By popular demand the only casino offering Texas Hold’em Poker in Macau will double the number of tables from four to eight as of 8 March 2008. Grand Lisboa casino introduced Texas Hold’em in time for this year’s Lunar New Year, days after the Inspection and Co-ordination Bureau issued the approval for the game.

Initially SJM executives were unsure how the Asian gamers that flock to SAR would take to the game which is popular in Europe and the USA, however it has proven to be a hit, said Timothy Gilbert, vice president of table games. “We have had a very strong response to the game,h he said.

“We have been surprised, we thought we may have mainly expatriate players at the tables but the majority have been South East Asians.” he said.

The casino will now dedicate an entire pit on its second level to the game. Two tables will run 24 hours a day with the others opened depending on demand.

The game is introducing a different type of player to the casino and is showing Asians are after more variety on the gaming floor, said Mr Gilbert.

“Poker players are a different breed (to the typical baccarat players), he he said.

The Grand Lisboa is so far the only casino to introduce Texas Hold’em. The Galaxy Entertainment Group, operator of the Starworld casino is the only other gaming company to submit an application with the DICJ, said director Joaquim das Neves and now offers Caribbean Poker tables.

Last year the Galaxy operated Grand Waldo casino hosted the Asian Poker Open. As poker players compete against each other and not the house, the game is not as profitable as baccarat or blackjack. The house takes up to of 5 percent of the pot, with a maximum of five times the “big blind” -  a forced bet.

However it is the new customers that it attracts that the Grand Lisboa are after, said Mr Gilbert.
“It’s not by any means a huge money generator, he said. “It is however another entertainment offering and another reason to come to Grand Lisboa.”

Sports betting
The Grand Lisboa is also the only Macau casino to offer sports and horse betting on its gaming floors.
The sole license holders for both forms of wagering, Sociedade de Lotarias e Apostas Mutuas de Macau, Lda, branded as Macauslot, and the Macau Jockey Club are controlled by Stanley Ho Hung-sun, who also holds a controlling stake in SJM.

In the sports lounge on the second floor of the casino a series of LCD screens are set up to telecast matches, races and betting odds.

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