Hard Rock Offers Baccarat and Pai Gow Poker for Asian Players

On March 10th, 2009, casino table games have attracted different kinds of visitors to the Seminole Hard Rock Casino and that includes a customer demographic that casinos covet-Asian players. Thomas Lim, a gaming expert on Asian players based in Las Vegas, Nevada said that Asian players have a really high gambling profile. During the Chinese New Year, paper lanterns featuring a Chinese script for "good luck" decorate Pai Gow poker tables at the Hard Rock casino.

The casino invited several hundred Asian customers to a New Year's dinner and give out red "lucky money" envelopes with new $5 bills. During the New Year celebrations, dancers in yellow dragon costumers entertained casino customers, accompanied by drums and a gong. Thirty two year old David Tran, who manages a nail salon in Fort Lauderdale and often wagers $300 per hand in the game of mini-baccarat, said that it is very nice that the casino celebrates the Chinese New Year and treats him right whenever he plays. A lot of Asian players love playing baccarat aside from Pai Gow poker.

Asian players comprise only two percent of the South Florida population, according to the US census, but at the mini-baccarat and Pai Gow poker tables, it is one hundred percent. Hard Rock casino officials said that most of the players are of Chinese and Vietnamese Origin. When the Hard Rock casino started offering blackjack last June 2008, it also started offering baccarat. Pai Gow poker combines dominoes and pokers, with gamers forming a pair of hands out of their 7 cards. The game of baccarat and mini-baccarat pit the gamers against the casino in an attempt to possess a total of nine with their card hand. Lim said that if casinos are trying to attract Asian players, these are the two games to place in.

The Hard Rock casino recently expanded their 4 mini-baccarat tables to 7 mini-baccarat tables, even though the required wager is at least $50. Mini-baccarat tables can accommodate 9 players, instead of the normal twelve players. The president of the South Florida chapter of the Organization of Chinese Americans, Winnie Tang stated that she, like many other Asian players, grew up playing these games, though not for money. Asian players are very comfortable with numerology behind casino games.

The Seminole casino also follow Asian taboos like baccarat tables do not have seat number four or fourteen and not touching a player on the shoulder. Seminole spokesperson Gary Bitner said that they have hired Chinese-American and Vietnamese-American hosts to make its customers more comfortable. About eighty percent of Las Vegas's biggest players or "whales" are Asians. Most baccarat enthusiasts are from China. A lot of gaming analyst believes that this casino practice will continue for many years to come.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Danny McCain