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Want to know where and how it all started?
Early
beginnings… The
origins
of
the
game
of
Baccarat
date
back
to
as
early
as
the
15th
century,
and
not
surprising,
there
are
some
debates
as
to
its
exact
birth
place
and
inventor.
It
is
universally
agreed
however,
that
the
game
was
first
invented
in
either
France
or
Italy.
It's
difficult
to
trace
the
precise origin
of
this
game
mainly
because
slight
variations
of
it
name
are
used
in
both
countries,
each
wanting
to
claim
it
as
their
own.
Wherever
it
was
invented,
baccara
(Italian)
or
baccarat
(French)
both
translate
to
“zero”
in
English
–
so
called
because
the
tens
and
face
cards
in
Baccarat,
which
comprise
the
majority
of
the
deck,
are
all
worth
zero. According
to
many,
the
game
was
first
invented
in
Italy
by
gambler
Felix
Falguiere
in
the
middle-ages.
Falguiere
based
his
game
on
an
old
Etruscan
ritual
of
the
nine
gods,
who
prayed
to
a
blonde
virgin
on
their
tiptoes
waiting
for
her
to
throw
a
nine-sided
die.
The
result
of
the
toss
decided
her
fate.
If
she
threw
an
8
or
9,
she
would
become
the
priestess;
if
she
threw
a
6
or
7,
she
would
be
banned
from
any
further
religious
activities.
If
she
threw
any
number
less
than
6,
she
would
have
to
walk
into
the
sea.
Good
thing
the
stakes
have
evolved
since
then! Falguiere’s
early
version
of
the
game
is
believed
to
have
been
played
with
a
deck
of
Tarot
cards
and
introduced
to
France
around
1490
A.D.,
where
it
remained
an
exclusive
game
to
the
French
nobility
for
some
time
before
becoming
a
casino
game,
where
it
evolved
into
the
games
of
European
Baccarat
and
'chemin
de
fer'
that
are
played
today.
Introduction
in
America… Baccarat’s
introduction
to
America
came
first
in
it’s
pure
European
forms,
and
was
not
exactly
a
hit.
Chemin
de
fer
and
European
baccarat
were
both
brought
to
America
and
introduced
at
the
racetrack
and
spa
at
Saratoga
and
the
ritzy
Palm
Beach
resort
in
1911.
Each
was
met
with
indifference
from
the
nouveau
riche
and
soon
lapsed
in
popularity.
While
both
games
enjoy
very
popular
status
in
Europe
and
Asia,
it
wasn’t
until
a
variation
of
these
games
was
brought
to
America
that
it
really
took
off.
‘American
Baccarat’,
in
which
the
House
provides
the
financial
backing
for
the
game
owes
its
immediate
lineage
to
George
Raft’s
Capri
Casino
in
Havana,
Cuba
dating
from
pre-Castro
days.
It
is
thought
that
this
form
of
the
game
originated
in
England
and
spread
to
South
America
before
it
made
its
way
to
the
United
States
in
the
late
1950s.
Its
originator
Tommy
Renzoni,
stated
in
his
(out-of-print)
book,
Renzoni
on
Baccarat,
that
Punto-Banco
as
it
was
called
in
Cuba,
was
brought
to
Las
Vegas
by
him
in
the
late
1950s,
as
Castro
was
about
to
take
possession
of
the
island.
Renzoni
wrote
that
his
game
owed
it
roots
to
European
chemin
de
fer
via
Argentina.
He
claimed
that
the
night
of
the
game’s
first
modern
American
play,
the
Sands
lost
$250,000.
The
rest
of
the
world… Baccarat
has
a
history
overseas
too,
which
is
evidenced
by
its
popularity
among
the
Asian
population
who
visit
Las
Vegas
each
year.
In
casinos
based
in
the
Portuguese
territory
of
Macao,
near
Hong
Kong,
the
popularity
of
baccarat
is
unrivalled.
Unlike
the
heavily
ordered
and
systematic
American
casinos,
these
Portuguese
tables
often
allow
multiple
players
to
bet
on
a
single
spot
at
the
same
time,
while
the
expert
dealers
mentally
keep
track
of
each
players
commission
on
winning
bank
bets. All throughout its history the game remained a pleasant invitation to high rollers and individuals with high social standings. Not requiring much thought or ability, baccarat forced the players to leave everything to chance.
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