Baccarat is a hugely popular Vegas staple that offers lots of potential for big prizes. It is renowned for its high-stakes games and glamorous image and has become a popular choice with experienced players and newcomers alike. 

But just how much could you win during any given game? The biggest baccarat win here at Resorts Casino is a record that’s constantly being broken. But what about the wider world of baccarat records?

If you’re just getting into baccarat and need a little inspiration from some seriously talented bettors, here are a few stories to help whet your appetite. Of course, as always, it pays to play responsibly – and remember, all games at Resorts Casino are verified as random and fair to play!

A word of warning: it’s never healthy to chase big wins, especially if you think that you’re due a windfall on the back of a big loss. Therefore, always set yourself clear limits and understand that in all casino games from reputable providers such as Resorts Casino, your chances of winning and losing are completely random.

Brace yourself for some seriously big baccarat wins.

THE BIGGEST BACCARAT WIN IN HISTORY – AND HOW IT HAPPENED

While you will probably hear all kinds of legends over the years about big casino wins, no one holds a candle to Akio Kashiwagi.

Kashiwagi, a veteran real estate investor based in Tokyo, Japan, is widely thought to be baccarat’s biggest-ever winner. To start with, he was said to have an asset portfolio worth more than $1bn! Therefore, he was in a great position to start making high wagers on casino games.

There’s a reason why the champion bettor earned himself the nickname ‘The Warrior’ over the years! It’s thought that he ended up with around $10m against Donald Trump’s Taj Mahal Casino.

This was, however, as a result of the mogul spending between $100,000 and $200,000 per hand! This is not the kind of money that the average punter might have for online casino games – but all the more reason for his huge wins.

The legend goes that Kashiwagi had wagered Trump that he would keep playing baccarat at his tables until he was $12m richer or poorer. Although Kashiwagi won such a huge sum at the baccarat table, he would then go on to lose it! Trump then called the game – which didn’t go down well with the bettor.

The end of Kashiwagi’s story isn’t a pleasant one. He reportedly died $4m in debt, murdered close to his home. It’s thought that he had links with the infamous yakuza.

So, perhaps don’t take the game to the extremes that Kashiwagi did – this is as much a cautionary tale as it is a jaw-dropping feat!

High-rollers’ wins and losses

When aiming to win a fortune at baccarat, one thing’s for certain: you need to bet as much as you strive to make. This means taking a high-roller approach – go big or go home, as they say!

This approach, of course, does carry a high level of risk. The most notable baccarat big win holders, however, manage to walk away without reinvesting their money!

As it happens, getting your hands on the biggest baccarat win of all time means being shrewder than you might think. Knowing when to stop and following through is healthy!

Here are a few more big baccarat winners you may find inspirational.

Phil Ivey and Kelly Sun

Phil Ivey is a name that’s probably better known among poker fans, but he’s also just as famous for his fantastic baccarat prowess. In fact, it’s thought that Ivey and Kelly Sun made a combined total of $20.6m from casinos in Atlantic Casino and London. What’s more, this total reportedly arose purely from playing baccarat!

The duo’s technique, however, was fairly complex. Sun famously used an ‘edge’ technique based on spotting printing errors in card decks. They also had very specific demands of the casinos they played at. They always requested a Mandarin-speaking dealer and deposited $1m for private tables.

Eventually, while the end of the duo’s story may not be as tragic as Kashiwagi’s, their swansong still wasn’t anything to aspire to. Their controversial techniques would eventually catch the eyes of casino moguls, who successfully sued them to pay back their winnings.

Winning at baccarat is, naturally, all about taking chances – but at the same time, playing fairly is just as important! Regardless, Ivey and Sun will always be known as two of the biggest baccarat winners on record. They just didn’t happen to hold onto their cash for very long!

Kerry Packer

Kerry Packer is a name that many Australians recognize, largely due to the fact that he was the richest man Down Under for a time!

Packer was a media mogul famous for helming the World Series of Cricket, and as a result, he stacked up more than $6bn in net worth by the time of his death. But how does this lead to him becoming a baccarat champion?

As well as being a maverick in the media, Packer was a famous high-roller at many casinos. In fact, he scored millions from baccarat and blackjack while playing tables during the 1990s.

There’s no official total of how much Packer won at baccarat, but his casino wins were allegedly more than $40m during his run. 

Again, the affluent Aussie’s big wins were partly due to just how high his bets started. He reportedly wagered six figures per hand at baccarat – more than many of us will see in a lifetime! His high-rolling fame grew to such an extent that, reportedly, MGM banned him from all of its casinos!

We can’t put high wagers down as the sole reason why Packer scored so many big wins at baccarat. In fact, the mogul allegedly had an incredible memory and a mathematical brain.

Packer was also notable for being generous with his wealth over the years. For example, he reportedly gave loans to people without expecting interest on top. And why would he if he made so much money at the tables?

Not many people have the luxury that Packer had of being able to play baccarat over and over and trying out high-roller bets. However, if you play shrewdly and keep a close eye on your bankroll, you may still be able to claim some sizable wins.

The Greek Syndicate

It’s not entirely clear exactly how much money the world-famous (or is that infamous?) Greek Syndicate won by playing baccarat over the years. However, as a five-person collective, they quickly became a fearsome team and would rake in the millions over several years of betting.

The Greek Syndicate comprised Nicolas Zographos, Eli Eliopulo, Francois Andre, Athanase Vagliano and Zaret Couyoumdjian. The team grew steadily as Zographos and Eliopulo made their way to France’s burgeoning casino scene in the 1930s, relying on the shipping wealth of Vagliano to help bankroll high-stakes games.

For the Greek Syndicate, big baccarat prizes arrived thanks to a mix of the maverick and the mathematician. The incredible math skills of Zographos and the team’s focus on high-rolling resulted in colossal wins for the five over two decades.

Their ongoing domination in European baccarat, however, wasn’t always going to last. Tragically, it was World War II that got in the way of their famous run. The Greek Syndicate would eventually have very few casinos left to turn to after gambling faced bans across the Continent to help bolster war funds.

For all that we’re unsure of how much the Greek Syndicate took away in total, baccarat players do have Zographos in particular to thank for modern gameplay. The incredible mathematician could remember how cards were dealt from six decks at once – and arguably helped to transform baccarat into a high-stakes casino classic across Europe.

Thankfully, Zographos’ story has a happier ending than many of the big prize winners we’ve listed here. He was also something of a philosopher.

“Good luck and bad luck don’t exist,” Zographos famously said. That’s largely because he relied on math and his perception of others to help him win big. He eventually retired to enjoy his fortune – good for him!

Lin Haisan

Coming back to more tangible numbers, one of the biggest blackjack wins of all time belongs to Lin Haisan.

While all of the above baccarat winners came away with impressive totals, some of them remain fairly shady. In contrast, we can nail Haisan’s win thanks to his participation in the World Series Baccarat Championship in 2015.

Haisan, hailing from Hong Kong, attended that year’s WSBC in Macau and scored a cool $12.9m as a jackpot prize. It was worth HKD100m at the time, and it remains one of the biggest tournament prizes of all time.

In fact, at the time, the prize pot alone broke records – meaning that to win big on baccarat, you sometimes have to look for the biggest prize pots. 

Entering World Series games is a good way to maximize different winning opportunities, though you’ll naturally need to beat a variety of world-class players to get anywhere close to the bigger wins. Be sure to practice at the game online through Resorts Casino before you head to any of the ‘big leagues.’

Conclusion

If there’s one thing that we can learn from all these biggest baccarat win records, it’s that quitting while you’re ahead is the best idea! What’s more, it’s always wise to play fairly – or you might end up losing it all at a later date!

That said, there are plenty of ways to win big on baccarat at Resorts Casino. While we would hardly recommend that you ever spend a million at once, we have a range of tables and dealers for you to try your hand at – who knows what you might win?

Don’t forget, there’s also plenty to get into through Resorts Live. Take a look at a few live tables and game shows and let one of our presenters guide you through the action.

Baccarat can be a high-stakes game, and you never know your luck – but do always make sure to play responsibly if this becomes your card game of choice!

Why not apply to be on a show with us if you’re serious about making a mint from casino fun? If you’re local to Atlantic City, come on down and try your luck as part of our Resorts Live roster.