Over the past year, Baccarat has passed up Blackjack in terms of table gaming revenue. It makes up almost 60% of the income from table games at the MGM Grand Casino.
It's been reported that before the Chinese New Year celebration started this week, "six high rollers sat down at the private baccarat tables one day at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and began throwing down wagers of $100,000 to $200,000 a hand. It was a scene hardly out of place these days in Sin City."
Big-time gamblers, primarily from Asia, are flocking to Las Vegas to play baccarat and providing a big lift to the overall bottom line of the city's casinos.
"For us to make money in gaming today without baccarat is almost impossible," said Debra Nutton, senior vice president of casino operations at the MGM Grand hotel-casino. "We need the big whales to make money."
The whales typically favor baccarat a game romanticized in James Bond flicks and highly popular in Macau and Singapore.
Nevada figures show that during the 12 months ending Nov. 30, casinos statewide won $1.27 billion from baccarat players, with the game offered at 258 total tables in 24 casinos. Blackjack, meanwhile, pulled in just $1.03 billion even though it was offered across 2,810 tables in 151 casinos.
