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Vegas Splashes Out for Chinese New Year     (2 of 2)

The president of international marketing for the MGM Mirage has been working for weeks to guarantee that this event will be a memorable one for weeks. Al Faccinto works for the biggest casino in the whole state of Nevada, and his staff of over one hundred have been putting plenty of man hours into what he called “the ultimate event of the year” for the MGM Mirage’s Asian visitors. They planned to throw a massive bash at the Bellagio with an expected guest list topping three thousand. The team has also arranged for traditional, elaborate Chinese lion dances to take place at the Mirage, the MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, and the Bellagio. Over at Caesar’s Palace, which has been celebrating the event for more than thirty years, two new eateries touting “authentic mainland Chinese cuisine” have been unveiled and opened in time for this year’s holiday. The resort is festooned with decorations. The sound of gongs banging will also be heard from The Encore, The Palazzo, The Venetian, and Wynn Las Vegas.

Although slot machines have historically enjoyed the designation of top earners at all Vegas casinos during all periods of the year, tradition says that baccarat play is the form of gambling entertainment that will skyrocket during the period when Asian gamblers are visiting to celebrate the Chinese New Year. In just over a decade, baccarat drop has more than doubled. In the year 1996 it was $455.6 million during the month of the New Year, and last year it topped one billion! Slots also see an increase during this period, but nothing akin to the rise in baccarat income expected by the casinos of the Strip.

Back to January 2009 Archive.