Genting Casino Tournaments

Genting Casino tournaments at a glance

Resorts World Genting sits in the Genting Highlands in Pahang, Malaysia, and its gaming is spread across two distinct casinos: Genting Casino and the modern SkyCasino⁴. On top of the everyday tables and machines, the resort runs tournament events for its casino players throughout the year.

The main series, side by side:

Both casino series are invitation events tied to the Genting Rewards card, the resort's membership program, which is free to apply for⁵. If you are visiting the resort as a tourist, there is also a Tourist Privilege Program that runs alongside the membership scheme⁶. Beyond the casino floor events, the resort is a recurring host for the Poker Dream festival series, with prize pools often reaching millions of MYR, held at the Genting International Convention Centre⁴.

The pattern to understand is simple:

• The baccarat and slots tournaments are for the resort's own members, mostly regular and higher-stakes players.
• The poker festivals are open events that draw an international field.

If you are planning a trip around a tournament, the poker side is the one you can simply buy into; the casino tournaments you need an invitation for.

The RM2 Million FSG Baccarat Tournament: prize pool and participant benefits

The FSG Baccarat Tournament is the flagship table-game event at Resorts World Genting. The total prize pool is RM2,000,000, one of the largest tournament prize pools offered at the resort¹. The event runs in stages: a preliminary round, followed by semifinals and a final held the next day².

Entry is not open to everyone. The tournament is limited to selected Genting Rewards members, by invitation only⁷. If you are invited, you must register in advance because places are limited; you do this by contacting your service officer or calling +603 2718 1118⁸.

The main participant benefit is accommodation. During the tournament, participants receive a free three-day, two-night stay at Resorts World Genting². That means your lodging for the event itself is covered, which matters at a mountain resort where hotel rooms fill up on event weekends.

On tournament day itself, there is a check-in step. Participants must register at the registration counter at the tournament venue on the day of the competition¹. If you fail to check in, you are treated as absent and will incur a penalty¹. Breaching the tournament rules can also lead to your eligibility being canceled, so it is worth reading the terms you are given with your invitation⁹.

If you have never played baccarat, the game itself is straightforward. It is a guessing game of pure chance: you bet on which of two dealt hands, the Player or the Banker, will end up with the higher points, out of a possible 9¹⁰. Once bets are placed, a total of four cards are dealt, two for the Player box and two for the Banker box¹¹. If either hand totals 8 or 9 on the first two cards, that is a natural win, the round is over and the placed bets are paid¹⁰. A tournament version scores players across rounds rather than paying each hand, but the underlying game is the same one you will find on the regular floor at casinos in Malaysia.

Complimentary stays for invited Rewards members

Free accommodation is a recurring feature of Genting's invitation tournaments, not just the baccarat event. In the Premium Slots Tournament, invited members receive a free three-day, two-night stay on tournament day as well³. The baccarat tournament works the same way, with participants housed at the resort for the duration of the competition².

The invitations go through the Genting Rewards program. Membership is free to apply for, so the barrier to eventually receiving tournament invitations is play and tier level rather than an entry fee⁵. There are some exclusions on who can hold casino membership:

• Companies, partnerships, trading companies, sole proprietors, societies and other incorporated or unincorporated bodies are excluded¹²
• Employees of the Genting group cannot join¹²

The Rewards program also carries smaller everyday perks alongside the tournament invitations. For example, members could at one point redeem a complimentary set meal at the Hanburger outlet with a minimum earning of 5GP in a day through cash play¹⁴. The larger benefits, like tournament invitations and the stays that come with them, sit at the higher card tiers.

The monthly Premium Slots Tournament for Gold and Platinum members

The Premium Slots Tournament is the slots-side counterpart to the baccarat event, and it runs far more often: it is held once a month³. It is open only to Genting Rewards Gold and Platinum card members, who are invited to take part³.

The venue is the Genting Premium Club 1 (云天金尊会1)³. Like the baccarat tournament, invited participants get a free three-day, two-night stay on tournament day³.

The 2023 calendar gives you a sense of how the dates spread across the year:

Two events in September shows that the schedule is not strictly one per calendar month in practice, but the stated frequency is monthly³.

If you hold a Gold or Platinum card and want to play, the practical steps are the same as for the baccarat event: watch for your invitation, register in advance because places are limited, and check in at the venue on the day. For more on the machines themselves, see slot machines in Malaysia.

Poker festivals at Genting

The poker side of Genting is the most accessible tournament option for visitors, because the events are open rather than invitation-only. Resorts World Genting hosts a few yearly poker tournaments, and it is a recurring host for the Poker Dream series, one of Asia's established festival brands⁴. Those festivals use the Genting International Convention Centre (GICC) and regularly build prize pools reaching millions of MYR⁴.

The biggest annual Malaysian poker tournament at Genting offers a first prize of 50,000 Malaysian ringgits, around 12,000 USD¹⁵. The poker room itself is located in the SkyCasino Gold Club inside Genting Casino at Genting Highlands, and it spreads consistent No-Limit Texas Hold'em and Pot-Limit Omaha cash games with a 5% rake, alongside Three-Card Poker, Genting Stud Poker and Progressive Texas Hold'em Poker⁴. So a festival trip can combine tournament play with daily cash games in the same building.

If you are coming from outside Malaysia for a poker festival, this is the one category of Genting tournament you can plan around without needing a Rewards card invitation. More background is on our poker in Malaysia page.

Prize rules: what you can and cannot do with winnings

The prize rules for Genting's casino tournaments are consistent across both series, and they are strict about what you can do with what you win. The Premium Slots Tournament terms state it plainly: prizes are "non-transferable, cannot be exchanged for cash and cannot be deferred"³. The baccarat tournament carries the same rule: prizes cannot be transferred, exchanged for cash, or extended in validity¹.

In practice this means:

• A prize is yours to use, but not to sell, swap or hand to someone else.
• Prizes do not apply to other promotions³.
• If you win a hotel stay, a meal or a non-cash prize, you take it as it is issued, within its validity period.

The same no-transfer principle runs through the wider Rewards program. Genting Points, tier points and other rewards may not be transferred to other members, heirs, assignees or transferees, and any transfer, sale, purchase, trading or barter is prohibited and may lead to forfeiture or termination of membership¹³. So you cannot pass your points, your prizes or your tournament invitations to a friend.

Planning your tournament trip to Resorts World Genting

Resorts World Genting is in Pahang, Malaysia, up in the Genting Highlands⁴. If you are invited to a tournament, a few practical points from the event terms will shape your trip.

First, the schedule. The 2023 baccarat tournament ran preliminary rounds on dates including October 6, December 9 and December 15, with semifinals and finals the following day in each case, such as October 7 and December 16¹. The pattern is a preliminary day followed by a semifinal and final day, which lines up with the three-day, two-night stay that participants receive².

Second, the venue. The baccarat preliminary round is played at Casino de Genting 2, next to the Lucky Restaurant². On the day, you must register at the registration counter at the tournament venue; failing to check in counts as absence and carries a penalty¹. Arrive with time to spare for check-in before play starts.

Third, registration before you travel. Invited participants must register in advance because places are limited, either through your service officer or by phone at +603 2718 1118⁸. Do not assume an invitation alone holds your seat.

Fourth, conduct. Breaching the tournament rules can lead to cancellation of your eligibility, so keep the terms you were sent handy during the event⁹.

A quick checklist for an invited player:

1. Register in advance through your service officer or by phone at +603 2718 1118⁸
2. Confirm your free three-day, two-night stay²
3. On tournament day, check in at the registration counter at the venue before play starts¹
4. Keep the tournament terms with you; breaching them can cancel your eligibility⁹

Beyond the tournament itself, the resort is a full destination, and our Genting Highlands trip guide and the Resorts World Genting page cover getting there, the hotels and what else is on the mountain. Note that foreign visitors of any religion may enter the casino at Genting; only Malaysian Muslim citizens are barred, which is covered on our gambling in Malaysia as a visitor page. For the wider picture of what you can and cannot play in the country, see gambling in Malaysia.