The history of the casino game by the name of Baccarat is ripe with stories that are amazing to hear. Here are some of the most exciting stories linked to this popular card game that you’ll love to read!
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Baccarat and the Alligator
According to the magazine Las Vegas Style, a high roller walked into a casino quite a few years ago with a stuffed alligator. He placed his alligator next to him on the table to give him good luck. Each time that a hand was dealt he’d tap the cards against the rough skin on the stuffed alligator. This put very small indentations on the cards and he could see them when future hands were being dealt.
The casino security didn’t want to cause a big scene so they had a good looking woman arrive and take a seat beside him. She started to talk to him and they became friendly. At one point she started to rise from her seat and told the man that she was afraid of the alligator and wanted to leave. He got rid of the stuffed toy and they started chatting again.
While they were talking, the cards were changed and the dealer told the man that it was a new house policy to switch up all of the 8 decks at the start of every new shoe. That is how the policy for changing the decks came into effect at the casinos in Las Vegas.
Akio Kashiwagi – The Warrior
This is the story of Akio Kashiwagi who was a high roller back in 1990. At the time, he became involved in a baccarat battle with Donald Trump. This occurred at one of Trump’s properties in Atlantic City. The deal was made between the two players that Kashiwagi would have to put up $12 million during the session and he could only stop playing when he either lost all of the money or ended up doubling it.
There was one point during the marathon session when Kashiwagi was ahead by $7 million but then lady luck decided to abandoned him. The challenge was ended due to a credit dispute. This occurred before the money was doubled or lost by the man. In the end, the casino owned by Trump was ahead by $9 million. We are sure that at the time Mr. Kashiwagi had no idea that he was playing with a future president of the United States!
Raising the Limits
According to the Huntington Press, a gambler who was in Las Vegas asked officials at a casino if they could raise the maximum limit to $250,000 for each hand during a baccarat game. The officials agreed since the odds were on their side. If this man won only half of the bets the casino would stand to win a lot of money.
The gamer ended up having a lucky streak and by the end of the session he had $18 million in his pocket. This is one of the biggest wins in history for a casino in Las Vegas. On Wall Street, the stock of the casino plummeted the very next day. As fate would have it, however, the gambler did return to the casino to try his luck again on baccarat at and ended up losing a bundle. Easy come, easy go!
Interesting Facts about Baccarat
Aside from the stories, there are also many interesting facts surrounding the world of baccarat that you’ll find extremely interesting.
The House Favorite
are by far in favor of the house. Baccarat brings in more for the house than any of the other tables, which include:
- Craps
- Blackjack
- Roulette
- Sports book
- Others
In 2018, the net win by Nevada casinos for baccarat was $1.2 billion. This was followed by blackjack, which brought in a total of $1.1 billion. Craps was third in line and it only brought in about $386 million.
History of the Name
The actual name of Baccarat is Punto Banco. The version that was originally played was called baccarat banque, which uses the French version of the word “bank”. Designated players were able to be the bankers in the game and they collected money and handed out winnings to the other players. Baccarat banque became extremely popular across Europe in the 1700s. By the end of the 1800s, the game had evolved into a French offshoot of the original called “chemin de fer”.
Chemin de fer had a different set of rules. Players around the table would take turns in the game one after another. The risk was spread out this way. The game is still played in this manner by a number of people. The way you can tell that it is being played is you’ll see a shoe with multiple decks being passed around with the cards, and the cards are usually squeezed out slowly to raise the level of anticipation.
Punto Banco
In America, most gamblers are used to playing a version called mini-baccarat, which is also known as punto banco. In Havana, the capital of Cuba, punto banco was developed so that players using low stakes were able to play. Casinos were open in Havana before Castro’s revolution. The goal of the game was to streamline things and do away with the option for player banking. Instead, baccarat became more traditional and house banking became the norm.
Players were able to place bets against the house. Cards were handed out by dealers and there was no shoe passed around. The dealer also dealt the cards and he collected and paid out the money. This new baccarat gaming option started to be used in American casinos but the name was changed to mini baccarat. This is a standard form of baccarat that you would play at a casino today.
