Sands China Launches Four-Tier Baccarat Jackpot

Sands China Ltd has rolled out a new four-level linked progressive jackpot for live baccarat players across the mass gaming floors of its Cotai properties.

The new feature became available from Thursday afternoon, September 24, according to GGRAsia site checks and industry sources.

The launch comes one day before the Mid-Autumn Festival, which follows the lunar calendar and is observed in mainland China from September 25 to 27. The three-day celebration takes place shortly before China’s National Day Golden Week, which runs from October 1 to 7.

New Baccarat Layout Introduced

Sands China is promoting the jackpot as a feature pioneered by the operator, with a new baccarat table layout introduced to support the progressive system.

Players can participate through a specifically marked red circle on the table, which identifies the wager linked to the jackpot.

During Thursday afternoon checks, the feature was available at the Mass Red Dragon Game Zone and the high-limits baccarat section at The Venetian Macao.

The jackpot was also offered at The Plaza casino, the high-limits section of The Parisian Macao casino, as well as The Londoner Casino and The Londoner Grand Casino, which serve as the main gaming areas at The Londoner Macao resort.

Players can place the designated jackpot wager for HKD200 (US$25.5). The same bet denomination applies across Sands China’s Cotai properties, with the progressive jackpot operating as a separate side bet subject to specific winning conditions.

Four Jackpot Levels

The highest level is the Grand bonus, which stood at slightly more than HKD15 million during GGRAsia’s Thursday afternoon visit.

To trigger the Grand prize, the player must win with a hand totaling seven points against a banker hand totaling six points, with both hands comprising six cards. Every card in the player’s hand must be a diamond, while every card in the banker’s hand must be a spade.

The Major level represents 5% of the linked progressive jackpot prize pool. It is awarded when a six-card player hand totaling seven points defeats a six-card banker hand totaling six points. The player’s cards must all be from one red suit, either hearts or diamonds, while the banker’s cards must all belong to one black suit, either spades or clubs.

The third level, the Minor prize, provides a fixed HKD16,000 cash payout. It applies when a player hand totaling seven points beats a banker hand totaling six points, with both hands containing four or five cards. The player’s cards must be red, while the banker’s cards must be black.

The fourth level is the Mini bonus, offering a fixed HKD8,000 payout. This prize is triggered when all cards in the player’s hand are from a red suit and all cards in the banker’s hand are from a black suit, regardless of the result of a six-card hand.

Jackpot Added to Existing Side Bets

The new progressive wager has been added to Sands China’s smart baccarat tables, alongside existing side bet options.

These include Lucky Six, Small/Big Six, as well as the two-card and three-card versions of Lucky 7 and Super Lucky 7.

GGRAsia’s Thursday afternoon checks found that minimum wagers for the main baccarat propositions generally stood at between HKD1,000 and HKD2,000 on the mass-market floors across Sands China’s Cotai properties.

Minimums in the high-limit areas were generally between HKD2,000 and HKD3,000. Side bets at the Cotai properties were mostly priced between HKD200 and HKD300.

New System Follows Earlier Progressive Jackpot

The latest four-tier jackpot follows a previous progressive bonus system introduced by Sands China in July last year.

That earlier promotion featured a two-tier progressive jackpot linked to Lucky 6 and Lucky 7 side-bet combinations. It was offered across the operator’s premium and mass-market gaming floors in Macau before ending in March this year.

The new four-tier structure represents another jackpot format for mass-market baccarat players, with its launch scheduled around the Mid-Autumn Festival and the approaching Golden Week period.