Inside Asian Gaming

IAG SEP 2020年9月 亞博匯 46 It was also Casino Lisboa that introduced the first VIP room designated specifically for the use of junkets. Faced with a revision to Macau’s gaming tax laws following the 1974 inauguration of Governor Garcia Leandro, who imposed a new tax on gaming revenues rather than the annual concession fee system previously in place, Dr Ho pushed to increase revenues by recruiting more Daa Maa Zai. But having so many of these chip rollers working independently created problems of its own. The solution was to offer use of an exclusive VIP saloon to some of the more powerful and trusted Daa Maa Zai, who would in turn be responsible for a larger group operating under their watch. The success of Diamond VIP Room, opened at Casino Lisboa in 1986, laid the platform for the hundreds of VIP Clubs operated by junkets at Macau casinos and across Asia-Pacific today. 圖片由: 陳顯耀 Photo by Chan Hin Io IN FOCUS the STDM-owned ferry service. But it also attracted the attention of local triads, who cornered the tourist market by buying up ferry tickets in bulk and then selling them to customers at an inflated price. This quickly created a situation where no one could come or go from Macau without engaging the services of these ticket scalpers. To solve this growing problem, Dr Ho proposed a new arrangement by which he would allow these scalpers to bring players into his casinos provided they stopped buying up ferry tickets. The deal allowed for these individuals – who became known as Daa Maa Zai or “chip rollers” – to sell non-cash chips, also known as dead chips, to players in return for 0.7% commission on all chips rolled (played) at STDM’s tables. A similar rolling chip model remains the primary method of play for VIP customers in Macau casinos to this day. STDM founder Stanley Ho 澳娛創始人何鴻燊