I think our best option here would be to revert back to the original way VMK did things. You pay 10 credits to ride, have the chance at getting a SIT, and can pull a sword for a chance at a large pool of prizes that only changes every few months.
old vmk's way was pretty effective, though. wasn't there also an increased chance of sits? also more time to get the pins instead of rapidly changing.
sidenote: didnt the newer version of pirates cost 10 creds to play as well? or is my memory serving me wrong?