Macau casino junket investor Suncity Group Ltd says it has set a Guinness World Record for the biggest ever first place prize for a baccarat tournament, at HKD100 million (US$12.9 million).
It added it also entered the same record book for the biggest ever combined prize pool for such a tournament, at HKD129 million.
The final was held on Tuesday at the Sheraton Macao Hotel – at Sands China Ltd’s Sands Cotai Central property – among the best six players narrowed from an original field of more than 100 international competitors, including Suncity’s elite casino customers.
Suncity said in an announcement on Thursday that the overall winner, surnamed Lam, was from Hong Kong. He is pictured with Alvin Chau Cheok Wa (left), chief executive of Suncity Group, receiving the trophy portion of his prize.
Suncity’s tournament was held over two qualifying events: at Crowne Plaza Melbourne in Australia and at Sands China’s Venetian Macao. There was then a two-stage semi-final at Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd’s flagship Cotai property Galaxy Macau, prior to the final at the Sheraton Macao.
The junket firm described the tournament as part of its “development strategies to internationalise our operations and to provide our prestigious guests with a more diverse entertainment experience”.
A January report by Daiwa Securities Group Inc described Suncity Group as the largest junket promoter in Macau, with an estimated 25 percent of the Macau market’s VIP chip roll.
