Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | July 2010 36 I n the baccarat-focused gaming market of Macau, it’s not always easy for new products to gain acceptance among players. UP2U Baccarat from SASIAN Gaming has been able to do that by retaining the traditional baccarat format, but enhancing it with more betting options. “It’s almost as if Chinese card players are taught the rules of baccarat by the time they are three or four years old,” says Danie Van Vuuren, Chief Executive of SASIAN Gaming and a founder of the company. “Everybody here knows the card rules forwards, backwards, sideways. You don’t mess with the card rules. But with the betting, Asian players do seem very willing to accept variations,” he points out. As the name of SASIAN’s product suggests, it’s up to the player to decide how much fresh betting ‘zing’ he or she wants to add to the play. Macau players are already familiar with no-commission baccarat, but UP2U Baccarat claims to add a new level of value and excitement for the players. Complementary “UP2U Baccarat is designed to complement traditional baccarat, not to replace it,” says Mr Van Vuuren. The development of UP2U owes much to his own experience of observing Asian card players in 19 years as a casino employee— nine of them in Asia. He and his partners branched out into game development in 2004. “No matter how well other baccarat formats do in Macau, casinos will always retain a certain percentage of traditional baccarat tables. This is the market that we target with UP2U Baccarat— traditional, but with a bit of spice when you want it,” he states. “It’s a bit like putting a pot of chilli on a meal table. The player can add as much or as little as they like, to spice up their game.” SASIAN says flexibility is what makes UP2U Baccarat unique. Players can switch between the traditional and the new bets from one hand to the next, or combine the two at any time, in any ratio. The three UP2U concepts • Two different configurations of the same wager can run side by side (e.g. Banker/UP2U Banker), with the player having ongoing choice between the two. • Players can bet on either, or both, in any ratio with reverse commission. That means the majority of winning totals are paid in excess of even money, bringing new excitement to a game that UP2U Baccarat Tables turned—SASIAN Gaming’s UP2U Baccarat Danie Van Vuuren Player Power UP2U Baccarat offers new betting options for a traditional game