Las Vegas casinos are offering high-stakes tournaments to keep the game going, beating big spenders from other regions, as SARS sweeps across Asia and the region's wealthiest gamblers choose not to bet their health on trans-Pacific flights, casino bosses said on May 7.

Gamblers in the Far East are some of the highest gamblers in Las Vegas, accounting for a large share of casino income in table games such as baccarat every year.

But as a pneumonia-like disease known as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome spreads to the Far East, the idea of travelling and contracting the disease - not even the First Class - can be done worthy of play.

"People don't want to be on a plane with 300 other people for 14 hours and potentially be exposed to the virus," said Harry Haggerty, chief financial officer of Park Place Entertainment, explaining the slowdown in foreign business due to SARS in a recent interview. 바카라사이트 추천

No. 1 Las Vegas casino owner Park Place, which, like other casino operators, owns Caesars Palace, typically felt an additional drop in revenue during the slow spring season.

U.S. authorities are also giving fewer visas to foreigners for fear of SARS, hoteliers say. John Mars, senior vice president of Mandalay Resort Group, which owns the Mandalay Resort Casino, said it was one reason for the slowdown.

"Hong Kong is virtually crippled," Maz said, adding that customers were staying at home.

China, Taiwan and Singapore have also been affected over the past 20 days, he said.

He said Mandalay could compensate for the drop by focusing marketing efforts on special events such as recent boxing matches and high-end businesses in the country and South America.

MGM's Bakara Betting

MGM Mirage, a casino operator that owns the Swanky Bellagio Hotel and owns two-thirds of the international high-roller market, is betting that a big contest in Baccarat, a card game favored by big-stakes players in June, will attract Asian gamblers.

MGM spokesman Yvette Monet added: "The hundreds of bookers invited to the tournament so far are not behind the usual pace, but the overall game is slow."

She said, "Visits from Asia have declined slightly, and we believe that's because of a soft global economy, which has deteriorated among other factors in the last few months due to the outbreak of SARS."

MGM regularly hosts baccarat events, and June events are scheduled for a certain period of time. After all, MGM is confident that the casino will win in the long run.

"We faced a bigger problem than SARS, and the industry proved very durable," Monet said.