Back in the day, Baccarat was widely considered a game reserved for wealthy high rollers due to its nature. While the game of Baccarat comes with pretty straightforward rules, it has always been a puzzle to most gambling aficionados. This is one of the reasons why it’s appealing to some of the wealthiest people in the world.
Throughout history, Baccarat has produced players who have made or lost fortunes playing the game. Here we look at some of the biggest Baccarat runs in gambling history.
Akio Kashiwagi
Akio Kashiwagi, famously known as “The Warrior”, built his fortune in the Japanese real estate market. According to some reports, the Japanese tycoon earned over $100 million yearly in profits and had more than $1 billion in assets. With such massive earnings, it’s no surprise that Akio placed some of the highest stakes at casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City.
It’s said that Kashiwagi didn’t give a second thought to staking $100,000 on a single bet, and he would even go on to wager $200,000 in one hand if allowed. This developed him a reputation as one of the greatest legends in the history of gambling.
In December 1991, Kashiwagi played his final game of Baccarat in Atlantic City. He started the game with an initial budget of a whopping $12 million and resolved to play until he loses all of that or doubles it. During the gameplay, Kashiwagi’s fortune experienced several ups and downs. It went up by $10 million at one point and came down by the same number at another moment. When his fortune was down $10 million, the house decided to halt the game, leading to Kashiwagi turning furious at the casino. Soon after this incident, he was found dead in his Mount Fuji home. His murder mystery remains unsolved to date.
Phil Ivey
It is hard to find a Poker fan that doesn’t know Phil Ivey. After all, the Poker star has received 10 gold bracelets from the World Series of Poker and has won over $26 million from live Poker tournaments. But apart from that, Phil is also a champion of other casino games like online Roulette, online Blackjack and Baccarat.
In 2012, Phil and his assistant Kelly Sun went on to win a humungous amount playing Baccarat in Atlantic City. The duo paid $1 million to book a private Baccarat table and made some special requests, such as using only a purple Gemaco deck and the dealer rotating the cards 180 degrees in the game. Kelly then used her knowledge of some advantage gambling techniques to have an edge over the dealer and the game. Eventually, Kelly and Ivey succeeded in winning over $20 million in that Baccarat game. Unfortunately, the casino found out how they won and took them to court, where they were ordered to give away all their winnings.
Kerry Packer
Kerry Packer was an Australian media tycoon, best known for founding the World Series Cricket. With a net worth of $6.5 billion, Packer was the richest man in Australia at the time of his death.
Considering his enormous fortune, it’s no surprise that Packer made some of the highest stakes ever seen by gambling venues. A Baccarat aficionado, the media mogul, once had an epic run at a top casino in Las Vegas, where he won $26 million by staking $500,000 per hand. With the casino having to give away such a huge amount, it banned Packer for life!
However, Packer’s gambling journey is filled with stories of doom and gloom. In 2000, the Australian lost over $18.6 million in a three-day Baccarat session in Las Vegas. At that time, it was the biggest short-term loss in Vegas history. Had Packer been alive today, he would have made some headlines playing mobile casino games.
The Greek Syndicate
Many casino players simply rely on their luck when trying to win at an online live casino or a land-based gambling venue. After all, winning at any casino game boils down to luck at the end of the day.
But the story of the Greek Syndicate is different, as they used “skill” to win large amounts. The Greek Syndicate – a group of five members – is widely known as one of the greatest collections of Baccarat players in gambling history. The group travelled to several casinos in Paris and Monte Carlo throughout the 1920s and 1930s and used their advantage gambling skills to win large amounts in Baccarat. The Greek Syndicate made significant profits until the commencement of World War II when many countries enforced a ban on gambling.