Jumping Overboard From a Cruise Ship to Avoid Paying Your $17K Casino Debt is Bold Strategy

Joe Raedle. Getty Images.

I personally have very limited experience on cruise ships. And even less experience in the casinos on cruise ships. The idea of paying exorbitant sums to go out to sea on a craft filled from bow to stern with amenities, only sit inside in a windowless room sort of defeats the purpose. I mean, I swung through the casino on the one cruise I ever went on without breaking stride because it didn't look one iota different than what you'd find in any other gaming establishment on land. To me, the only difference was we were in international waters, so there was no way of knowing whether an actual Gaming Commission was in charge of regulating these tables and machines. So I kept walking to the bar by the pool where the Limbo Contest was being held and drank myself senseless, like a real tourist. 

But to each, his own.  There's a why they make those boats the size of floating city blocks.  Some passengers want to get drunk. Some want to put on formalwear and have 4-star dinners at the Captain's table. Others are there for the shows. And based on what I witnessed, there are no shortage of people there for the slots, Roulette and Blackjack. If that's you, just grab your stack of chips with the understanding there's no getting out of paying what you owe at the end of the trip. Just as this guy:

Source -  A man accused of owing a cruise line nearly $17,000 in gambling debt allegedly jumped off a ship to avoid paying. 

 

Jey Gonzalez-Diaz, who was booked under the passenger name of "Jeremy Diaz," was detained … after he allegedly jumped off Royal Caribbean's Rhapsody of the Seas during disembarkation, according to a criminal complaint.

Security footage shows Gonzalez-Diaz being brought to shore by two passing Jet Skis. 

 

CBP officers said they found $14,600 in U.S. currency, one backpack, one handbag, two mobile devices and five identification documents in Gonzalez-Diaz's possession. 

When asked why he jumped off the ship, he allegedly told officers in Spanish, that he "did not want to report the currency on his possession because he thought he was going to be taxed duties for bring in the currency," the complaint states.

The cruise line told investigators that Gonzalez-Diaz "had a $16,710.24 debt" that "was almost exclusively associated to Casino and Gaming expenses." …

[W]hen Gonzalez-Diaz was asked by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents for his full name, he said, "If you guys were good at your job, you would know that." He then refused to speak with HSI agents further, prosecutors said. 

I can almost forgive Gonzalez-Diaz for trying to walk out on his gambling debt. I can possibly cut him some slack for making law enforcement put themselves at risk by having to fish his ass out of the drink. I could find it in my heart to overlook his sass at these HSI agents who were simply doing their jobs. 

What none of us should be able to forgive, or forget, is the fact he clearly had no plan here. I mean, if you're going to hit the casino on the ship, don't you think a few moves ahead? Are you going to hit on 14 when the dealer is showing a face card? If you don't get the card you're looking for on the Turn, are you staying in through the River? Are you going to stick with one number on the Big Six Wheel or switch it up? Jumping ship like this just feels like the ultimate hunch bet. A longshot that had no chance of doing anything but failing. 

After all, it's 2025. Meaning we're a good 40 years into the era where everything you do is charged to the card the ship has on file. Right down to your bar tabs and the tips, which they automatically include. Even if he managed to get away like DB Cooper, he's not walking away from the 17 grand he lost at the tables. It's not like Royal Caribbean was going to just waive the debt because he swam to shore. Gonzalez-Diaz was using analog thinking in a digital world.

So just take the L, there Jey. Suck it up. Be a man. This might not be the Old West, where they'd shoot you where you sat for trying to get out of a gambling debt and bury you on Boot Hill. It's a lot worse than that in so far as you could swim to shore, get away scot free, make it home safely, and you're still going to find that $16,710.24 on your statement. Plus a 20% gratuity charge on everything you ate, drank, purchased and probably lost at the casino. 

If you were good at your job, you would know that, (alleged) thief. 

Remember to gamble responsibly. 1-800-GAMBLER.