Baccarat is the game of the old world with elegance and finesse. The origins of this game dates back to the 1600s. Baccarat is thought to appear in Italy. The term “baccarat” is derived from an Italian word which means “zero”, according to the game rules, the count of each face card and 10 is zero.

First a Tarot deck was utilized to play Baccarat. The first game is said to be developed by Felix Falguierein, an Italian gambler. Soon after that, baccarat appeared in France, and turned into the popular game among the French Nobility. Due to the growing interest to the game, several changes happened in Baccarat rules and they started to call it Chemin de Fer. Therefore the French assure that they invented the game is their invention. Chemin de Fer differs from Baccarat by the fact that the players control the bank, and everybody becomes the banker in turn. Here the players play against one another and the casino has only a percentage of the winnings.

The popularity of Baccarat throughout France grew, and gradually the game spread through the world after the WWI. The game has all the times been one of the favorite pastimes for the wealthy people everywhere. Of course, while the game had been spreading around the globe its rules were changed a bit. The game got a new name European Baccarat. The major difference from the Chemin de Fer is that there is a casino dealer.

When in the early 20th century the game first appeared in the US it didn’t make an impression on the public. Baccarat continued to travel and in the middle of the last century, the game appeared in Argentina in Mar del Plata casinos where the elite of South America highly appreciated it. The Cuban named the game Punto Banco, and the derivative from the game known now as American Baccarat. This type of Baccarat differs from the Chemin de Fer by the fact that the bank is managed by the casino.

Tommy Renzoni, the CEO of the Capri Hotel Casino in Havana, watched how players were playing Punto Banco, and then persuaded the owners of Dune Casino to introduce it to Las Vegas casinos, and Baccarat returned to the USA.

Baccarat has really undergone several changes, but one thing remains constant - the popularity among aristocracy and rich people. Its exclusiveness and sophistication attracts millionaires, high rollers and to baccarat tables where fortunes have been lost or won.