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Japanese wins Baccarat Challenge on Tinian
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Posted on Mar 14 2005
A whopping $60,000 went to Japanese businessman Arai Haruyuki when he outlasted 125 participants in the 2005 $100,000 Baccarat Challenge held at the Tinian Dynasty Hotel and Casino last Saturday and Sunday.
Haruyuki, who won the championship after seven previous attempts to bag the prize, said he was very happy to have finally won. “Now I can have money for the next games,” he said through a translator.
Haruyuki is engaged in selling Japanese pachinko equipment and said he has been playing Baccarat for many years already.
Ken Barberis, casino general manager, said that this year’s participants for the Baccarat Challenge were mostly from Japan. He said the game has become so popular that the event always gathers no less than 100 participants.
The registration fee for the event was $1,000—essentially a generous package, said Barberis, since that includes hotel accommodations and food.
The Baccarat Challenge started last Saturday night with 126 players, which was trimmed down to 30 then to the final 10 players. Barberis said the six non-winning finalists were already assured of $1,000 each as consolation prize, giving them back their money.
Hashimoto Koji won first runner-up taking home $30,000. Liu Run Fang, 2nd runner-up, took home $20,000; and Lou Yin Juan, 3rd runner-up, went home with $10,000.
Barberis praised his team for an excellent job and said that, although this edition’s number of participants was lower than last year’s 170, “It’s not that bad,” adding that this is also a very good year for them.
Tinian Dynasty Hotel and Casino has lined up other activities this coming second quarter until the last quarter of the year, including a Blackjack tournament in June. Barberis also promised a poker tournament that might take place before the year ends.
He said the hotel is also planning activities to target and encourage the Chinese market.
The 2005 Baccarat Challenge was held in collaboration with Pacific Trading Co. Ltd., the Tinian Mayor’s Office, and the Marianas Visitors Authority.
