James Bond is still on the baccarat table and he has company. The room now has the panda and the dragon as well, supporting the Las Vegas brand which is responsible for their birth.
All this is courtesy Robin Powell and Francisco “TJ” Tejeda, the Talisman Group principals. The version of this games developed by them has nearly 700 tables in active use, starting from San Diego all the way to Macau.
Startling growth for baccarat
In the last 5 years, the game of baccarat has grown by 315 percent, reported spokesperson Michelle Laird. Tejeda was reported saying that they were aware where it was going and they were right. In Asia, baccarat is a highly popular game. As such, the pandas and dragons are used in EZ Baccarat as they are symbols in sync with the Asian culture.
A problem is also solved by the game. Without having to change the different elements of the game, there is elimination of the dealer’s responsibility of withdrawing the 5% commission of the casino.
How it began for Powell and Tejeda
It was in 2003 that Tejeda and Powell met and opened the baccarat room at the MGM Grand. Casinos have remained a lifestyle for both of them.
Tejeda remembered how is career pushed off in 1971 in Reno at Harrah’s when he met Bill Harrah. Transitioning from dealing to managing and finally into the global marketing of the game of baccarat, Tejeda has travelled the world in all these years.
In Botswana, Powell had briefly worked as a craps dealer. He started dealing chemin de fer, the baccarat forerunner, at the age of 19, in Swaziland. Powell found his way into the casino operations and moved around covering Australia, Africa, Monte Carlo and then bouncing to Spain.
