diff --git a/test/runtest.py b/test/runtest.py
index 469d21b77..598dceb21 100644
--- a/test/runtest.py
+++ b/test/runtest.py
@@ -788,7 +788,7 @@ class APITest(unittest.TestCase):
     def testMultipleWaitsAndGets(self):
         # It is important to use three workers here, so that the three tasks
         # launched in this experiment can run at the same time.
-        self.init_ray()
+        self.init_ray(num_cpus=3)
 
         @ray.remote
         def f(delay):