China Poker Scene

[cardshark]

Money talks, right? [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[*TT*]

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Money talks, right? [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

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Well... they invested heavily in LURE at Wynn, and it failed in Maccau, so money doesn't always talk, they missed the mark with the consumer base who really couldn't care less about clubs - they are there to gamb0000l!

[cardshark]

When I said "money talks" I was referring specifically to your friend not being able to turn down the offer. It's a good more, if the money is so significantly better. But Macao is really a boring place. There's nothing to do there and the ex-pats look quite bored, despite the fact that they've adopted.

The only good thing about Macau is that it is close to Hong Kong - less than 1 hour by Turbo Jet. However, the town is developing very fast. I really believe that one day casinos will basically take over the entire peninsula. Who knows, exactly. But one thing is for sure, they are building and building.

It will be interesting to follow the poker scene, there. As of a couple of months ago I was unable to find one person in Macau that even knew what poker was. It would seem that the only poker they've ever heard of is Caribbean Stud. All they really care about is baccarat. I specifically looked for poker tables at the Grand Lisboa, precisely because it was the newest casino and still under construction. I poke with several people there and all I got were confused looks. A couple of the pit bosses ever went out of their ways to make a few phone calls and all it seemed to accomplish was to add to the confusion. At the end they all pretty much said that the only poker I could play was Caribbean Stud, and that it is a really good game and that I should definitely check it out.

I looked in other casinos as well, but to no avail. Even Caribbean Stud is actually a rarity and the tables seem to be deserted.

The ex-pats who work in casino security do in fact know about poker. I did not meet may Americans there - mostly Aussies and I believe South Africans, or perhaps British. However, they all pretty much told me the same thing (what I already knew) that there was no poker in Macau.

I am now really curious to see how poker will develop, in Macau. I wonder what kind of customers they plan on attracting. Chinese gamblers have a totally different approach to gambling. It is more about "feeling" that this is the night, or about luck, or about superstitious beliefs. I got quite a few dirty looks from people because I was dressed in black and happened to walk over to a table right before the big bettor lost. I brought them bad luck. There is very little chance for misinterpretation. I walk up to a table, the guy bets a huge stack, he losses, he slams the table and jells out something that obviously sounds like a curse, he gives me a dirty look as the dealer is taking away his wager, he (literally) spits on the carpet and mumbles something in Cantonese to no one in particular. I get the message and walk away. "That *#@% guy with the black shirt brought me bad luck!"

So, totally different approach to gambling.

The casinos do offer some games other than baccarat, but no one seems to pay any particular attention to them. For example, in one casino I counted over 100 baccarat tables and a total of 4 roulette tables, and zero slot machines. The baccarat tables were overflowing, and the roulette tables were deserted. They also had a few BJ tables in one area, but most of them were not even in use.

From a casino point of view I wonder what is the incentive to introduce a new game no one has ever heard of, such as some game called poker, when they have plenty of customers that will gladly play baccarat. But nothing is impossible. I guess the right promotion can do wonders. I guess we'll see.

[Danimal 3000]

macau still looks to be a dead zone for poker for the near future, though cardshark gives me hope. HK has 2 10/20HKD games that are well attended, Taiwan has the same, and both support occasional bigger games. Beijing has a poker club with 25/50CNY games, plus some bar leagues. Shanghai has very little from what I've heard.

[csuf_gambl0o0r]

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macau still looks to be a dead zone for poker for the near future, though cardshark gives me hope. HK has 2 10/20HKD games that are well attended, Taiwan has the same, and both support occasional bigger games. Beijing has a poker club with 25/50CNY games, plus some bar leagues. Shanghai has very little from what I've heard.

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taiwan? where?

[shockdaworld]

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...the place designed to look like a lotus leaf will have poker when it opens, I think thats a Stanley Ho casino if my memory is correct - I forgot the name however.

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That's the Grand Lisboa hotel casino. It's already open (actually it opened for business while it was still under construction) but they do not have poker, except Caribbean Stud. I very much doubt that they will ever have poker because baccarat is just too popular... and too profitable. No one in Macau has even heard of poker. The concept of players betting against each other is totally lost on them.

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I just got a press release a week or so ago announcing they will have the first poker room in Maccau. They will have poker. The grand opening is planned soon.

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Isn't hold'em and other forms of poker illegal in Macau? Link if possible?

[micah67]

I just read that five PokerPro tables (electronic poker) were installed at Galaxy StarWorld Hotel and Casino in Macau. http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070806/20070806005845.html?.v=1
At this point, it's better than nothing...

[allbad]

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Chinese gamblers have a totally different approach to gambling. It is more about "feeling" that this is the night, or about luck, or about superstitious beliefs. I got quite a few dirty looks from people because I was dressed in black and happened to walk over to a table right before the big bettor lost. I brought them bad luck. There is very little chance for misinterpretation. I walk up to a table, the guy bets a huge stack, he losses, he slams the table and jells out something that obviously sounds like a curse, he gives me a dirty look as the dealer is taking away his wager, he (literally) spits on the carpet and mumbles something in Cantonese to no one in particular. I get the message and walk away. "That *#@% guy with the black shirt brought me bad luck!"


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This makes me salivate. I will be watching the Macau poker scene as well. I keep thinking I missed out on the big poker boom in the states and will be willing to follow the game to where ever it becomes the new hotness. Even if it means learning Chinese.

[cardshark]

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...HK has 2 10/20HKD games that are well attended...

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Would you mind telling us where? And perhaps share a few more details...

[Fly V]

Try these...

http://poker.meetup.com/79/
http://poker.meetup.com/1322/?gj=sj17