If you’ve never done a slot tournament, this can be a foreign thing. So let’s take advantage of today’s question to dive into the particulars:
So the wife and I are going on a Carnival cruise. I did play some slots on the previous one and they gave me a free entry into the slots tournament they’ll be hosting? What exactly goes on in a slot tournament? Do you play with your own money?
John G.
A slot tournament is a way for a casino to offer a promotional opportunity to win prizes, while also allowing a bit of a competition to emerge. Let’s go through each part of the process.
Registration
Some slot tournaments will have free entry for showing up. Some are invited, some are open to all. Some will have a registration fee (and invited guests may see that fee waived as part of a casino offer). Some casinos even offer play to earn opportunities, where if you earn a certain number of tier credits you get a free entry.
In the case of John’s scenario, it’s an invitation, so no money is needed to enter, so it’s free to play and you have the chance to win a prize!
Participation
Slot Tournaments are not played with actual money – the machines are in tournament mode, so you’re playing with and for points and the goal (usually) is to get as high a score you can in a certain window of time.
You’ll either be assigned a time or wait your turn to proceed, and will be assigned a machine to play at when it’s your turn.
How It Works
The structure of a slot tournament will vary. Sometimes it’s a single round, and the highest scores win. Sometimes you do multiple rounds, and your score is added up, or the lowest score dropped, or there’s extra chances to play for a fee. Some tournaments happen in a day, and some can even take place across multiple days.
As such, you can always ask them for clarity about how this particular tournament works. It helps to get a bit of info so you know what the goals are, and how much time you’ll be investing to participate.
Everyone gets the same amount of time in a round to spin, and that random number generator is at work here as well, so you could do well or not based on what spins come up. You’re going to be slapping that spin button as much as you can. It can last a couple of minutes or be even longer (usually no more than 10 minutes though). So pace yourself, switch up your hands, and do your best!
On some tournaments there’s also other objects that can pop up on the screen for extra points; they’ll instruct you about that if your particular tournament has that element. In those situations both hands will be busy.
Prize Structure
Some have simple, top scorers win structures. Others may have more complex structures with bigger and smaller prizes littered throughout the rankings. You generally won’t know how you did until the end, unless it’s a mult-round one and you’ve been eliminated, or got too low a score to rank in the top tier and that’s the prize structure.
Prizes can include cash, free play or physical gifts. Casinos play with various concepts to keep the tournaments engaging and interesting. In some, only a handful win – in others, everybody gets something. Knowing that prize structure can also help players determine whether they want to take part.
Takeaway
Slot tournaments can be a fun diversion so it’s not all about spending money. And, if your luck is with you, it could even yield a generous prize!
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