Online Baccarat

Musings on baccarat

Baccarat is James Bond's favorite casino game, though he is not as real as some of the people who have enjoyed colorful adventures beyond the velvet ropes. Nicholas Zographos, for example, who lived from1886 to1953 was a professional gambler who left an estate of $14,000,000, of which every last cent was won through Baccarat.

In the movie "The Color of Money," Paul Newman's character says "A dollar won is twice as sweet as a dollar earned." It logically follows that a dollar lost is twice as sour as the won dollar is sweet.

Consider the case of the Australian billionaire media mogul Kerry Packer.

He was famed for tipping in the six figure range when he was having lucky streaks. However, just prior to the 9/11 attacks, Packer arrived in Vegas ticked off because on his previous trip there he had lost $20 million and somebody leaked word to Australian and British media. He insisted that all people dealing with him in the casinos sign non-disclosure agreements. A Bellagio employee reported that he refused to tip dealers during his two weeks of play, though he had no proof any of them had leaked the information.

Despite the non-disclosure agreements, word leaked out that during his Vegas stay of September 2001, he was playing Baccarat at as much as $150,000 per hand and taking the occasional break to play blackjack. Another tidbit leaked to the press at the time was that he had lost $29 million.

Of course, what's so lovely about being a billionaire is that you can lose $29 million one night and still wake up rich in the morning.