A fresh side bet option for baccarat play introduced to the Macau market – known as ‘Small 6/Big 6’ – is now prevalent in all key properties promoted by the city’s six casino operators across Cotai and downtown Macau, based on GGRAsia’s recent site checks.
Small 6/Big 6 – a variant of the ‘Lucky Six’ found in Macau casinos – pays 22 to 1, if the winning ‘banker’ hand with a face value of six is composed of two cards. The side bet pays 50 to 1 for a winning ‘banker’ hand with a face value of six, composed of three cards.
Macau casino operators Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd and Sands China Ltd had been the earliest adopters of this fresh side bet option. Both companies had already launched the offer at their respective properties by early May, coinciding with the Labour Day holiday period.
In late May, MGM China Holdings Ltd and Wynn Macau Ltd also started offering the Small 6/Big 6 bet option at the mass and high-limit gaming areas of their respective casino properties on Macau peninsula and in Cotai, according to GGRAsia’s checks at the time.
Now, in the City of Dreams casino resort – operated by Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd in Cotai – the Small 6/Big 6-side bet option is available throughout its main floors and the “Qi Long” high-limit baccarat play area. The side bet option was not available at the time of GGRAsia’s checks in late May.
The Small 6/Big 6-side bet is also currently available at the main floors of the casino at Studio City, another Cotai property run by Melco Resorts, according to our latest site checks.
The side bet option is also offered at the main floors and the “Phoenix Pavilion” high-limit baccarat play zones at both Grand Lisboa and Grand Lisboa Palace, both run by SJM Holdings Ltd. This option was not available at the time of our visit in late May.
The Small 6/Big 6 bet option offers attractive payout to winning customers but is likely to boost house edge overall, investment analysts and a gaming research analyst told GGRAsia.
The ‘Small 6’ side bet – also known as the ‘Small Tiger’ – statistically exhibits a house edge of 14.33 percent; while the ‘Big 6’ side bet, or known as ‘Big Tiger’, demonstrates a higher house edge of 15.25 percent, said gaming research specialist Ryan Ho.
