Which club proprietor in their right mind would decide to increase the annual membership fee of a premium central London establishment by 50 times in one rise?

哪个心智正常的俱乐部业主会做出如此决定：将伦敦市中心一家高端会所的年度会费一举上调为原来的50倍？

As chief executive of Les Ambassadeurs, the deluxe casino in the heart of Mayfair, Chris Black wanted to clear out the old membership in one go.

Les Ambassadeurs是一家位于伦敦梅菲尔区(Mayfair)中心地带的高级赌场。首席执行官克里斯•布莱克(Chris Black)希望借此将老会员一举清理干净。

The club’s old guard consisted of ageing Europeans and players of Middle East origin. “Les A” – as the casino industry knows it – looked exceptionally busy. But too many members simply hovered around tables for hours without staking much, while high-stakes players could not get on to the tables.

这家俱乐部的老会员主要由日益老迈的欧洲人和来自中东地区的玩家组成。这家在博彩行业中被称为“Les A”的赌场表面上看起来格外繁忙。但很多会员在赌桌旁边流连好几个小时也不怎么下注，而肯下重注的大玩家们却上不了赌桌。

Mr Black and his marketing officer Kevin McGowen embarked on what they called “the purge”. In one dramatic roll of the dice, they announced the annual membership was increasing from £500 to £25,000.

于是，布莱克和他的市场营销官凯文•麦高恩(Kevin McGowen)开始了他们称为“大清洗”的计划。他们采取了一个充满戏剧性的冒险举措，宣布将年度会费从500英镑上调至25000英镑。

They were told it would never work. “In any other market, you’d be crazy to fire customers,” Mr Black says.

他们被告知这个办法绝对行不通。布莱克说：“在任何其他市场中，炒客户鱿鱼都是一种疯狂的行为。”

But the move was part of a broader plan. While membership numbers duly dropped like a stone, from 350 to about 100, that suited Les Ambassadeurs. Stepping into the market was a much better quality customer – the wealthy Chinese player.

但该举措是一个更加宏大的计划的一部分。虽然会员人数像石头一样应声下坠，从350人降至约100人，这却正合Les Ambassadeurs的心意。现在进入市场的是一个质量大为提升的顾客群体——富有的中国玩家们。

Since the purge, Chinese tourists, businessmen, residents and workers make up half of Les Ambassadeurs’ clientele and the casino feels this is a much more solid platform for growth.

自从大清洗计划以来，来自中国的游客、商人、住户以及工作人员在Les Ambassadeurs的客户群中所占比重已达二分之一。该赌场认为，这为其今后增长筑造了一个更加扎实的平台。

These changes are representative of a broader trend at luxurious London casinos, which are enjoying a renaissance after years of turbulence. A decade ago they and the rest of the UK market had high hopes after Tony Blair’s government enacted more liberal gambling laws and promised a wave of new casinos ostensibly to help regenerate less well-off parts of the country.

上述变化体现出了伦敦高级赌场当中一股涉及面更广的趋势，在经历了多年动荡之后，该行业开始重获新生。十年前，这些赌场和英国整体市场一样，对博彩行业的发展寄予了很高期望，因为托尼•布莱尔(Tony Blair)政府制定了更加自由的博彩法规，承诺将建立一批新赌场，并号称此举是为了帮助英国国内较不繁荣的地区重获新生。

Las Vegas operators such as MGM and Caesars came to court local British politicians, promising to bring a flavour of the Nevada Strip to provincial towns and cities such as Manchester and Nottingham. But they were caught in a political backlash against casino liberalisation, and went home empty-handed.

美高梅(MGM)和凯撒娱乐(Caesars Entertainment)等拉斯维加斯的博彩运营商前来向英国本土政客大献殷勤，承诺将内华达州拉斯维加斯大道(Las Vegas Strip)的风情带到曼彻斯特、诺丁汉等地方城市。但他们受到了反对博彩自由化政治运动的激烈抵制，两手空空地退回了家。

Seizing on this public scepticism about casinos, Gordon Brown, Mr Blair’s successor, promptly drove up the tax rate on casino revenues to 50 per cent. The effect, together with the UK’s smoking ban in public places and the global downturn, was catastrophic. London casinos have in recent years been feeling sorry for themselves.

布莱尔的继任者戈登•布朗(Gordon Brown)抓住了公众对博彩行业产生怀疑的契机，迅速将赌场的所得税率上调到了50%。加上英国公共场所禁烟以及全球经济下行的影响，这一举措的效果是灾难性的。近年来，伦敦的赌场一直为自身境遇感到难过。

Today, they are altogether more upbeat. The growth of baccarat, the card game beloved of Chinese gamblers, is a big component of this optimism. At Les Ambassadeurs the maximum single stake allowed has risen from £25,000 to £300,000. The amount staked on baccarat has risen sharply, the casino says, to £2bn in the first four months of 2014 alone, up from £1.6bn in the whole of 2013.

如今，赌场业主们的心态整体更加乐观积极。百家乐的营收增长——这是中国赌客们钟爱的一种纸牌游戏——是带来这种乐观情绪的一个主要方面。在Les Ambassadeurs，其所允许的单笔最大下注金额已从2.5万英镑上调至了30万英镑。这家赌场表示，百家乐的下注规模显著上涨，在2014年的头四个月中就达到了20亿英镑，高于2013年全年的16亿英镑。

Across the country, meanwhile, the UK Gambling Commission says the amount staked on baccarat in casinos has trebled over four years. “A few years ago casinos were very much made up of super-rich Middle East customers playing roulette,” says Erica Young, the commission’s casino expert. “The big growth now is the Far East and mainland Chinese and baccarat.”

英国博彩委员会(UK Gambling Commission)表示，在全国各地的赌场中，百家乐的下注规模在过去四年间增长了两倍。该委员会的赌场专家埃里卡•杨(Erica Young)表示：“几年前，去赌场的基本都是超级富有的中东客人，他们喜欢玩轮盘赌。当前的大幅增长主要来自远东和中国内地的客户群体，他们喜欢玩百家乐。”

Mr Black breaks his Chinese customers into four segments – those who send their children to British private schools, London property investors, visitors coming to watch sporting events and those in the capital for business.

布莱克将他的中国客户分成了四类——将子女送入英国私立学校就读的人，伦敦房地产的投资者，前来观看体育赛事的游客，以及来伦敦进行商业活动的人。

He has recruited more Chinese chefs and croupiers who speak Mandarin and Cantonese, and trained his staff about the do’s and don’ts of dealing with Chinese customers – the words that are considered unlucky, the right body language, where to stand.

他已经聘请了更多能说普通话和广东话的中国厨师和赌台管理员，并就与中国客户打交道时应做什么、不应做什么对员工进行了培训——比如哪些词被认为是不吉利的，正确的身体语言是怎样的，以及应该站在哪里。

He and Mr McGowen have made numerous trips to China, wooing potential customers and getting to know their habits. “The goal is to establish a relationship,” says Mr McGowen, “we have to learn their likes and dislikes”.

他和麦高恩已经去过中国很多次，旨在拉拢潜在客户，并逐渐了解他们的偏好习惯。麦高恩说：“我们的目标是建立关系。我们必须了解他们喜欢什么，不喜欢什么。”

Another of London’s top casinos – which are a world away from bookmakers with their betting shops and gambling websites, and are sometimes dubbed the “Mayfair Six” – is Crockfords, which is part of the gambling empire of the Malaysian group Genting .

伦敦的另一家顶级赌场Crockfords是马来西亚云顶集团(Genting)旗下博彩帝国的成员之一。伦敦的顶级赌场与普通博彩公司相比完全是另一个世界，它们有投注站和博彩网站，有时候被称为“梅菲尔六赌场(Mayfair Six)”。

It, too, has made a concerted play for the Chinese gambler, converting more space for baccarat tables, sending staff to China to court players and employing Chinese speakers.

Crockfords同样为迎合中国赌客采取了一系列举措，包括腾出更多空间以摆放百家乐的牌桌，将员工派到中国揽客，以及聘请会说中文者。

The Chinese market promises to be a fruitful one, says Peter Brooks of Genting. “There has been significant growth and we are going to see that continue,” he says.

云顶集团的彼得•布鲁克斯(Peter Brooks)表示，中国市场很有希望带来丰厚利润。他表示：“增长很显著，我们将确保这一趋势持续下去。”

The only hindrance, he adds, is the time it takes Chinese visitors to obtain a UK tourist visa.

他补充称，唯一的阻碍在于，中国游客获得英国旅游签证需要花费很长时间。

In a less intensive way, The Hippodrome, a high-volume low-stakes casino in Leicester Square, is also courting the Chinese market. A backdoor entrance leads directly to Chinatown to allow chefs, waiters and other restaurant staff ease of access. A Feng Shui expert helped refurbish the venue.

位于莱斯特广场(Leicester Square)的Hippodrome赌场同样也在迎合中国市场，不过方式没有那么激烈——这家赌场走的是高下注量、低下注额路线。Hippodrome的一个后门入口直接通向中国城，方便厨师、侍者以及其他餐厅员工进入赌场。一位风水专家协助重新装修了赌场。

The Hippodrome was once home to a circus theatre, then the Talk of the Town variety show which packed audiences in to watch stars such as Judy Garland, Sammy Davis Jr and Tom Jones. After a shortlived spell as a nightclub, former bingo operator Jimmy Thomas bought it and spent £40m to convert it into a casino, cabaret, restaurant and bar venue.

Hippodrome曾是一家马戏团剧院的所在地，后来成为综艺表演夜总会小镇话题(Talk of the Town)的驻地，大量观众被吸引前来观看朱迪•加兰(Judy Garland)、小萨米•戴维斯(Sammy Davis Jr)和汤姆•琼斯(Tom Jones)等明星的表演。这里没有成为夜总会多长时间，曾经的赌博游戏运营商吉米•托马斯(Jimmy Thomas)就买下了它，并斥资4000万英镑将这里改建成了一座集赌场、歌舞表演、餐厅和酒吧于一身的综合体。

He scrapped the idea of membership, but did not know what to expect when it opened two years ago. “We expected 18,000 [customers] a week,” says Simon Thomas, his son. “It was a huge guess . . . We were an empty building and had to change people’s habits.”

吉米•托马斯抛弃了会员制的概念，但在两年前赌场开业之时，他并不知道将会出现什么情况。他的儿子西蒙•托马斯(Simon Thomas)表示：“我们预计每周会迎来18000名顾客，这是一个大胆的猜测。当时我们不过是一栋空荡荡的大楼，并且必须改变人们的习惯。”

The casino hit the Thomases’ target within a month. In good weeks it attracts 32,000 people. A third of its clients are Asian.

赌场在一个月之内就达到了托马斯父子的预定目标。好的时候赌场一周可以吸引顾客32000人。其中有三分之一的客人都是亚洲人。

The Hippodrome’s growth has en­abled it to expand with a separate Vegas-style venue in the basement. A century ago the basement housed circus animals and a 100,000-gallon water tank. It reopened last month with blackjack and roulette tables, “dancing girls on podiums”, a gin palace and a barber shop.

Hippodrome的快速增长使其能够扩张业务，在地下室新设了一个单独的拉斯维加斯风格的经营场所。一个世纪以前，地下室中安置的是马戏团动物和一个容量10万加仑的水箱。上月这里重新开放，有21点和轮盘赌桌，“表演台上的跳舞女郎”，一个豪华酒吧以及一个发廊。

Aged 80, Jimmy Thomas came from a showman’s family. His uncle used to shoot tops of candles from fingers, while his aunt’s trick was to eat bananas under water.

现年80岁的吉米•托马斯来自一个演艺家庭。他的叔叔曾表演射中放在手指上的蜡烛的顶端，而他婶婶的绝活则是在水下吃香蕉。

The Thomases are not necessarily fixated with attracting Chinese gamblers. Simon says the stake limits are too low to attract a regular flow of Chinese high-rollers. Nevertheless, “we are getting Mayfair customers coming here because it’s fun”.

托马斯父子对于吸引中国赌客并不痴迷。西蒙表示，Hippodrome的赌注上限太低，以至于难以吸引稳定的中国豪赌客客流。但他指出：“我们已经吸引到了梅菲尔区的顾客前来，因为这里很有意思。”

A beginner’s guide to baccarat

百家乐新手指南

Baccarat was a popular card game in 19th-century France, regarded as a sophisticated game played for high stakes. Ian Fleming built his plot for Casino Royale around James Bond playing a game of baccarat, although the 2006 film has Daniel Craig playing Texas Hold ‘Em instead.

百家乐是一种广受欢迎的纸牌游戏，起源于19世纪的法国。在世人眼中，这是一种精致复杂的游戏，并且赌注高昂。伊恩•弗莱明(Ian Fleming)的小说《皇家赌场》(Casino Royale)的情节，就是围绕詹姆斯•邦德(James Bond)玩百家乐展开的。不过在2006年的同名电影中，主演丹尼尔•克雷格(Daniel Craig)玩的是德州扑克。

Two cards each are dealt to a player and the dealer. Cards from 2 to 9 keep their value. Tens and face cards are worth zero. Aces count as 1. The object is to get to a combined value as close as possible to 9.

庄家和玩家各发两张牌。2至9的牌按牌面计点数。10以及印有人像的牌计为零点，A纸牌计为1点。各家力争使两张牌加总点数尽可能接近于9。

A player with a combined value of 8 or 9 wins. A player whose cards have a combined value of 6 or 7 must stand. Players with cards with a value higher than 9 subtract 10 from the value. So a hand with a 5 and a 6 has a value of 1, while 6 and 7 is worth 3. The player can then draw a third card to try to get their hand closer to 9. Where the value is zero to 5, players get drawn a third card.

总点数为8或9的玩家获胜。牌面总点数为6或7的玩家必须停止补牌。牌面总点数大于9的玩家须将点数减10。因此，手中牌为5和6的玩家，最终点数为1，手中牌为6和7的玩家，最终点数为3。之后玩家可以抽取第三张牌，争取使手中牌的点数接近于9。当头两张牌的点数为0至5时，玩家都可抽取第三张牌。

There’s not much skill to it, though players can bet on their own hand or the dealer’s.

这种游戏不需要太多技巧，不过玩家可以把赌注押在他们自己或者庄家的手气上。

Other versions of baccarat include chemin de fer and punto banco. Why is it called baccarat? Possibly because of an old Italian word, “baccara”, which meant “nothing” – which is what casinos hope customers end up with at the end of a baccarat session.

其他种类的百家乐包括十一点(chemin de fer)和北美百家乐(punto banco)。这种游戏为什么称为百家乐(baccarat)呢？或许是因为一个古老的意大利词汇“baccara”，意思是“空无一物”——这正是赌场希望百家乐牌局结束之后顾客的下场。