If there is one thing that the Chinese New Year is doing for casinos, it’s flocking the baccarat gambling tables with high-rolling Asian tourists. Naturally, meaning a major financial boon for the city. Blackjack used to be the game people ambushed. “Used to” being the operative part of that sentence. But now, “Baccarat has easily surpassed blackjack in terms of casino revenue in Las Vegas and now represents nearly 60 percent of the MGM Grand’s table games revenue over the past year,” according to an Associated Press report released today.
In fact, Debra Nutton – who is the senior vice president of casino operations at the MGM Grand hotel-casino – takes the baccarat importance claim even further. “For us to make money in gaming today without baccarat is almost impossible,” she said. “We need the big whales to make money.” I too have just learned that “whales” are apparently casino jargon. Here is what a true “whale” is according to The Vegas Strip as told by the AP. “A ‘whale’ is a big-time gambler who easily wagers more in one night at the tables than most American families make in a year. Casinos cater to them with plush, secluded gambling salons inside the top casinos – with baccarat games that often start out at a minimum $10,000 per hand. The whales typically favor baccarat – a game romanticized in James Bond flicks and highly popular in Macau and Singapore.”
Okay… so what is this whole baccarat game they speak of? First, a little history. The game – which has a very simple concept – is speculated to have been introduced to the French from the Italians sometime during the reign of King Charles VII who ruled from 1483-1498. Dynamite…So how do you win? All it is, is a comparison game. Whoever has the better hand – the player or the banker – wins the round. That’s it. P.S. I understand we started referring to them as bankers right around the time drug dealers felt they were encroaching their turf. But when you think about it… if a gambling addict joins a table… I guess the term “dealer” now seems quite fitting. Whatever… moving on.
UCLA Gambling Studies co-director Tim Fong explains to us why the Asian tourists celebrating the Chinese New Year in Vegas are crashing the casino tables even more than their rental cars. (Insert laugh break here) “Several cultural factors among Asians combine to encourage gambling, especially during the holiday,” he says. “Generations of Chinese citizens, for example, accept gambling in society and also strongly value notions of luck and predetermined destiny. There’s a lot of value placed on if you do and win really well … then you’re going to have a great year.”
Interesting stuff. But I hope it isn’t all true. Because I bet myself I had ice for drinks New Year’s eve and was wrong. Does that mean my 2012 is going to suck? Here’s what I took away from this report… When it comes to gambling, I’m no whale! I’m more of a dolphin at best.
