賭場的億萬富翁史蒂夫·韋恩透露稱，他在澳門賭場的一個中間人——本質(zhì)上是承包商——帶來的客人大賺特賺，導(dǎo)致賭場在4月?lián)p失了超過1,000萬美元，對于一項可以獲取5,000萬美元利潤的業(yè)務(wù)來說，這是令人震驚的損失。

這位永利度假村的創(chuàng)始人和首席執(zhí)行官在電話會議上對分析師表示：“在我50年的賭場經(jīng)營中，這次遭遇的可能是統(tǒng)計學(xué)上最獨特的反常。由于涉及的金額數(shù)量巨大，我們較大的一個賭場出現(xiàn)了整月的虧損?！?

知情人士表示，該承包商是澳門最大的賭場中介之一太陽城集團(tuán)。彭博社聯(lián)系太陽城集團(tuán)時，對方表示對此無可奉告。

這次虧損發(fā)生在廈門路氹金光大道上斥資42億美元建立的新度假酒店永利皇宮酒店的百家樂牌桌上。按照流行的做法，中間人把揮金如土的賭徒帶到了賭場，給他們準(zhǔn)備了現(xiàn)金，并領(lǐng)著他們進(jìn)入了私人房間。根據(jù)客人的賭注，賭場給操作員提供傭金。

這位75歲的賭場大亨表示：“當(dāng)時運(yùn)氣太糟糕了，所有的賭客都贏得了幾百萬美元?！?

賭博就是拼概率的游戲，而百家樂的輸贏可能會很極端。這種游戲吸引了全世界最大的賭徒，也給參與者帶來了最誘人的賠率，莊家優(yōu)勢平均只有1.2%。也就是參與者平均投入100美元只會輸?shù)?.2美元。而玩老虎機(jī)則會平均輸?shù)舳噙_(dá)12美元。

丹佛大學(xué)風(fēng)險和游戲?qū)I(yè)的教授羅伯特·漢納姆表示，考慮到大量的參與者和高額的賭注，賭場整個月都沒能盈利是罕見的情況。

他在一封郵件中說道：“盈利的概率極高。當(dāng)然，也確實會出現(xiàn)黑天鵝事件，有些人也認(rèn)為在賭場業(yè)務(wù)中，一切皆有可能?！?

去年8月開張的永利皇宮酒店在其他方面的表現(xiàn)也令人失望。永利表示，這家酒店周圍的建筑都影響了客流。這里的虧損也導(dǎo)致了永利度假村在第二季度的收益低于預(yù)期。公司股價在過去兩天內(nèi)下跌了近8%。

賭場業(yè)務(wù)的波動性，也使得一些賭場經(jīng)營者會根據(jù)調(diào)整基數(shù)發(fā)布財報，也就是說他們會告訴投資者如果賭場收益達(dá)到了歷史常規(guī)水平，公司收入會是多少。

今年1月，拉斯維加斯金沙公司在澳門新建的巴黎人度假酒店虧損2,000萬美元，其中的1,500萬美元就因為一位幸運(yùn)的賭徒所致。上周三，公司表示高端百家樂的不穩(wěn)定性，又導(dǎo)致其在新加坡的濱海灣金沙酒店的收入猛增1億美元。

在收入電話會議上，總裁羅伯·古德斯坦表示：“讓我們明確一點，這個季度我們十分走運(yùn)。我認(rèn)為這一點有必要重復(fù)聲明，這是個高度集中的領(lǐng)域，有幾十個經(jīng)營者可以在一個季度里一鳴驚人。”（財富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者：嚴(yán)匡正

On Tuesday, casino billionaire Steve Wynn revealed that a junket operator in his Macau casinos -- essentially a subcontractor -- brought in clients whose winnings cost the casino more than $10 million in April, an astonishing swing for a business that can generate profit of as much as $50 million.

“We had probably the most unique statistical anomaly in my 50 years of doing this,” the founder and chief executive officer of Wynn Resorts told analysts on a conference call. “And that is with enormous volume, one of our leading outlets lost money for the entire month.”

The contractor was Suncity Group, one of Macau’s largest junket operators, according to people familiar with the matter. Contacted by Bloomberg, Suncity said it didn’t have any information to disclose about the matter.

The loss occurred at baccarat tables at the Wynn Palace, the new $4.2 billion resort on Macau’s Cotai Strip. In a system prevalent in that market, junket operators bring high rollers to the casinos, front them cash and set them up in private rooms. The casinos pay the operators a commission based on the amount their clients bet, and are on the hook for the gamblers’ winnings.

“The bottom fell out and all of the players won millions of dollars,” said the 75-year-old casino mogul.

Gambling is a matter of probabilities, and with baccarat the swings can be extreme. The game attracts the biggest bettors in the world and offers among the best odds for players, with the house advantage averaging 1.2 percent. That means a player can expect to lose $1.20 for every $100 bet over time. In slot machines it’s as much as $12.

Given the high volume of players and betting, being unprofitable for a whole month is unusual, said Robert Hannum, a professor of risk and gaming at the University of Denver.

“The odds are astronomically high,” he said in an e-mail. “Of course, black swans do occur and some might say that anything can happen in the casino business.”

The Wynn Palace, which opened in August of last year, has disappointed in other ways. Construction on all sides of the new property has hampered access, Wynn said. The shortfall there contributed to a second-quarter earnings miss at Wynn Resorts. The shares lost almost 8 percent of their value over the past two days.

The volatility of the business has prompted some casino operators to report their results on a hold-adjusted basis, meaning they also tell investors what revenue would have been had winnings been more in line with historical norms.

In January, Las Vegas Sands Corp. blamed one lucky gambler for contributing in part to a $15 million to $20 million shortfall at its new Parisian resort in Macau. On Wednesday, the company said the volatile high-end baccarat play contributed to a $100 million revenue bump at its Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

“Let’s be clear, we had a lot of luck this quarter,” President Rob Goldstein said on an earnings call. “I think it bears repeating that this is a highly concentrated segment that a couple of dozen players can make a difference in a quarter.”