets of $25 and greater.

ALL other betting players receive an "envy bonus" of $50!

Two other tables are designated for Three Card Poker play.

Princess has set the permissible passenger age to gamble in the Casino at 21.

Return to Star Princess: MS Star Princess

E-mail: PARNAMI@aol.com


	Grand Casino on Star Princess A PARNAMI Cruise Page After dinner each evening, passengers exiting the Portofino Dining room bound for the Princess Theater, Star's primary showroom, find themselves routed through the Grand Casino. Unlike as was the case on sister ship Grand Princess, the Casino on Star is quite lively, extolling an air of excitement intended to capture the fancy of passing passengers. Enroute to their intended destination, if they happen to become distracted, stopping to insert a coin or two, into one of the hundreds of machines, or at one of the nearly two dozen tables, well, that is all part of the design!! Grand Casino exudes a fun, high energy design; one quite different from that I experienced on her earlier sister. Her machines include the latest designs, and range in value from $25 dollars all the way down to a selection of penny machines! Yep..I said PENNY!! On Star Princess, EVERYONE gets to play! Twenty gaming tables give gamers a wide variety of avenues through which they can "lose" their money. Sure, the old staples are there, including the requisite Blackjack, of which there are 8 tables; Roulette - 2 tables; and, Craps - 1 table. But, Star Princess also provides gamers with some interesting variations of the old standbys: 3 Tables are designated for a game called Let It Ride, where players try to create the highest poker hand possible, using the three cards dealt them PLUS the two dealt to the dealer. Pay is given against an established payout schedule rather than to just the winning hand. In Let It Ride, each hand of at least 10's or better, receives back his original bets. Payback schedules are as follow: 10's or better - 1:1 Two Pairs - 2:1 Three of a Kind - 3:1 Straight - 5:1 Flush - 8:1 Full House - 11:1 Four of a Kind - 50:1 Straight Flush - 200:1 Royal Flush - 1000:1 Bonus bets make things yet more interesting increasing the payouts by up to 20,000 to 1. Yes...20,000! 2 tables are designated for another poker derivative, Caribbean Stud. With Caribbean Stud, 5 cards are dealt to each player, face down. Players, after looking at their hands, must decide to play or quit. Players wishing to continue indicate their intention by placing an additional bet of exactly twice their ante. Players not wishing to continue lose their ante. The dealer's cards are dealt 4 faces down, 1 up. After completion of betting, dealer turns up his cards. Provided the dealer has a hand of at least an ace and king, play continues. If he has lower than a king/ace, the hand ends with even money payed on the ante, and nothing on the bet. If the dealer's hands meet the minimum requirements, his hand is compared against that of each player, the higher hand winning. Winning hands receive even money on their ante plus a bonus according to the following schedule: One Pair - 1:1 Two Pairs - 2:1 Three of a Kind - 3:1 Straight - 4:1 Flush - 5:1 Full House - 7:1 Four of a Kind - 20:1 Straight Flush - 50:1 Royal Flush - 100:1 A progressive super jackpot, with payouts paid from yet another schedule if available for players who have placed an additional $1. bet. Payouts range from $25 for a flush to 100% of the progressive meter, up to $12,000! Caribbean Draw, with one table, is played similarly to regular draw poker, with the exception of a 2 card limit for replacement cards. After the original cards are drawn, the player must decide to play or fold. Play requires an additional bet equal to twice the ante, at which time the player may replace up to two of his original cards. Play is against the dealer who must have a pair of 8's or better. If the dealer fails to qualify, players remaining in the game receive even money on their antes. If the dealer does qualify, each hand is compared to his, and payment made to those beating him, according to a payment schedule similar to that used for Caribbean Stud. Players may also contribute to a progressive jackpot with payouts based on the original hand drawn, before replacement cards are taken. Spanish 21 is played at one table. Played similarly to Blackjack, except with a deck containing NO 10's, Spanish 21 is claimed to provide more excitement. Differences from ordinary blackjack include: Player blackjack and 21 ALWAYS beats the dealer. All pairs may be split creating up to 4 hands AND hitting and doubling of split hands is permitted. Players may double down with two or MORE cards. If after doubling down, players are NOT satisfied with their hands, they may "rescue" the doubled portion of the bet, forfeiting the original bet. Bonus payouts come into play as follows: 5 card 21 pays 3:2 6 card 21 pays 2:1 7+ card 21 pays 3:1 6-7-8 mixed pays 3:2 6-7-8 suited pays 2:1 6-7-8 spaded pays 3:1 7-7-7 mixed pays 3-2 7-7-7 suited pays 2:1 7-7-7 spaded pays 3:1 A super bonus is paid to players holding suited 7-7-7 against any dealer up card of 7 according to the following schedule: $1,000 for bets of between $5 and $24 and, $5,000 for bets of $25 and greater. ALL other betting players receive an "envy bonus" of $50! Two other tables are designated for Three Card Poker play. Princess has set the permissible passenger age to gamble in the Casino at 21. Copyright © 2002 Mel Litzenberger. All Rights Reserved Continue Tour: Shooters Sports Bar on Star Princess Reverse Tour: The Shops on Star Princess Return to Star Princess: MS Star Princess E-mail: PARNAMI@aol.com