If you think your table limits are above and beyond any one of these labels then what do you call it?

Evolution Gaming‘s solution to this dilemma is to throw everything at it, calling their new high limit blackjack table Platinum VIP, complete with dealers dressed in gold. All that’s missing is the diamonds…and you’d have these too if you were to shove a lump of coal up your arse and play at one of these tables for a reasonable length of time, as the limits are very high.

Depending on which casino you’re playing at, this is what you’ll be faced with:

• Unibet:  $500 to $10,000
• Party Casino: $250 to $5,000
• Betsson: $250 to $5,000
• Paddy Power: $250 to $5,000

If  these can’t give you a few heart in the mouth (or diamond producing butt-clench) moments then sorry, but you’ve just got way too much money to begin with.

Curiously, William Hill Vegas – known for its big limits across all live games is yet to add Platinum VIP blackjack.  Then and again, their private (Salle Privee) blackjack table has bets starting at $1,000 up to a maximum of $20,000 so perhaps they didn’t believe it to be necessary to introduce?

The late Kerry Packer, known for his voracious betting appetite, was betting big.

Unconfirmed legend has it that over the 3 day carnival he lost $55 million to a bookmaker named Bruce McHugh.  Two days later McHugh handed in his bookies license amid claims he wanted to quit while he was ahead rather than face a relentless Packer chasing his losses with bigger bets (fair enough too…Packer did have a habit of bankrupting bookies willing to take him on). McHugh has always dismissed this as the reason for his hasty retirement, calling it “totally incorrect” .

He has also refused to either confirm or deny the exact sum he took that weekend maintaining that he had an arrangement with Packer never to disclose their dealings (other than to the tax man presumably!).

But he may have to finally spill the beans soon.

This particular piece of racing history has apparently become relevant in a largely unrelated legal battle being conducted in the Federal Court of Australia.   Justice Alan Robertson was expected to today rule whether Mr McHugh be directed to reveal under oath exactly how much he won.

There’s an old saying that goes, ‘the House always wins‘.

And this isn’t far from the truth, because lets face it, the house does win more often than not.  How else do you think those massive structures and all the staff running around inside them are financed? So when we hear about a casino that’s taken a bit of a beating at the hand of some big winners it does bring a smile to the face. And last month at West Virginia’s Greenbrier Casino Club this is exactly what happened.

July was one of the casino’s busiest months since opening just on a year ago in terms of both patrons through the door and action at the tables.  This was largely thanks to the resort’s hosting of the Greenbrier Classic from July 25 to 31 – a PGA Tour sanctioned golf tournament with a $6 million prize purse.

I bet Greenbrier resort management were licking their chops at the prospect of 150 or so deep-pocketed professional golfers (but novice gamblers)  and a few thousand golf fans enjoying their casino’s hospitality.  And no doubt most dropped some coin.  But according to West Virginia Lottery reports, the casino lost $293,893 on its blackjack tables, $97,491 on its baccarat tables and $51,135 on roulette for the month.  All due to big wins by a few individuals.

The exact amounts won and the individuals in question weren’t disclosed of course.

The wins must have been very big to put the casino in the red considering all other action at the tables…7 figure sums are surely conceivable.

As the identity of the high roller(s), I don’t want to start a totally unsubstantiated rumour, but join the dots on this…

• a certain PGA pro known for his aggression at the casino tables was on the Greenbrier Classic starters list;
• that same pro missed the cut, leaving him with an unplanned, spare weekend at the end of July;
• his first name starts with a ‘J’;
• his second ends with a ‘Daly’.

Evolution Gaming describe it as an “opulent, live online Roulette environment replicating the rich experience of playing at one of London’s top casinos. No detail has been overlooked – from the superb interior design, lighting and ambience, to the intuitive user interface, to the real-time interaction with British croupiers…designed to appeal to super high-rollers”

Now I haven’t been to any of the London casinos so I’ll have to take their word for it on the ambience side of things; it certainly looks nice enough. But on the ‘super high-roller’ claim I can confirm that limits are high.

The below game played at William Hill has an upper table limit of (£,€,$) 40,000 depending on your chosen currency.  High enough for all but the biggest whales I would’ve thought.

And yes the croupiers are definitely British (or at least Billy, below was).

In all other respects (bets, odds, payouts, user interface functionality) it’s the same as the EG’s European roulette.

Figures revealed at a Crown Casino AGM today confirm what many expected…VIP player activity at the Melbourne based casino is waning.

CEO Rowen Craigie told shareholders that turnover from VIP players was down 10%  in the trading period from 1 July. This comes on top of a drop in VIP turnover in the last half of last financial year (January to June 2010).

The worrying thing for Crown Casino is that their marketing strategy is geared heavily toward high roller players from Asia who have long been the casino’s lifeblood. But with many attractive playing options sprouting up in the region, particularly Macau and Singapore, Crown is no longer the sparkling jewel in the Asia-Pacific gaming crown that it used to be.

They are trying to spruce up their offering – as are a bunch of other Australian casinos but whether this will have the desired effect is questionable.

Crown Casino owner James Packer called for government assistance to help his casino compete with Singapore and Macau, citing the co-operation those casinos get from their respective governments.  But with plenty of anti-gambling sentiment in Australia in both the general population and parliament, a casino owner with a few billion dollars in the bank and casinos in Macau is unlikely to get too much sympathy…even if he plays the old ‘but it’s for tourism’ card.

Crown in Melbourne may just have to get used to being a medium sized casino with medium sized players.

Just about every major Australian Casino (terrestrial) has ambitious plans for facilities improvements with the prime objective of winning a slice of the Asian high roller market.

• Crown Casino in Melbourne declared their hand early in the year, with a planned $212 million face-lift to VIP gaming areas, including 11 new private gaming salons, a significant upgrade to their existing VIP Mahogany Room and a refurbishment of the Crown Towers Villas.  New high stakes gaming tables will cater for bets up to $280,000 per hand.
• Jupiters Casino on the Gold Coast is being upgraded to the tune of $175 million.
• Subject to easing of gaming regulations, SkyCity are talking up a $250 million extension of their Adelaide casino.
• Perhaps the most serious tilt at making waves in the market is coming from Sydney’s Star City casino.  Owners Tabcorp (who also own Jupiters) are spending $890 million to transform the casino into what they hope will become the high rollers casino of choice.

Included in Star City’s plans is a $100 million budget to procure 2 long-haul private jets to fly VIPs in from Asia. The Bombardier Global Express, Gulf Stream 550 and Boeing’s Business Jet are planes apparently on their wish list.  They also plan to redevelop the casino’s waterfront area into a wharf big enough to park the world’s largest ocean going private yachts.

“The only issue we would have is that they fit under the Harbour Bridge.” says CEO Larry Mullin.  No problem there.  I think the Queen Mary II is one of the few boats  that struggles to get under the bridge.

Winning the affections of big players, or ‘whales’ as they’re sometimes referred to is potentially very lucrative.  70% of Macau’s gaming revenue comes from high rollers.  Granted Macau is a junket driven market but still, the value of VIP players can not be argued…the trick is getting them to play at your casino.

But will an $890 million face-lift and free transport be enough?

In an era when wow factor comes with multi-billion dollar price tags, I can’t help but think that a few hundred million may be short if the mark.  The Marina Bay Sands in Singapore cost well over $5 billion.  Planned casino projects in Macau are all north of $3 billion.

$890 million may well be taking a knife along to a gun fight.

But then maybe the pulling power of Sydney shouldn’t be underestimated?  Players can take a break between $200,000/hand baccarat sessions and do the Sydney Harbour Bridge climb, take a dip in surf at Bondi or really let their hair down and join the Mardi Gras parade.

Back in August Henry Quek reportedly went on a S$26 million ($20 million) spree at Resorts World.  We thought that was pretty big.

Apparently not.

The word is that since then a high roller from Sabah in Malaysia lost a cool S$50 million and a local player said to be on Singapore’s top 40 rich list has lost …wait for it…

S$100 million (around $75 million).

It seems Singapore’s 2 new mega casinos have had a real of luck on the high stakes tables – yet to be burnt by big winning streaks.  But they will come – if history is any indication.

I remember back in 1997 Crown Casino opened in Melbourne, Australia.  It had cost almost $1.5 billion to construct and was to be marketed to Asian high rollers as the region’s premium high stakes gaming house.  The high rollers did come, but they almost sent the casino broke in its first year of operation.

A six week, $55 million winning spree from a handful of players (including one $12 million winner) forced the casino to have  to  raise cash from a rights issue and contributed to its share price falling from $2.72 to 63 cents.

Ironically, Kerry Packer helped save the casino by increasing his stake in it to 22%.  I say ironically, because Packer is widely believed to have bankrupted at least one casino by winning too much during a hot streak.

Fact is, there are some players with pockets deeper than the house and if they do have a run of luck, even casinos the size of the Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa will feel the pinch.

business class airfare, limo transfers, 5 star hotel, $1k for dining, $1k for shows, Grand Canyon chopper...

It’s not too late to get in on this one, but you’ll have to go hard to get to the top of the leader board.

The promo is being run at Party Casino and up for grabs is a trip to Vegas worth $13,000.  This includes return airfares to the value of $8,000, limo transfers, accommodation in a 5 star hotel ($2,500), a dining and show allowance of $2,000, and a chopper tour of the Grand Canyon.

It’s a straight wagering comp with the 50 leaders at 23:59 ET on 13th June allocated prizes based on their position on the leader board.  There’s still plenty of time to crack the top 50 if you’re a high turnover player so if you’re shopping for live casino options right now this could be worth a look.

Strictly speaking the promo is for Palladium Lounge VIPs only, however if you’re turning over enough to make it onto the top 50 leader board you will easily meet qualification criteria for the casino’s Palladium Lounge VIP Club.

All players making the top 50 leader board get prizes, as follows:

To visit Party Casino, click here

Good luck!
LD

Victor Chandler's loyalty bonus offer

Most online casinos offer VIP or loyalty programs and as a general rule, the bigger the casino the more compelling the program. It’s simple economics (or accounting) – the big guys have bigger budgets at their disposal to reward their VIP players.

So rather than a few hundred dollars in bonus funds here or there, they reward in the thousands, or ten of thousands.  And other sweeteners like tickets to various holiday destinations or events (World Cup, Las Vegas etc), nifty gadgets, unlocked table limits and dedicated account managers are also provided to enhance the gaming experience of their high value players.

The above maxim (bigger casino = better rewards program) works well for live casino games because most of the casinos that have adopted the platform are the bigger operators…bet365, Unibet, Ladbrokes, 888.com etc etc.  Also, as a newish platform, most casinos seem pretty eager to push their live games games to VIP players, believing it’s a format that has natural appeal to these players.

Anyway, the upshot of all this, is that most of the casinos listed on this site run active rewards programs.

What do I get? How do I qualify? Which casino has the best VIP loyalty program?

The thing with VIP programs, is that casinos are very non-specific about both what you get, and how you qualify to get it.  Unlike general promotions and new player sign-up bonuses where precise terms and conditions are published, the VIP programs are largely governed by casino discretion.

BetFred offers a tiered VIP structure (see below) with the only guide as to how to move up in class provided as:

“the more often you play, the faster you’ll climb the ladder”

Victor Chandler are similarly vague in their description of how you get access to their £3000 weekly loyalty bonus (per player – see top promo image)…

“Play in the Live Casino for real money on a regular basis and you will be rewarded with a weekly bonus amount that reflects your game play”

As are bet365, whose qualification criteria for Diamond VIP status is as follows:

bet365 are typically vague about qualification for special treatment

Because of the discretionary nature of these programs, it will likely only be when you get a call from the casino manager that you know you’ve earned any entitlement, and what exactly the entitlement is.  It’s therefore very difficult to compare programs unless you’ve actually experienced them first hand.

One casino that does seem to dangle some big VIP carrots on a regular basis though, is 888.com.

Something tells me you're looking for big baccarat bet limits

OK so we did a post on the biggest roulette and blackjack limit games, so to be fair to the baccarat players we should let you know where the highest live baccarat limits are.

And while the big brand European operators running Evolution Gaming’s platform seem to have a mortgage on the high roller action where blackjack and roulette are concerned, baccarat is a slightly different story.

It should be mentioned, that any of the majors will extend limits on application to VIP players, but as we have no way of doing a comparison of privately agreed limits, its strictly advertised limits we’re talking about here.

So,cutting to the chase, here it is – the biggest single hand bet you can place playing live baccarat…

The casino:

Bodog88

The game:

Premium Baccarat -  14 seat table with peeks for highest staked player

The limits: $15,000

For a complete list of maximum and minimum bets for all live games, visit our bet limits page where you’ll limits ranging from a low of 0.10 cents/pence to highs of $200,000 at over 25 different casinos.