Lido Loop Podcast
Lido Loop is a podcast dedicated to the joy of cruising and theme parks, hosted by Jack and Jesse, blending travel insight, industry news, and personal stories to inspire your next adventure.
Lido Loop Podcast
The Lido Loop: Maximizing Your Casino Experience on Land & Sea
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Welcome back to Lido Loop! In this May 9, 2026 episode, we’re covering the latest theme park and cruise news making waves across the industry.
This week in cruise news, Carnival Cruise Line guests will soon need to sign up for a brand-new rewards program, Disney Cruise Line faces headlines after a cruise was canceled after passengers had already boarded, and Royal Caribbean has revealed fresh details about its next class of ships. Plus, if you’re sailing to the Bahamas, there’s an important alcohol policy change taking effect May 12 you’ll want to know before your trip.
On the theme park side, Universal is reportedly planning to close the fan favorite Mythos Restaurant and the iconic talking fountain in 2027, while SeaWorld Orlando is expanding its Electric Ocean summer event with even more entertainment, including a brand-new drone show lighting up the night sky. Over at Magic Kingdom, Big Thunder Mountain is back open and the park is running at full capacity for the first time in forever.
We also break down the legendary “Maddie Method” for casino survival at sea:
Money: Bring cash.
Attitude: Stay positive, you are here for fun not to get rich.
Don't gamble money you can’t afford to lose.
Double down on 11.
If the machine feels hot, invest those winnings.
Every spin could be a winner.
Grab your sunscreen, charge your SeaPass card, and join us for another lap around the Lido Deck on Lido Loop.
Welcome to this week's episode of the Leto Loop. I'm your host, Jack McCraw. With me as always, my good friend, Jesse Barboza. How are we doing today? I'm doing good. How are you dealing with the spirit being shut down? Man, I've been looking all over the internet for good flights and hopefully the deals start coming back. But you know, rest in peace, Spirit. It's now been two weeks since our favorite airline has been gone. So rest in peace. But in more positive news, Jesse, tell us what's the latest and greatest in the cruise side of things.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so uh Carnival guests, they must sign up for this new rewards program. We'll have a little bit more details on that later in the show. Uh and a Disney cruise gets canceled after guests have already boarded the ship. And Royal Caribbean releases new news about the next class of ships that will be out. And how on May 12th you will not be able to get alcohol in the Bahamas.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, let's all avoid the Bahamas on May 12th. Unless you don't drink, then you know, by all means go for it. And on the theme park side of things, Universal has officially announced a closure date for the Lost Continent section, meaning the most popular restaurant at Islands of Adventures will be closing soon, along with a very popular and underrated attraction. SeaWorld is also announcing a brand new nighttime show that has us debating whether it's worth it to stay at SeaWorld from open to close with this new show. And finally, Magic Kingdom just reopened Big Thunder Mountain and now is running at 100% capacity, and they're expanding. So a lot of good stuff is happening over at Magic Kingdom. And to wrap up the show, Jessie and I break down the best tips and tricks for going to the casino, whether on land or at sea, with some expert advice from one of our most famous listeners. That much more on this week's episode of The Lido Loop. So kicking off the show, like we always do, we like to talk about the latest and greatest in the cruise world. And of course, our favorite cruise line, Carnival, is at front and center with their new rewards program where guests must sign up for a new rewards program. Jesse, you want to tell us a little bit about that?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so uh for those who don't know, Carnival is switching over from a loyalty program to a rewards program. So instead of days at sea, it's becoming the amount of money you spend, kind of like what airlines do. Um or casinos do. Yeah, exactly. Just could just like that. So, but in order to opt in so you can move your like your days or your your status. So if you're gold or platinum or diamond, you have to opt into that so that it transfers over to the new program. You have to do that by September 1st. Um there's a couple ways you can do it. If you actually have the Carnival MasterCard, which I actually do, uh you're automatically enrolled into it. Or you should get an email, or you can go to carnival.com and then the first thing after you sign in, the first thing it'll pop up. That happened with you, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, because I had to opt in right before the show because you know we discussed this off air. Uh, there's a little option in the rewards uh loyalty program where it says opt-in, and it's very simple. You just type in your VIFP number. If you don't know that, chances are you've gotten an email from Carnival and it'll be on the email. That's how I found mine, and you just need your date of birth and email address, and then they'll have to verify it. Once they verify it, then you just opt into it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I did hear some stories of some people who who they don't agree with it because the option is I agree. That's what it says. Uh so a lot of people are saying they're trying to create this movement of people not wanting to agree, and maybe they'll go back to the old program. I don't know what you think.
SPEAKER_01But that sounds like if you like don't read the terms and conditions, it's like, oh, you have to hit agree in order to proceed. Um I it felt like the old reward system was a little bit better, you know, especially this definitely seems like more of a pay-to-play model, which that's the standard, like you said earlier, for airlines, casinos, and just most loyalty programs in general. Heck, even fast food is like the more money you spend, the more rewards you get. So it's almost as if Carnival is kind of catching up with the trend of the times. But yeah, it was more simpler when it was the more cruises you go on, the more rewards you get.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and I I think other cruise lines are gonna actually benefit from this at first because I I know a lot of people are trying to switch or switch it over to other cruise lines now because they can't afford to maintain their status uh so that they just well like me. I'm I was the only I was a a strict Carnival only. But then once they changed that program, I was like, well, why am I gonna be loyal to one when they they're not loyal to me?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, no, I completely agree. And you know, I heard the next uh ship you might not be able to go on, though, is Disney, not only because Disney's expensive, but now they're kicking guests off as they are already boarded. Can you tell us a little bit what happened with that story, Jesse?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so the Disney Adventure, which is uh sells out of Singapore, guests started boarding the ship like normal, and then apparently they had a technical issue able to leave the port. So they actually had a note that they sent out to all the guests, and they actually went in on the intercom and said the same thing. The note says says, We are truly sorry to let you know that we are unable to proceed with your Disney adventure experience from May 7th through 11th of 2026 as planned. We fully understand how upsetting and disappointing this news is and realize this is not the experience you were looking for. So I don't know, what do you think, Jack? What do you think of that?
SPEAKER_01I mean, I would be really upset if I wasn't able to, you know, proceed with the cruise ship. And you would have to think that they do all these testings way before they start letting guests on and off the ships. Now, sometimes I get it, you have guests come on, then you have to, you know, test it and then get the next guest on. But I mean, imagine if you took a trip all the way to Singapore to go on a Disney cruise line, or just even someone that lives in Asia had to travel over there, or people live in Singapore. They're kind of stuck now. And I know that Disney, you we kind of got into it off air, but correct me if I'm wrong, they're offering some sort of compensation for this you know cancellation, correct?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so they they were given a hundred percent refund, which everyone should expect that at least bare minimum. But they also give them a 50% future cruise credit, which is good. So that means if you spent $10,000 on a Disney cruise, which you probably sounds right. You spent $10,000, they're gonna give you $5,000 for towards another cruise, which is that's that's great. They also were gonna pay for a hotel, and they also are gonna play pay for flight changes and stuff like that. So it it's I feel like it's good compensation, but it would suck flying there and not be able to go on the cruise that you wanted to.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, especially if you're like an international, you know, person going to all the way to Singapore in order to go on this cruise ship. It seems like crazy that that shouldn't happen in today's world where there's so much technology and information as to what is going on with the ship. I mean, it must have had some major mechanical malfunction.
SPEAKER_00The crazy thing is this is Disney's newest ship. So, so I I mean, of course, I mean I guess anything could happen in even new ships. But you gotta realize that a lot of these cruise ships, they go for a couple years before they even get a dry dock. They just go back to back to back to back to back sailings. There's like no time in in between. The only time to do maintenance is while guests are on board. So so if there's something major, they the only thing they can do is cancel sellings.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and like like we said, luckily these guests were, you know, fairly compensated, but that's still so disappointing. Hey, you know, instead of giving their money to Disney for the cruise ship, they should just go to Universal Studios in Singapore instead and fund that fund Universal instead. And so another new cruise ship news is that Royal Caribbean has released more news about their next class of ships, Jesse. Won't you tell us a little bit about that?
SPEAKER_00Yes, so I know in last episode we talked about uh Royal Caribbean uh ordering two more icon class ships, which is six number six and number seven, which is Royal Caribbean has will have seven of the largest cruise ships in the world, which is I still think that's crazy. But instead of getting big bigger, this time they're get actually getting smaller. Um which the new class is gonna be called the Discovery class. It's their first brand new class concept since a massively successful icon class, of course. Um is supposed to come out in 2029. A second ship is already planned for 20 uh 32. Uh but they also have options for four more ships afterwards. Um these ships are gonna be smaller than icon and the oasis class. Um they're gonna be built for more unique destinations, so they're probably gonna be more for like um longer trips and like journey cruises, stuff like that. Uh but I definitely think that this is gonna help them for an aging fleet. I know the average life of a cruise ship is 30 years, and Rural Caribbean definitely has a couple of ships that are hitting getting close to that mark. So maybe the discovery class is gonna make other ships retire.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and I think that's a good thing because you know you see these ships getting bigger and bigger and bigger, and I understand the concept of building these massive ships so they can bring more and more people on and maximize their profits. So it is kind of refreshing that they can go, you know, have a second kind of fleet to go to you know longer destinations or be more accessible to ports, because you know, you and I have had conversations previously about even certain ports in America, like New Orleans and Tampa, where some of these massive ships can't go to. Do you think that's a good benefit to have some of these more accessible ships, Jesse, that they can go to not only these more destinations, but be more accessible to some of these cruise ports as well?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, absolutely. Especially because all the competition out there, like Carnival, uh Norwegian, and MSE, they're all just creating these big ships. So I it seems like no one's gotten aboard with replacing their aging fleet. So they may be the only ones in 30 years from now that can still go to these ports because they got the newest ships that can still fit in these.
SPEAKER_01I mean, it it definitely seems like they could have the market share for you know that mid-size ship, I guess is a good way to call it. And, you know, certainly other cruise lines that could build towards that, like Margaritaville is someone we've talked about previously, where you know they tend to have smaller ships so they could get there as well.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, but they they they they still haven't yet to build a ship. They've always bought a ship from like an another cruise line, like uh, I think one of the ships is from Costa. Uh so so they their their ship is already old, and then then then they just redo the interior and then they rebranded to the Margaritaville, yeah. Exactly. Yeah, so they're it I think it's they're still probably 10 years away from actually building their own ship, to be honest. And hopefully that they get a little bit better before they do that, though.
SPEAKER_01But yeah, going back to the point of you know having the more smaller ships, you know, I feel like Royal Caribbean set the standard for the icon class, you know, with it being the biggest ship, and now they want to go smaller. Do you think that could be a trend that other cruise lines follow as well? Like, hey, just because we're building bigger and bigger to compete with Royal, now we can build smaller to compete with him as well.
SPEAKER_00Uh yeah, uh it definitely is an option, but I don't see that happening right now, honestly. You know, with with like Carnival, of course, they got the Tropical and and the Festival, which is coming out uh next year. Uh, and then they got that Project Ace, which we talked about last show, which is will be even bigger than all of the in all the ships in the XL class. Um so every single time Carnival releases new news, it seems like it's just bigger. Oh we're oh you we're gonna get bigger and bigger, bigger, bigger. But eventually they they gotta get smaller.
SPEAKER_01Hey, as long as they can still go to the Bahamas, but apparently on May twelfth, not many people are going to be going to the Bahamas because I hear you can't buy alcohol that day, Jesse. Do you want to explain to us as to why that is?
SPEAKER_00Yes, so in the Bahamas, which is on May 12th, there's gonna be a it's election day for them. And apparently there's a law that says they're not allowed to sell alcohol between 8 a.m. to six p.m. I mean some of the areas affected, which are big cruise ports are Nassau, Freeport, and even the private islands like Perfect Day at Coco K, Roll Beach, uh Paradise Island, Castaway K or Key, however you want to call it. Uh Lookout K at Lighthouse Point. Uh there's a lot of people that are frustrated because if you're going to a private island, you're one what's one thing you want to do on the island?
SPEAKER_01Drink on the island, of course.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, exactly. If you're going to a swim out bar, but you can't serve get served.
SPEAKER_01You're gonna get Dr. Pepper, hopefully, instead?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so actually a lot of these cruise lines have actually try to make a point where they like flip ports around. So instead of going to Bahamas, they may go somewhere else first, so that the next day, so it'd be like May 12th or May 11th or May 13th, they're actually going to Bahamas instead.
SPEAKER_01Not cruise related, but you know, it kind of is funny that they don't sell alcohol on election day because I guess they don't want to impair people's judgment as far as who they're voting for. I'm assuming that's the reason as to why they're not selling alcohol that day, or maybe it's just a national holiday for them.
SPEAKER_00I'm not sure, but yeah, that's the reason. They don't want to impair people. But uh the good news is you can still buy and drink alcohol while you're on the ship. You just can't buy it ashore. Um so let's just I a lot of people didn't realize this because they actually had like a pre-election, I guess it's kind of like the uh like the preliminaries? Yeah, kind of like preliminaries, I guess, on May the 5th, and I guess the cruise lines were unaware of it too, because they sold drink packages for like on the island, and when they went to go use them, they said, Oh yeah, everything shut down. So Royal Caribbean had to like give them a refund for all the drinks that they were supposedly supposed to buy, but it didn't.
SPEAKER_01I would just, you know, say, you know what? Why don't you add that to the back end of my ship? That double my drink, uh my drink limit on the boat. How about that? I think that's a pretty fair even trade.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, uh well, actually, Royal Caribbean doesn't even have a drink limit, unlike Carnival.
SPEAKER_01So what you're saying is you need to go to Royal Caribbean now instead. Take notes, Carnival. I've never personally been maxed out of my drink limit. I know people that have, but I mean it's crazy work to you know get 15 drinks in, and I've seen people get you know carted out by noon. That's when you know that you maybe the drinking you need to have more than one drinking plan. I switching over to the theme park side of things, Universal has announced that 2027 will officially be the year that the Lost Continent is closing down permanently and they're going to demolish all of their existing attractions. Now, the Voyage of Sinbad has been closed since 2018, and Poseidon's Fury, the only two attractions in the land, are have both been closed for some time, and Poseidon's Fury closed in 2023. So it's kind of been a dormant, you know, land to begin with, but now they're officially bulldozing the entire area, including Mythos, which is arguably one of, if not the best theme park restaurants in all of North America, and of course, your favorite, the magic talking fountain, Jesse. Do you have some fond memories with that attraction?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, of course. Uh I know we went and back in October last year, and I didn't realize I didn't realize it was there because this was the first time I went to Universal, and um I just remember a lot of people walking by and no one really noticed that it was really there. I think we just happened, I think we went and got some food right next door, and we we just heart saw someone talking, and then I was like, oh, that's pretty cool. And then we went over there and I know you said something. What'd you say to them?
SPEAKER_01I was actually asking him to debate the Michael Jordan versus LeBron James goat argument, and he made a pretty good point for uh Michael Jordan. So the all-knowing fountain says Michael Jordan's better than LeBron. I mean, you can't argue with that. Yeah, and how old did he say he was? Uh something about like 10,000 plus years. He was, you know, definitely sometime in the BC era. So it's definitely one of those attractions that you walk past, but I actually saw it on TikTok where people were interacting with it, and sometimes it'll splash people. So, you know, of course, there's someone who's like standing, you know, some control room looking over and they have a microphone where they can say everything. It's definitely one of those really fun, underrated attractions that you know it's sad to see go, but I mean there is talks about them potentially saving this attraction and maybe moving it to another, they could re-theme it to Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, King Kong, you know, uh Toon Lagoon, Marvel, or Dr. Seuss, or whatever this new area they're gonna build, whether it be, you know, we've talked about Pokemon One Piece, Wicked. You know, it could be re-themed to fit the area, but the most common thing I'm hearing is that they could move it to the front of the park. That way they have you it's more on display instead of in some side area. Do you agree with that?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I d I definitely think so. I think a lot more people will see it and take more pictures and video right next to it while it's talking.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's getting a lot of trend on social media, so I think that they're gonna keep it, but you know, that whole area, I mean, it's gonna be a brand new land that's gonna be built. I mean, we're probably looking at 2029 at the earliest when this land opens, probably closer into 2030. I mean, it is good to see though Universal is continuously investing in in these, you know, attractions and you know trying to keep the park relevant. I mean, we we've been to that like Toon Lagoon area, you know. They that's probably gonna be next where they have uh rides to Popeye and Dudley Dew, right? I mean, when's the last time anyone's talked about Dudley Dew, right? Besides in the theme park side of things.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01Um, so when is this supposed to happen? So it'll close officially in 2027. A official date has not been announced, but it's to be expected that it'll be January. Yeah, that kind of makes sense. It's kind of their off season, so yeah, because I mean you do want to have a little bit of capacity during the the with the Christmas time. And you know, Universal definitely gets more of a I don't want to say that less operations, but like the water rides close. And that this is the time they do maintenance and like Jurassic Park, you know, is already down right now, but you know, that usually closes sometime in the winter as well.
SPEAKER_00So uh so what's going on with SeaWorld and this new drone show?
SPEAKER_01So for this summer, SeaWorld is going to feature some high-energy nighttime spectaculars highlighted by a brand new drone show that's gonna feature you know the drones forming to different aquatic animals. I've seen sharks, dolphins, and of course killer whales, with that being their main mascot. Uh, the event's also gonna include DJs, dance parties, illuminated atmosphere entertainment, and you know, an upgrade uh what they say updated nighttime animal presentation. So are the whales gonna perform at night? I probably not, but they probably might have a little bit more animal encounters as they do. And this kind of wanted me to you know bring up a point of you and I have done a park open to close, but with SeaWorld adding this, would that in would that incentivize you to want to stay to SeaWorld later? Or are nighttime shows not something that you particularly like?
SPEAKER_00Um now like if I've been it depends, I guess, time of year, because I guess if I'm out in the middle of summer, I'm definitely don't think I'm gonna do you know rope, you know, rope drop to watching this drone show. To me, that's a long time, honestly. That would be probably like 10 hours at least. At least, yes. So, I mean, I've me personally I've never seen a drone show. I have seen some videos, I'm sure you have too. It seems like they're always like in China or something like that. They got the best drone shows every year.
SPEAKER_01I saw one in Vegas when the Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup. This is a few years ago, but it wasn't even like there's a big presentation, they just had them floating in the air. So, I mean, I yes, I've seen them and they're kind of cool. I but I kind of like your point of it depends on how when you go. Because you know, you and I we've done rope drop to close at Fiesta Texas back when they did have nighttime shows and fireworks, and I personally have done Magic Kingdom open to close in Hollywood Studios. So for Disney, I think it's a worthwhile experience just because of the price you pay that you kind of want to get your money's worth. And if you do for uh park from open to close, you definitely get that money's worth as far as all the rides and then the shows aspect as well. With SeaWorld, I would be more I don't think you need to be at the park open to close, to be honest, because most of the time unless unless you're going on a weekend or holiday, you could probably knock out most of the rides within a two hour time frame. So, I mean it is cool that they are offering this, but at the same time, I don't think I would stay at SeaWorld from open to close for this specific reason. And uh the only park I really would stay rope drop to park close is Disney.
SPEAKER_00Well, speaking of Disney, uh I heard that uh Big Thunder Mountain has reopened.
SPEAKER_01Yes, as of May 3rd, Big Thunder Mountain officially reopened and was retracked and has new thematic elements. And uh more importantly, Magic Kingdom is now operating at 100% capacity, meaning every single ride is not scheduled to be down for maintenance. So would that make you want to change your mind if the kids say, hey, we can go to Magic Kingdom and Tron's open, Big Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, you know, Tiana's Bayou Adventure, Haunted Mansion. You should be able to ride all those rides. That that kind of that would at least put me as to want to go more now that everything's open, correct?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, exactly. If you're going, if you're going to Disney, you want the full experience what you pay for. You don't want a ride to be shut down and you're having to be like like like many times we've been to a theme park, we're like, oh wow, the Iron Rattler's down, and like that's my favorite ride, FES Texas. So that would suck if you know if if a ride that you really wanted would be shut down.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, when we went to Busch Gardens, this was back in January, so you know, park had closure, maintenance dates. I understand in Office period, Shikra was actually down. Oh, that's right, I remember that. And that was, you know, one of my favorite riots because you know that was still it was still unique at the time that dive coasters weren't at every park, but now Dr. Diabolical is at Fiesta, Texas, and you like that roller coaster. Yeah, that's actually, yeah, that's one of my one of my favorites. It's probably the top two or three there. And of course, you know, when Tormenta finally opens at six flags over Texas, we're definitely gonna review that because that's gonna be the world's tallest dive coaster. But besides theme parks, we Jess and I have been, you know, dying to go back to the casino as well. And so we actually asked one of our you know good friends and longtime listeners, Maddie, to come on the show because you know she is the casino expert to talk about tips and tricks for you know not only maintain maximizing your fund at the casino, but also the best rewards programs. She unfortunately couldn't be here because she was already at the casino and you know couldn't be bothered to leave you know Huff and Puff. But we did come up with a good way to maximize your time at the casinos that we call the Maddie method. What is that, Jesse?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so the first thing is money, bring cash. Don't be trying to like go to the ATM. Sometimes the fees are ridiculous. I think what was it at uh LaBurge when we went?
SPEAKER_01It was ten dollars. And you know, that adds up over time because your brother actually took cash out, I think, twice whenever he was down in blackjack.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so it's a lot better just to bring cash ahead of time, uh, so you have to worry about charging your room. Or I know some uh cruise lines actually like um they actually like charge a fee when you charge your room. So for A, uh just come with a good attitude. Like don't exp don't come in there with a bad attitude, like expecting to win a ton of money, but don't also don't cut yourself short either. Um another is the for D is don't g gamble any money you can't afford to lose. Um yeah, you definitely don't if you're gambling your mortgage payment, that's definitely not good.
SPEAKER_01Besides those like fun YouTube clips that you see about guys betting $10,000, that's probably not recommended if $10,000 is not in your budget.
SPEAKER_00Yep, and uh for the next D is if you are playing blackjack, you always double down on $11. Uh for I it's gonna be invest your winnings because sometimes the machine is hot.
SPEAKER_01You know, I have heard her say that. You know, you know, when the machine's paying, you can't leave.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, the machine's hot, it's hot. I've definitely heard her say, you know, she won in a bonus, and then the very next thing she's like, oh, the machine's hot. So she keeps pointing the play and usually lose the rest of her money. To quote the dad from the hangover, if you're on a heater, you never walk away from a heater. So for E, is uh every spin could be a winner. You never know. Uh there's been multiple times I've put like 50 cents a machine, like one ticket, and uh just to like clear it, and I hit the bonus. I think I won like $20 one time off of 50 cents. I was that's not bad. Um, but yeah, uh I'm I'm I wish she was here. Maybe next time she'll be here uh for the show.
SPEAKER_01Um for those keeping track at home, it's money, attitude, don't gamble any money you can't afford to lose, double down 11, invest your winnings because machine's hot, and every spin could be a winner. That is the Maddie method to maximizing your time at the casino. So now knowing this information, Jesse, what are some tips that you have for our audience when they do go to the casino? Like, are there certain games that you like to play? Are you more of a slots or a table person?
SPEAKER_00Um, I used to when I first started going to the casino, I was definitely more of a slot person because I didn't really didn't know table games that much. I still don't really know too many table games, but I mean at first my favorite game was probably Huff and Puff. I don't know what do you think? Is that you like that?
SPEAKER_01I don't particularly care for Huffin' Puff just because I personally never had that good of experience. My favorite have always been Dragon Link and, of course, Buffalo. Buffalo! That never gets old. But Buffalo has paid me pretty handsomely, and I like the some of the smaller minimums that you can because Dragonlink, you the minimum you can bet is 50 cents, and I've won $100 on a 50 cent bet. So the obviously the more money you spend, the more higher chances you have of actually getting a lot more money. Because I have a friend that go to Vegas with who he's you know won over a thousand dollars bet and five dollars.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I know, I know me and you we're kind of go back and forth on it. I know I usually hit like the two dollar bets, and I know you normally do the 50 cent bets. The reason I me personally I like the bigger bets is because if you a lot of times when you win the 50 cents, it's like $30 you want or something. You know, it's nothing crazy. And to me, it does doesn't seem appealing, I guess, enough.
SPEAKER_01It's worth it if you want to spend a lot of time at the casino or make your money go. Because I mean I've put a 20 in a you know Dragon Link machine and I've you know made it last like an hour or two. And of course there are other games that you can play to kind of maximize your fun. I don't know if this is on most cruise ships, but one of my new favorite games to play is uh Bubble Craps, where it's it's not as fun as actually going to the real craps table and meeting new friends. Because you know, I'm not saying I'm speaking from experience on the Carnival Glory or anything, but you know, bubble crabs is a what fun way to play craps and you can like just put the the coins all across the table. And it's fun when you keep winning, but as soon as that seven hits, you're out.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I'm definitely more of a you know blackjack now. It's just fun, especially when you got a dealer that's fun and entertaining while you're playing. I in a in a way, I really don't even care if I win, you know, because if I just have fun hanging out, you know, like when we went to LaBurge last time, it was fun just hanging out with you, Maddie, and my brother, brothers, two of my brothers.
SPEAKER_01Uh yeah, it was actually fun because they opened an entire table for us. We just saw some dealer standing next to it, and I just you went up and said, Hey, you're about to open this table? And it's like, how many of y'all? We said four, and they they just opened the table for us. We it a fun dealer definitely makes or breaks it. And I know when we were on the Carnival Glory, we did have some fun dealers too where they were encouraging us and wanting us to win. And that's one thing I'll say about Carnival, you know, table game staff is they're very, very friendly. Even if they flip over, you know, they flip over a jack, a three, and an eight, they'll still say, Oh, sorry, as they take, you know, $100 away.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Um, but one thing, one game which I think you know how to play that I wish I knew how to play because it always seemed exciting as crabs.
SPEAKER_01Yes, and that one you kind of have to teach yourself how to play or watch other people. It's one of the ones that I've you know had to study. And you know, I've played, you know, sparingly in Vegas. I remember winning $40, like, okay, I'm gonna cash out, but you know, you put your uh coins all throughout the table, and then when you actually get to be the dice roller, that is one of the most exhilarating things when you're at a casino. And you definitely do make some new friends at the craps table. Yeah, um, how about roulette? Do you like roulette? I'll play it, but it's not my favorite just because I do think it's dumb luck. I think it is a lot of fun seeing people, you know, spread their coins all over the table for that one just for the dealer to spin it. I feel like with craps, there is a little bit more skill involved because you know it depends on the dice roller. I mean, at the end of the day, these casino games are all kind of rigged so where the house wins or a house has at least a better advantage of winning, regardless of you know, if it's table games or slots. Uh to answer the question, Roulette, I'm hit or miss. I'll I'll play it for fun, but it's not my favorite.
SPEAKER_00I know um in Vegas, you know, you will get free drinks just by, you know, just by playing on the slap slots or playing at a table. Uh, it's not like that on the cruise ship, so you still have to pay for all your drinks. You don't get free drinks like that. Um, and Vegas actually did in a weird way gave me some liquid courage when I was playing roulette. Um, I definitely did a few hundred dollar uh bets, and luckily I hit every single one of them.
SPEAKER_01I was gonna say I I think you'll be having a whole different attitude. I I think you would never go to the casino again if you lost hundreds and hundreds of dollars when you were playing what was it? It was a machine roulette, it was an actual person too, correct?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it definitely wasn't a person, it was a machine roulette. Usually I don't like to talk to people, but for some reason, blackjack, I do.
SPEAKER_01I I guess they're a little bit more friendly at the you know blackjack tables than they are at the roulette tables. But kind of on a cruise perspective, Jesse, what are the best ways to get comps, rewards, or any kind of free play when you're gambling on a cruise ship?
SPEAKER_00So typically how it works on a cruise ship is whenever you put money in a machine, you also put your sell-in sign card or your room key into the slot machine too. That's how they track how much money you actually spend on the on the machine. It's all about and how you get rewards is all about how much money you cycle through the machine. So just because you won a hundred dollars doesn't mean you got a hundred points, you know. It's about what you cycle through. So even little even if you put you know, if you spend a hundred if you put a hundred dollar bill in there and you won twenty-five dollars here, you cycling that same money. As long as you cycle that same money through, you just keep getting points based on that. So if they start seeing you get a bunch of points, usually it starts at bare minimum a thousand points, which is you know, uh depends on the cruise line. You know, it could be two thousand dollars you spent or five hundred dollars, you know. Depends on the cruise line, of course. Uh a lot of times you can actually go talk to the host and say, Hey, I got this many points. Is it is there anything you can give me for free? A lot of times they'll give you like, you know, free specialty dining, or uh um they'll give you some free credit um or stuff like that. They usually do. Um sometimes the benefit may not be like apparent like right away. Sometimes it's from like whenever you you get off the ship and you go to book another cruise, they'll send you some cruise offers, which will be like drinks included in the casino. Sometimes there's drinks included um throughout the ship. Like this the selling in uh September when we're going on Jubilee, we actually got uh five hundred dollars onboard credit, which we just use that to pay for half our drink package, and we also got a discount on a cruise.
SPEAKER_01So it was Yeah, and if memory serves, you don't necessarily have to spend a ton of money to start getting seeing some of these rewards because I remember when we went on the cruise ship, you know, you definitely didn't spend, you know, thousands and thousands of dollars, and yet you're already receiving these different offers.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, exactly. I usually set a budget, usually I ain't gonna lie, it's for me and my wife is normally less than a thousand dollars. So we don't go a ton, but if we win, you know, great. If we lose, great. Like I said, we never spend any money that we can't afford to lose, so it's kind of like fun money that we we go on a cruise ship. We kind of expect to lose, so if we win, that's awesome. So I know the first time I was on Jubilee, I came up about like twelve hundred dollars ahead, which is probably the best best I've done in a casino.
SPEAKER_01You know, those casino trips are kind of fun on land and sea because it's almost like you're essentially paying back your vacation.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Uh, but one thing I did notice is that about casino, it's definitely more fun the more people you got there. It's just fun watching people, you know, win, your friends win, or they hit the bonus.
SPEAKER_01Um have you ever people watched and you see like people in the high limit rooms, or you know, there I remember with this one guy, I think we were on the the breeze at this point in time. He was doing you know, hundred dollar hands of blackjack, and of course he was doubling down and glory. That was the glory, you are right, you're right. Yeah, it's just fun to kind of watch some of those people like, man, I wish I could spend that kind of money.
SPEAKER_00And he was there every single night on the cruise ship. Like every single night we came, we went there two or three nights, and that he was there every single night. He he did not look happy either. He looked like he definitely lost a lot of money.
SPEAKER_01I I think the dealer pulled put a pulled a few 21s on him, which I don't blame him for. That's probably the worst feeling in the world when you go to the casino. Uh, another question I have for you is how would you say gambling and the rewards compare on sea than it does on land?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so honestly, land is definitely more about compting your room and stuff like that, which you still gotta pay with the resort fee, which is very similar to a cruise. It's very similar. Uh me personally, I mean, I love being on the sea, uh because to me, any day on the sea is better than being on land, me personally. Um I definitely think that the offers are better on the casino at sea, just because I don't know, I guess because it's smaller or they can offer more. I don't know. I don't know the exact reason why it's like that, but that's just my opinion.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I'm more familiar with you know rewards you get on land, so to say, because I'm you know, MGM rewards member in Vegas, you know, I definitely not a big time baller, but you know, I do get comp rooms with the exception of the resort fee. Most of my stays when I go to Excalibur or Luxor in Las Vegas, and you know, I'm working on the ones in Louisiana, but especially like MG MGM brand, which I can really speak on, they'll offer you more comps. Like even sometimes they've offered discounted, you know, Golden Knights tickets or they you know certain show tickets. Now they have an all-in offer, which that's to everybody, but also can be discounted for certain MGM rewards members. So it's definitely good to look and see which kind of comps that you could get when you're on land versus at sea, especially if you live close to a casino. I know you know we have people that listen in California, they probably can go to Vegas a little easier than we can now, especially without Spirit Airlines. So for us, you know, our main destination that we go to is Louisiana, which they have Caesars, and then of course, you know, LaBurge and Golden Nugget. Those are the three big casinos we go to. Uh, but you know, also planning a whole trip to Vegas is now essentially the same cost as going on a cruise ship. So wouldn't you rather just go on a cruise ship instead, Jesse?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, especially when you're when you got your food included and you have to worry about driving anywhere. Um your your hotel rooms with steps away. So so whenever you get hungry in the middle of the night, you just go down, go down to Pirate's Pizza and just pick up some pizza slices.
SPEAKER_01I was gonna say, yeah, those 24-hour places in Vegas are going away real quickly, and you know, it's so hard to go to Vegas now and not go anywhere that doesn't have like $25 cheeseburgers.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I think I I think I one time I went to a gas station and the water was like $8 or something. Remember, I don't know if you you saw that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and I'm sure that water is now $15 with inflation. So it Vegas has become incredibly expensive, and they are trying to bring people back in, but you know, you you've lost a lot of people's business, including mine, when you just start charging an arm and a leg for everything else when you don't necessarily have to. I mean, we went to Fat Burger, and you know, I it was only I think we did the math, it was only five bucks more to go to the buffet. At that point, I would have just had the buffet because I wouldn't have had a bad burger.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And and yeah, they definitely went away with the you know cheap, all-you-can-eat buffets, which were they were popular at the time, and but they're they're still there. They're ridiculously expensive, too.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I'm sorry, I'm not paying like almost $50 to go to an Excalibur buffet. I mean, at that point, I'd rather have the $25 cheeseburger, but you know, where they don't have $25 cheeseburgers and they still have all good buffets is cruise ships. Oh, yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_00Especially Carnival and Guys Burger. You definitely gotta like that. I mean, that is a great combo right there. But uh getting back on uh topic on the uh casinos and all that, uh table games are work a little bit differently with rewards uh than slots do. Typically, you have to give your card over to uh the um the host and then he kind of puts your information in. And he does it based on more like time that you're spent at the table. So it's kind of hard to track how much money you spend because they're not calculating how much you're betting. It's more just like if you're if you've been there three hours, I guarantee you they've uh taken a lot of your money, you know, that I guess statistically. Um and of course, you know, we're really big donors to the casino out there.
SPEAKER_01I would say that the best way to actually earn rewards is through slot machines because that tracks every single bet that you make, and if you're up in your bets, it'll increase your points. Whereas if you're at a table game, yeah, like you said, it's very hard to track the amount of money you spend because you you're using physical chips. Now, if you you can play blackjack roulette craps in a machine and it does the same thing, but I consider that more a quote slot machine than I do an actual table game. Now I know you said that you like table games a little bit more than slot machines, but do you have certain slot machines that you do like to play, Jesse?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, honestly, they are the definitely big ones. I definitely like you know Dragon Link. Uh I definitely like um Buffalo 2. I probably won more money on Buffalo than anything. I did hit really good on Huff and Puff, even though that's definitely a love and hate relationship. I know Maddie would agree with me too on that. Uh because I mean sometimes you'll spend you put two three hundred dollars in there and not get nothing, and then sometimes you put twenty dollars and hit get two bonuses within that time period. Uh so it's definitely a love and hate because and then sometimes the bonuses are so small it wasn't even worth the bonus, honestly.
SPEAKER_01Don't you hate whenever you're doing a smaller bet and they still have all the lights and the flashing and the animation, just so that way you won a $10 bonus.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I I still remember one time one of our friends uh they won like a less than a dollar on a bonus.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that was me, Jesse. Yeah. Uh oh, that was you. It was called Stinkin' Rich, and I think it was over in Louisiana. I got literally got a 50 cent bonus, and I immediately cashed out and said, I'm never playing this game again. And so for all you out there listening, do not play Stinkin' Rich or even Gamble in Louisiana. And that'll do it for this week's episode of The Leto Loop. As always, you can find our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, wherever you get your podcast. We do have a Facebook page. We are the Leto Loop, where we do post semi-weekly there. And then, of course, we do have the YouTube channel, which is the Leto Loop. And as always, I'm Jack. That's Jesse, and we will see you on the Lido deck or at the casino playing some Buffalo.