The Fortune's Casino aboard Celebrity's Millennium -- which we last visited three years ago -- has evolved considerably, and become a very inviting venue for the rapidly growing universe of cruisers who are higher-stakes VIP players.

When we sailed on Millennium in 2004, there was one blackjack table with a $25 minimum -- which was more than sufficient since only three players on the cruise wagered for stakes that high.

On this latest cruise, not only was there a busy $25/$500 table, but Fortune's Casino offered evening players a $50/$1,000 game and a $100/$2,000 game.

Toward the latter part of the cruise, both of the higher stakes blackjack tables were going strong at 2 in the morning.

We were told that on a cruise several weeks earlier, the casino opened a $500 minimum blackjack table to accommodate VIP players. And on this sailing, the Fortune's Casino even agreed to a "No Midshoe Entry" game at one of the higher-stakes blackjack tables -- a first in our experience on cruise ships.

Another strong positive for VIP players is the use of "shoes" -- rather than continuous shuffling machines -- for all blackjack games. A slight negative is that the house hits on "soft" 17.

Entering the casino from any direction, a player runs a gauntlet of slot machines before reaching the bank of 12 table games arrayed in the middle of the floor.

On this cruise, the slots were busy since Celebrity's Blue Chip Club -- the cruiseline's tracking program for VIP players -- was holding an invitational tournament for slots players from the line's various ships. The first prize winner sailed home with almost $8,000.

In addition to the multi-deck blackjack games, Fortune's Casino offered one single-deck blackjack table, one three-card poker, one Caribbean stud poker, two roulette tables and one craps table.

Off to one side of the table games was a Texas Hold 'em table -- an increasingly popular feature on ships today -- which stayed busy much of the cruise.

A strong point of every Celebrity casino, in our experience, is the dealers, who are among the most personable at sea. Casino supervisors were very attentive to Blue Chip Club members, and comped drinks were quick to appear for higher-stakes players.

The overall Celebrity cruise experience, for ships of this size, is in our view the best at sea. The service is great, the food is good, and the specialty restaurants are tops. For VIP players, the casino is now a winner as well.

--The Savvy Cruiser