The casino was relatively crowded compared to the casinos we saw on the strip, and like everywhere on Macau the main game is Baccarat, a 50-50 game which requires no skill. We played a $200 minimum blackjack table. Blackjack - Minimum bet is $300. Sands Stud Poker - Normal Caribbean Stud Poker with an important side bet variation. Instead of the side bet only being $25, it starts from $50 and players can increase it further to $100, $150, $200 or $250 if they choose.
I do know that they denominate their chips in HK dollars (actually Macanese currency but it is pegged to HK$) and they would not advertise the fact, but I do know that Chinese gamblers wager for higher stakes than North American ones.
What are the typical table limits in the larger casinos of Macau? are they larger than the typical $10-$10,000 in larger LV casinos, or $5-$5,000 in smaller LV casinos?
While most casinos in Macau have HK$ 100 table game minimums, the minimums start at HK$ 50 at the President.
Link here
$1 USD = $7.76 HKD.
In Vegasthe following casinos will take a $10K bet on blackjack.
(1) Aria; Bellagio ; MGM Grand; Mirage
(2) Harrahs; Paris ; Planet Hollywood; Rio;
(3) Treasure Island
(4) Venetian; Palazzo
(5) Wynn; Encore
(6) Golden Nugget permits bets up to US$15K (a subtle distinction from US$10K which seems to be only for bragging rights)
(7) Ceasars has three tables that permit bets up to US$50K .
From the tourist guide below, blackjack is treated as a minor game in Macau and they don't want you to gamble more than US$100-$400 maximum. I am rather surprised by this low number. Even the casinos on Fremont street (except those that make less than $1million per month) will take bets as high as US$1000.
Macau is more fond of Cussec (a variation on Sic-Bo Boule) then they are of blackjack.
Baccarat is divided between normal baccarat and VIP baccarat. I assume that by mortal you mean regular baccarat.
From the tourist guide below , I would guess that regular baccarat would limit you to something like HK$10,000.
I found this blurb in a Macau tourist guide . Presumably the dollar amounts are Macau dollars.
# Blackjack
The casinos operate several kinds of Blackjack tables - some with minimum bets of $20 and others with minimum bets of $100. The maximum bet on any game is $1,000 or $3,000 depending on the table.
# Roulette
The roulette tables in Macau are similar to those found in casinos elsewhere in the world. The wheels in Macau carry only one zero.
The minimum bet on any roulette number is $1 and $5. Bets of a minimum of $20 may also be placed on quarter divisions of the wheel, with the exception of zero, which is held by the bank on such bets. Players are provided with a chart bearing a reproduction of the wheel, showing the sequence of the numbers, the colors and the quarter divisions. The chart also lists winning numbers from the last several games at the table.
# Baccarat
The minimum bet on baccarat is $100. Maximum bets on baccarat are depending on the table. Maximum payout on any game of baccarat is $60,000 for the table.
I don't know how to interpret this final statement, but I assume that per player is limited to HK$10,000 . I am not sure why you would limit the payout for the table. I've never heard of anything like that in Vegas. Maybe the dealer will tell you otherwise.
My own thoughts:
The last number I saw was that Macau was making close to $60 million per day in 2010. The Las Vegas strip made an average of $15.2 million per day in 2009. I am sure that you can find someone that can handle any size bet that any single human being is willing to play. I assume that the tourist guide does not apply to VIP baccarat. I also assume that people gambling at that level have pre-approved markers and are not using cash.
Free Bet Blackjack Locations
Was Edgar a son of King Lear? Since the inept Albany is childless and Edgar is practically the Prime Minister, he would probably become King once Albany passes on... Unless Albany sevens out (remarrying and having a child at that old age).
I think that maximum is lower than what I thought. Even $60k in HK$ is only about $8,000 US$, which per table is not big. Perhaps the bigger stakes are reserved for the 'immortals'...
I have been to vegas quite a few times, and while BJ max is $10k in most high-end casinos except Caesars, Baccarat and Pai gow (not PGP) limits are usually $20k...
@pacomartin
Was Edgar a son of King Lear? Since the inept Albany is childless and Edgar is practically the Prime Minister, he would probably become King once Albany passes on... Unless Albany sevens out (remarrying and having a child at that old age).
Edgar is the legitimate son of Gloucester (fine word, l-e-git-i-mate). He likes dice and wine, but his bastard brother deceives him out of his birthright and his father's love.
There is a general observation about Asia that extreme wealth is kept behind closed doors as much as possible. But more specifically since Macau has a little more than half the number of visitors as Las Vegas, and still manages to take in what is approaching four times the gaming revenue, you would think the limits would be very high. Until you asked the question I never looked into it. But it seems that the high limits are reserved for VIP baccarat which generates 2/3 of the Macau income.
But still the games outside of the VIP baccarat area are taking in as much as the Las Vegas strip, so even the ordinary visitor must be more interested in gaming than in Las Vegas. Maybe a big part of their success is forcing everyone to play at smaller stakes for longer periods of time.
In a casino in Macau, a Chinese guy was playing baccarat for hours and was mostly winning. He bet everything he had, HK$1 million (actually probably patacas, but doesn't matter) at tie.
The dealer and the managers stopped him, because the limit at tie was HK$600,000 (about US$80,000).
So he bet that HK$600K, and lo and behold, a tie came forth.
The managers walked him out, with HK$400K plus the HK$5.4 million he just won, for a total of HK$5.8 million (about US$770,000).
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It was probably a high-limit area, and since the limit for tie was HK$600K, the limit for banker/player was probably around HK$5 million (about US$620,000).
Sands: Most regular tables have a minimum of either $300 or $500 and a maximum of $200,000. Most tables in the high limit area have a minimum of $1000-$5000 with a maximum of $300,000. Tables in the Playboy Club have a minimum of $10,000 and I believe the maximum was around $300,000-$500,000. There are also special areas for ruby card holders and diamond card holders, and I imagine the limits there must be much higher. Playing $500 baccarat for around 5 hour got me 25 points and you need 888 points for the ruby card and 8,888 points for the diamond card.
Venetian: Pretty much the same as Sands. I saw a blackjack table in the high limit area that had a $1,000 minimum and a $20,000 maximum if that interests you. The Sands also operates many private rooms with higher limits.
Wynn: $200 minimum on many tables, but I believe most have a $300-$500 minimum and all have a $200,000 maximum. High limit tables typically have a $3,000 minimum and a $300,000 maximum and some have limits of $5,000-$500,000. The Wynn also has many private rooms with higher limits.
Grand Lisboa: Minimums are around $300-$500 and maximums in regular playing areas are $200,000-$300,000. I haven't checked their high limit areas. This Casino also seems to have a lot more blackjack/roulette/craps/poker tables than the other casinos if that interests you.
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