Part I: Games & Gaming · Card Games — Asian Games

Pai Gow (Tiles)

Asian Card Games

An ancient Chinese gambling game played with 32 domino-like tiles (rather than cards). Each player receives four tiles that must be arranged into a high hand (two tiles) and a low hand (two tiles), both trying to total as close to 9 as possible. Pai Gow Tiles uses complex symbolic rankings including Supreme Pairs, Matched Pairs, Wongs, and Gongs that supersede simple numeric totals.

In practice

True Pai Gow Tiles is distinct from Pai Gow Poker. The game is complex and requires specialized dealers. Found in most major Macau casinos and select Las Vegas properties catering to Asian clientele. The banking option rotates among players, creating unique surveillance challenges.

One entry from the Casino Industry Glossary — 1,157 terms written for surveillance, compliance and operations professionals rather than for players. Definitions describe industry usage; where a term carries a regulatory meaning, verify against the instrument that governs your jurisdiction.