Photos by Troy Conrad
On the hierarchy of casino games, baccarat sits near the very top. The high-risk/high-reward game doesn’t feel approachable the way blackjack does, nor does it get the sterling PR poker has received over the last decade. Baccarat feels like one of those ultra-exclusive secrets of the super-wealthy, the kind of game where you need to be dressed in a tuxedo and holding a martini before you even consider sitting down at the table. Each time Mikki Mase strolls into the high-limit baccarat room he shatters this image. No one expects a guy with long hair, covered in tattoos and clad in streetwear, to even be let behind the velvet rope. But then Mase sits down and more often than not he wins. A lot.
Mase is one of the winningest players in the world at baccarat, a feat that is impressive on its own, but even more so when you consider how he came to the game. “It’s so funny,” Mase laughs. “I used to be exclusively a blackjack player and I would bet the most you’re allowed to bet, but I always wanted to bet more money. One of my buddies from my degenerate gambler friend group said to me, ‘Bro, you’re never going to be able to bet big enough in blackjack. Whatever your bet would be in blackjack, you’re able to bet double that in baccarat.’ All he had to say was that I could bet twice the amount of money and I was like, ‘OK, I guess I’m going to learn.’”
Given Mase’s motivations for trying baccarat, you won’t be surprised to learn that he jumped in head first, betting $500 on his very first hand. He won. Then he turned to his friend and asked him to explain why. One hand later his money was back in the hands of the casino and again he asked his friend why. Fast forward to today where Mase is routinely betting the highest limits in Las Vegas history on hands of baccarat.
Mase grew up in the suburbs of New Jersey, not too far from New York City. From a young age he was an analytical thinker—an indispensable trait for a professional card player—and he used this skill to get an advantage in all of the games he’d play growing up. And we’re not talking about Hungry Hungry Hippos here.
Photos by Troy Conrad
“My grandparents were very involved in my life. They raised me, and they were sick, sick gamblers,” Mase says with reverence. “Minus my mother and my father, my entire bloodline is filled with gamblers. When I was 5 years old I was taught gin rummy, Hungarian rummy, Texas Hold ’Em. They liked to gamble so if they had to take care of me all day, they wanted to gamble with me. Even if it was just for pocket change.”
As he tells me how he caught the gambling bug so many years ago, I notice the sound of shuffling chips in the background of the phone call. While we’re talking, Mase is playing hands of blackjack, proving what an epic multitasker he can be. The conversation steers toward the question of whether or not what he does for a living is actually a true gamble. He’s studied the games intensely, running all of the numerous possibilities through his analytical mind, attempting to glean every possible mathematical edge he can find. While many people may consider any casino game to fall under the broad umbrella of “gambling,” it’s clear that what Mase does is not the same as when a tourist drunkenly stumbles up to a roulette table and throws five bucks on their lucky number.
Yet, despite the massive purses he’s brought home, the countless selfies posed with mountains of money, he’s yet to win over his parents in supporting his profession. Mase recalls a recent dinner where the subject was brought up yet again.
“My dad starts off by saying that I should start doing something with my money so I don’t gamble it,” Mase says. “I know that’s sound advice, and I do that where most of my money is not liquid. But, you know, these investments are coming from money I made gambling. I’m a multi-millionaire because I gamble, you know? They’re always talking to me like it’s some hobby, like it’s some bad thing, they’re always trying to discourage me.
“I guess I feel rebellious and I want to prove him wrong,” Mase continues. “But it really just offends me. It’s very frustrating.”
During the pandemic Mase became active on social media. Recognizing that the added publicity is a double-edged sword—“I didn’t put myself out there for people to pick me apart and call me names”—it’s also allowed Mase to explore new ventures. He’s made connections with more than a few prominent movers and shakers, which is nice, but he’s also shown the wider world that a heavily inked man can thrive in spaces that once seemed reserved for the elite.
By using his analytical powers to suss out an edge in one of the world’s most exclusive games, Mikki Mase has not only proven that he belongs behind the velvet rope among the high rollers, but that he’ll be walking out with a mountain of chips and a smile on his tattooed face.
Source: www.inkedmag.com