Baccarat Stories and Legends
As with other card games, numerous legends have grown around Baccarat. While a lot of the Baccarat stories have evolved in modern times, some are extremely old. One of the most colorful legends concerns the origin of the game itself.
It cannot be determined for certain how the game began, but one legend has it that Baccarat evolved from an ancient pagan ceremony. On certain dates, the ancient Etruscans would conduct the ritual of the nine gods, a rite dedicated to their deities. A young maiden was given a die. If she rolled any number lower than six, she would be cast off into the sea.
A die throw of seven would bar her from engaging in any religious or prayer movement, but an eight or nine would elevate her to the stature of the high priestess. Yet others point to rituals involving the Tarot and the number nine as possible origins for Baccarat.
As the game spread throughout Europe, it was brought by immigrants to the United States, where new Baccarat stories and legends would grow. While the game arrived in America in the early 1900s, it only made its way to Las Vegas in 1958. The author Francis Renzoni claims he introduced the game to casino operators that year.
Their enthusiasm, it is alleged, turned to dismay as the low house edge cost gambling venues dearly. One Baccarat legend states that a casino lost over $300,000 in a single night of play.
A Baccarat legend, but with some basis in fact, involves naturals. There was a time when the casinos offered players the opportunity to wage on the recurrence of a natural in any hand. This option, however, proved short lived when a man named Ed Thorp devised a counting method that enabled players to predict the occurrence with a great deal of accuracy.
It supposedly cost casinos all over the country thousands, if not millions of dollars, that it was removed from the player options. Today not a single casino, land based or online, provides that option either.
Of course, being the game of choice by high rollers and whales, Baccarat stories of big winnings, losses and tips abound. Of the latter, there have been numerous reports of a high roller who gave out a $100,000 tip. The incident is believed to have taken placed in the Mirage, although in fact the story moves from one casino to another.
One of the best known Baccarat stories is that involving American businessman John W. Gates. Well known for his love of the game, Gates had always been renowned for laying down thousands of dollars in Baccarat, but one day he allegedly bet $1million in a single hand, earning him the moniker Mr. Bet-a-Million.
But the most oft repeated Baccarat story of them all is that of Akio Kashiwagi. In February 1990, Kashiwagi traveled to Atlantic City and, wagering more than $200,000 a game, wound up with $6 million. A few months later, according to the story, he returned to Trump Plaza and challenged Donald Trump. By the end of the night, Kashiwagi had lost over $10 million.
As time goes by, more Baccarat stories will continue to appear to amuse and entertain us. Fact, fiction, or a little of both, it only serves as a reminder of how much the game has become part of our culture.
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