Kerry Packer is gone but he is not forgotten. The late media magnate, who is said to have won $20m (£10.7m) playing baccarat and blackjack on one visit to the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, is remembered with awe as the biggest of the world's "whales".

Whales - the high-rolling gamblers whom casinos try to lure with free flights on Gulfstream jets, lavish hotel suites and even partial forgiveness of their losses - are back in favour. After Packer's coup in 1995, Las Vegas casinos took fright at the risks of high-limit baccarat, the game Asian gamblers favour, but US casino operators such as Steve Wynn are hunting for them again.