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Macau’s casino revenue isn’t seven times bigger than that of Las Vegas because more people go there. It’s because players bet more in Macau, and casinos have become increasing more adept at encouraging that trend to build more mass market revenue that’s more than twice as profitable as VIP play. Mass market revenue is approaching 40% of Macau’s total gaming revenue.

Walking the floors of Macau’s major casinos, minimum bets at baccarat table begin at $300 Hong Kong (US$39). There are lower minimums for roulette, the rare crap table, and sometimes for sic bo, a Chinese dice game also known as big-small or cussec in the official revenue figures, played by betting on the outcome of three dice. Blackjack seems evenly mixed between HK$300 and higher minimums, but all of these games are footnotes beside baccarat, particularly since government caps on the number of gaming tables have begun to bite, motivating casino operators to emphasize popularity and profitability over variety for variety’s sake.

Overall, minimum levels are pretty much unchanged from a year ago. What’s changed dramatically is the mix of table minimums. Grand Lisboa used to have low minimum tables on its ground floor area. Now that area has pricier tables, with low minimums advertised for the third floor. On the second level main floor, HK$500 baccarat tables are the standard, and on the bargain rate third floor, you don’t get to see the apparently nearly naked blonde woman – she’s got a body stocking connecting her dots – swinging acrobatically from a suspended ring or any of the other free entertainment.

Wynn Macau has made a comeback in mass market gaming, perhaps because its luxurious main floor seemingly has a bigger percentage of HK$300 tables than other downtown giants, at least by my observation on a weeknight. MGM Macau seems more inclined toward showing HK$300 but having more HK$500 tables. It’s a similar story on Cotai. Galaxy Macau, still my favorite gaming floor for its bright lighting and open feel, massive Venetian Macao and City of Dreams all feature a minimum of HK$300 minimum baccarat tables, and for all, they’re virtually non-existent on weekends.

Noticeably, the minimums rise quickly on the main floors, with HK$500, HK$800, HK$1,000, HK$1,500, HK$3,000 all mixed together. Several of the casinos have added special higher limit areas. The thoroughly mediocre Himalaya casino at Sands Cotai Central has added The Dragon’s Palace, a high limit area with light colored wooden paneling and golden accents reminiscent of parent company Las Vegas Sands Las Vegas Sands’ Marina Bay Sands betting floors, a break from Himalaya’s darker hues. Bets there begin at HK$3,000, and it’s all baccarat, though some idle slots sit in the back of the area. But these areas tend to be less busy than the main floor, with one player at the table, surrounded by an entourage that may occasionally throw down a (pooled?) bet to support the ringleader, or small unit bets on pairs; those high odds bets start at a fraction of the main game limit.

Casino executives say they’re following trends, not setting them. Players tend to bet about three times the limit on tables, so having a player sit at a HK$500 table and play HK$1,500 per hand defeats the purpose of the lower limit. Make fewer lower limit seats available and players are more likely to sit at tables more appropriate to their play.

For the folks who’d rather play for smaller amounts, the Cotai giants have all installed electronic betting terminals in stadium arrangements to play live dealer baccarat, occasionally sic bo and roulette but usually with multiple baccarat hands for virtually non-stop action. Minimums there can be HK$50 or less, but the experience of seeing the cards on a screen rather than squeezing them yourself, or seeing someone else squeeze them, is missing.

Sands China properties also have rapid action baccarat tables with live betting arrangement, where minimums start at HK$100 or HK$200. There are upwards of 30 betting positions in a U-shape with electronic displays at the end, and a dealer in the middle. Croupiers with chip trays on wheels roll around each side of the table to make change and pay winners. A plastic shield opens over the betting positions to indicate no more bets on the upcoming hand, and losing bets drop through trap doors that open on losing bet areas. Again, players can only look at the cards onscreen, not touch them.

The bigger issue is whether Chinese players at the lower end of the spectrum will want to keep spending US$150-plus for a room and shelling out at the tables. Even an upper middle Chinese players making US$30,000 a year may find that a luxury they can’t afford more than once. They may also see high minimums along with high room prices as a giant unwelcome mat from casinos.

But as the past ten years have shown, no one has gotten rich betting against Macau.