High Rollers Bring Baccarat Boom to Vegas
- Baccarat Games
- Vegas Record
- Vegas Booming
A select group of players concentrated among a few Las Vegas casinos wagered an eye-popping $1.3 billion on baccarat games in December — a record for any single month in state history. Although most gambling games in Nevada are getting significantly less action in the recession, baccarat, a high roller game offered by 17 properties on and near the Strip, is booming.
Strip casinos won $155.7 million from baccarat players in December, surpassing previous records for revenue and wagering volume set in December 2007 at the tail end of the tourism boom. By comparison, the industry’s most popular games, slots and blackjack, have retreated to revenue levels seen in 2003-04. Decembers opening of MGM Mirage’s $8.5 billion City Center, a high-end complex anchored by the luxury, Aria was primarily responsible for the boost in baccarat play.
More than $42 million of the estimated $56 million in gambling revenue generated by Aria in the two weeks after its Dec. 16 opening came from baccarat, according to Las Vegas analysts Union Gaming Group and others that have examined state figures released this month. Read the rest of this article at the Las Vegas Sun.