Poker Writer
The Macau poker scene has been an almost mythical destination for years, with tales of massive games and legendary action. But recent developments indicate that the scene may be winding down.
The Wynn Macau poker room shut down in February, leaving only three or four casinos in Macau to continue offering poker. Only the Venetian Macau, MGM Cotai, and Wynn Palace Cotai offer poker in Macau. Some local sources say a couple of tables remain in operation at Grand Lisboa, while other public sources cite the room as closed.
Despite the closure of multiple poker rooms, the popularity of tournament poker among the Chinese appears to be increasing. The number of Chinese players cashing in prominent international events has been rising. Poker has been gaining ground among ordinary and recreational Chinese citizens.
But the options for playing seem to be dwindling.
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Once-Massive Macau Cash Games Drying Up?
Are the rich whales who once made Macau poker famous going extinct or taking their action underground? The days of high-roller legends and Macau as a destination for the world’s largest games may be drying up.
Macau as a whole has been transitioning from high-roller VIP experiences to a more mass-market lifestyle and entertainment destination. Extremely wealthy whales don’t appear to be burning through their bankrolls in Macau as frequently as they did in the special administrative region’s heyday.
The big games that were once at the Wynn have apparently moved to the Venetian Macau, according to a few players on Reddit. One player said the big action at the Venetian is no longer worth it, and that players can make more money in online poker now.
There are very few reports these days of the big Macau cash games of the past. Fewer poker pros seem to be venturing to Macau to seek fortune and glory.
Outside of the big games, it appears as though poker chances for ordinary players are rare as well. One user on Reddit discussed experiences from last year:
I spent one weekend there, looked and asked everywhere for poker tables. The only thing I found was a PokerStars branded table that had closed months before. Maybe there are some private games, but nothing for the general public.
It does seem like at least one big game still runs consistently. Visitors reported that a HK$1,000-$2,000-$4,000 game ran at Venetian. That would be the roughly equivalent of a $125-$250-$500 no-limit hold’em game. “Kahle and Bjorn” were reportedly playing, which could be a reference to high-stakes pros Kahle Burns and Bjorn ‘asianflushie’ Li.
The History and Legends of Macau
The advent of big Macau cash games was around 2010, when several high-profile pro poker players began making their way to the “Las Vegas of Asia” for nosebleed-stakes games. These games became known as the “Macau Big Game” and included players like Tom Dwan, Phil Ivey, and John Juanda. Blinds often started at HK$10,000-$20,000-$40,000, which would have made them about 10 times bigger than the current games before even adjusting for inflation.
Dwan recently spoke with Card Player about some of his experiences in Macau. Poker pro Alec Torelli also played in some of those games and discussed a hand in which he claims to have played a $7.9 million pot.
The games were very exclusive and often required the presence of Chinese billionaires. These games remained private, with no videos or reports on how players performed. That kept the public mostly in the dark. There were often stories of crazy, huge pots played between billionaire whales. But because records were never public, the exact details of what happened remained known only to those who played.
The tall tales still persist in the poker world many years later. A thread from Two Plus Two forums from 2023 discusses some of the stories from the legendary Macau games. One story claims a player allegedly lost close to $100 million in a single night.
But Dwan notably declined to reveal the largest pot he had ever seen in Macau. He did indicate that the interviewer’s $20 million guess was in the ballpark.
It appears those days are gone, replaced by one or two big games populated by a handful of known pros and whatever soft money remains in the ecosystem.
