FYI: Margaritaville

http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/margaritaville-flamingo-announce-plans-open-margaritaville-casino-flamingo-fall-2011-1523635.htm

Can Tobe Keith's casino be far behind?

What that "news" release doesn't tell you is that the steakhouse is closing, and this new casino using that space.

I read about this a few days ago, I beleive in Anthony Curtis' Las Vegas Advisor.

Quote: DJTeddyBear

What that "news" release doesn't tell you is that the steakhouse is closing, and this new casino using that space.

I read about this a few days ago, I beleive in Anthony Curtis' Las Vegas Advisor.

that area has been closed off since before the Superbowl. I Wonder why there was such a long delay to announce it.

I wonder if this will spark a new trend in mini themed casinos. It may be thought of as a replacement for O'Sheas since they plan to tear down that building for Project Linq. Plans call for a 15,000-square-foot addition to the Flamingo's casino with 22 table games and 220 slot machines.

Margaritaville, and the empty steakhouse are in the upper left.

Wouldn't this just be another "party pit" like Pussycat Dolls, Playboy, etc.?

Quote: ItsCalledSoccer

Wouldn't this just be another "party pit" like Pussycat Dolls, Playboy, etc.?

I don't think it is quite the same. The "party pits" have less of a celebrity brand on them. Jimmy Buffet is branding the casino like he does with his Margaritaville and numerous other celebrities do with their nightclubs. The impression I get is that he will have an ownership share. Possibly he can make management decisions like choosing the games and setting the return on the slot machines.

The Wizard may have enough of a following that he could brand a relatively small casino like this (22 tables and 200+ slot machines). I think if he was allowed some freeplay in how to advertise the games, selection of the games, etc. that he could build a business.

Hey this is a good idea, we should all pool our money together and open a casino with great games, % return on all the machines, and advertise it as the best place to play in Las Vegas. It could be a small place, but with the Wiz's following it would make a good amount of money.

Quote: NicksGamingStuff

Hey this is a good idea, we should all pool our money together and open a casino with great games, % return on all the machines, and advertise it as the best place to play in Las Vegas. It could be a small place, but with the Wiz's following it would make a good amount of money.

I really kind of wonder if that would actually work profitably. We all say that it would be a great place to play, and no doubt it would be. However, it would almost have to be a zero frills, zero players club kind of place. While I think many casinos do cutback to an extreme measure, there is something to be said for getting drinks, a free meal, a nice room etc. I've often thought about a concept casino based on a similar premise, but you would have to generate HUGE traffic and have people betting a lot of money to come out ahead. If the 6-5 BJ games were really that bad for business, most strip casinos wouldn't have them all over with people playing them.

Quote: pacomartin

I don't think it is quite the same. The "party pits" have less of a celebrity brand on them. Jimmy Buffet is branding the casino like he does with his Margaritaville and numerous other celebrities do with their nightclubs. The impression I get is that he will have an ownership share. Possibly he can make management decisions like choosing the games and setting the return on the slot machines.

Quote: Wikipedia (so who knows if it's reliable)

"On January 13, 2011, Caesars central division president John Payne said “We are disappointed that our project with Margaritaville [in Biloxi] will not proceed. We will continue to explore opportunities that will allow us to enhance our resort. We remain committed to the Gulf Coast.”


On March 30, 2011, BuffettNews.com reported that the Las Vegas Margaritaville at the Flamingo will be expanding to include its very own branded casino, which will be located adjacent to the existing Margaritaville Cafe. The casino is scheduled to open in August 2011.

On June 22, 2011, Paradise Casino LLC unveiled plans for a Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville Casino and Hotel to be built east of Shreveport, LA in neighboring Bossier City. The complex, a $170 million, 400-room resort, would include an 18- to 20-story hotel tower, 1,000-seat entertainment complex with a VIP balcony and an outdoor tropical area visible to the north from the Louisiana Boardwalk."

I'm kind of surprised that Buffett went forward on the one project with Caesars given that another project with a different casino group (whom I've NEVER heard of) has emerged. Plus, it seems as though he pulled out the conversion of Grand in Biloxi. I read this before going to Vegas last month and was surprised when I saw work being completed on it. Has there been an opening date set?

Jimmy Buffett has several things in the works. I think (but I don't know) that his main "investment" in each of the projects is the same...he is going to lend his "brand" to them and will profit from their use of the brand more than their use of his money. I doubt he ha a whole lot of actual capital in any of the three projects that I have heard about...

Louisiana--mentioned in Paco's comment above

Las Vegas--the subject of this thread

Biloxi--originally, they were building an operation connected to the Grand. This was left unfinished and is a HUGE eyesore with no plans for completion or demolition as far as I know. I don't think Buffett pulled out first; I think the property lost financial backing from the money folks that were involved...when that happened, it was not a viable plan. Buffett could likely finance a billion or so; he COULD have finished the project but I just don't think he is the "money" part of ANY of these ideas in any substantial way.

There was another project announced for Biloxi...in a different location. Here is a link I found to one story about it:

http://concerttour.org/buffetts-biloxi-casino-plans-back-on-track.php

Buffett is one savvy beach bum who has leveraged his brand and appears to have done it without investing a whole lot of his own cash in any one project.

Quote: RonC

Buffett is one savvy beach bum who has leveraged his brand and appears to have done it without investing a whole lot of his own cash in any one project.

Essentially Donald Trump learned a long time ago, that he was better off as a brand than as an investor. After his first bankruptcy he lets other people finance the projects, and he offers management advice and the use of his name.

While I have suggested in the past that the Wizard should own or co-own a small neighborhood casino, I know think he might be better off selling his brand to a small pit of a major casino. Personally, I think Hooters should engage his services. That way you could market the idea that if you learn to play better blackjack you can pose in pictures with a half a dozen beautiful women.

Quote: Tiltpoul

I really kind of wonder if that would actually work profitably.

There should be a way. Business is part planning and part marketing. So:

1) Get full pay varieties of VP only and advertise the fact. "Our DW gives an advantage to the player!!"
2) Have the loosest "slots" certified by any audit or authority. Of course, counting VP as "slots" Again advertise heavily
3) Get BJ games with good rules and scantily clad dealers, with very frequent drink service, and make the music loudest there.


Something along those lines.

Of course, a Wizard of Odds Casino would ahve worked better at the MGM back when it had a kind of Wizard of Oz theme...

Quote: Nareed

There should be a way. Business is part planning and part marketing. So:

1) Get full pay varieties of VP only and advertise the fact. "Our DW gives an advantage to the player!!"
2) Have the loosest "slots" certified by any audit or authority. Of course, counting VP as "slots" Again advertise heavily
3) Get BJ games with good rules and scantily clad dealers, with very frequent drink service, and make the music loudest there.


Something along those lines.

Of course, a Wizard of Odds Casino would ahve worked better at the MGM back when it had a kind of Wizard of Oz theme...

I just wonder if that could be profitable. I understand that the advertising would be the biggest piece, but it also costs to advertise. Seeing as such a casino would need about 5 times the advertising, you would have to make cutbacks elsewhere. Presumably, there would be no hotel, but then it would need to be close to a hotel or another hotel/casino for all of us posters that live outside the LV area. Then real estate prices would go up. And I can't imagine the casino not having any restaurants, which of course the Wizard would only want the finest. The prices would have to be reasonable, meaning the profit margin would be much lower.

You could outsource some of those functions but then you would have to profit strictly on table games and slots. And you would get hit super hard with card counters, as they wouldn't be banned from the casino, right??? I also imagine that the table games dealers might have to take a slightly higher base wage, since the tips, while plentiful from the generous players, would be stingy from the APS.

Quote: Tiltpoul

Presumably, there would be no hotel, but then it would need to be close to a hotel or another hotel/casino for all of us posters that live outside the LV area.

I assumed an association, like the one discussed at the top of the thread, with an existing hotel/casino with all the frills.

Quote:

And you would get hit super hard with card counters, as they wouldn't be banned from the casino, right???

I'm not sure about that. It might be enough to shuffle every time you suspect counting.

As to the rest, well, I'm just tossing odd ideas around. But if I could build my own casino, well, I wouldn't have to :P

Quote: Nareed

I assumed an association, like the one discussed at the top of the thread, with an existing hotel/casino with all the frills.

Whoops... my first reply was to Nick's comment that we should pool our money together and open our own small casino. Hence, all my comments were regarding the feasibility of opening a WoV casino, not a similarly branded area.

To that point, yeah you could do a little advertising. What would be funny is that the WoV pit would probably have very few players, while a 6:5 pit right next door would be jammed packed with players. This isn't a discredit to the Wiz, but rather, a commentary on how players in Vegas are.

Quote: Tiltpoul

And you would get hit super hard with card counters, as they wouldn't be banned from the casino, right???

Hire dealers that can count and have them shuffle every time the count is in the player's favor. :-)

Quote: From the Marketwire article in s2dbaker's original post

The "Margaritaville Casino at the Flamingo" gaming activities will operate under the Flamingo's gaming license.

Am I interpreting this correctly as indicating that the Margaritaville Casino will use the standard Flamingo line of gaming chips? Obviously, this is a question from a chip collector curious as to whether there will be a new design/name of casino chip in use on the strip.

Quote: Doc

Am I interpreting this correctly as indicating that the Margaritaville Casino will use the standard Flamingo line of gaming chips? Obviously, this is a question from a chip collector curious as to whether there will be a new design/name of casino chip in use on the strip.

There was a limited edition line (3000 chips) released in 2007.



I don't know what they are going to do, but there is a monthly Chip and Token Report which you can check each month.

Quote: Doc

Am I interpreting this correctly as indicating that the Margaritaville Casino will use the standard Flamingo line of gaming chips? Obviously, this is a question from a chip collector curious as to whether there will be a new design/name of casino chip in use on the strip.

They may produce a new set of chips specifically for the Margaritaville Casino.

But, much like the current situation where you can use O'Shea's chips at the Flamingo, and vice versa, if they do create new chips, you'll be able to use them at either casino.

Of course, dealers today (at least from what I've seen at the poker tables) allow the 'foreign' chips in the pot, but do their best to keep the rack from getting 'polluted'. That may be more difficult to do at other games.

Quote: pacomartin

There was a limited edition line (3000 chips) released in 2007.

Quote: DJTeddyBear

They may produce a new set of chips specifically for the Margaritaville Casino.

But, much like the current situation where you can use O'Shea's chips at the Flamingo, and vice versa, if they do create new chips, you'll be able to use them at either casino.

Thanks to both of you.

And to all those who read this and get to Margaritaville before I do, please let me know if you see a "Margaritaville Casino" chip. I would be much more interested in adding that to my chips-I-want-to-get list than a "Margaritaville Commemorative" issue of Flamingo Casino chips. Did that make any sense? It's just that in my collection, I am trying to get one chip from each identifiable casino that I can visit, not one from each series of chips that a casino issues. And I'm such a cheapskate that I collect $1 chips, rather than the $5 and $25 denominations used for most of the commemoratives.

I have a trip starting later this week that should add to my collection the chips from the Hollywood Casino in Charles Town, WV, the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City, NJ, and the seven casinos in eastern/central Pennsylvania. Adding chips from the three casinos is western PA will just have to wait until I pass through that area on my next trip to Niagara Falls, perhaps next spring.

Quote: Doc

I have a trip starting later this week that should add to my collection the chips from the Hollywood Casino in Charles Town, WV, the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City, NJ, and the seven casinos in eastern/central Pennsylvania. Adding chips from the three casinos is western PA will just have to wait until I pass through that area on my next trip to Niagara Falls, perhaps next spring.

Before you go to Western Pennsylvania check and see if Nemacolin has opened their casino. You may need to go to four places.

The casino at Valley Forge Convention Center will certainly not be open by next week. They are shooting for May 2012.

Quote: pacomartin

Before you go to Western Pennsylvania check and see if Nemacolin has opened their casino. You may need to go to four places.

The casino at Valley Forge Convention Center will certainly not be open by next week. They are shooting for May 2012.

Thanks for the lead on Nemacolin; it wasn't even on my list. It also sounds as if it might be even more out of my social/financial class than the Greenbrier was. According to the web site, summer lodging rates start at $329 per night for weeknights, and it seems you can manage to keep it below $1,000 per night by avoiding the "Presidential" and "Luxury" rooms. They aren't planning to use the Greenbrier model of members-and-lodging-guests-only in the casino, are they?

The only casino info I could find on their web site (and it was hidden) was an undated letter from their president saying that they would be working with Isle of Capri to bring a casino there and would be using an existing building. No projected time frame was mentioned. Nothing very useful on the Isle of Capri site either, except for some artist's renderings. I found another site with an article dated last April saying that Nemacolin had received a license and hoped to open within 12 months. Do you have a source for further info?

If they actually are up and running in April 2012 or soon thereafter, that would work for me. That would not be too far off my projected route, and late May or early June is when I am thinking of making a trip that way. I also get to the Jersey shore about once a year to visit my sister-in-law, as we will be doing next weekend. One of our optional routes there is via the PA turnpike through Philadelphia, so I will check out the Valley Forge casino on next year's trip.

Thanks again for the tips!

To everyone else, my apologies for taking a Margaritaville thread so far off topic.

Quote: DJTeddyBear

They may produce a new set of chips specifically for the Margaritaville Casino.

But, much like the current situation where you can use O'Shea's chips at the Flamingo, and vice versa, if they do create new chips, you'll be able to use them at either casino.

I was just in O'Sheas a few weeks ago, and did not see any O'Sheas chips. They were using Flamingo chips on the table games.

Quote: pacomartin

Quote: Doc

Am I interpreting this correctly as indicating that the Margaritaville Casino will use the standard Flamingo line of gaming chips? Obviously, this is a question from a chip collector curious as to whether there will be a new design/name of casino chip in use on the strip.

There was a limited edition line (3000 chips) released in 2007.

(image of Margaritaville chips)

I don't know what they are going to do, but there is a monthly Chip and Token Report which you can check each month.

I just got around to checking out that Chip and Token Report you linked. Back 15 months or so ago, I reported on my visit to the Silver Saddle Saloon and included a photo of their $1 chip, which was actually a metal token. Well in the July 2011 Chip and Token report, there is a listing of four new (?) chip designs for the Silver Saddle, including a $1 chip described as "day blue both sides". That doesn't sound like a metal token, does it?

So now the question becomes whether I need to go back to the Silver Saddle to replace the token in my collection with a "real" chip, just as I later replaced my initial tokens from the Hard Rock and Caesars with "real" chips. For those of you who read my report on the Silver Saddle, you know it isn't a place that I am eager to return to on a regular basis. So should we hold another WoVCon and have a dozen of us go to the Silver Saddle with the hope of safety in numbers? When I initially told the Wizard about the place, he expressed some (foolish) interest in checking out the place some weekend, and I think I would need all the backup I can get. I also think all of you speakers of Spanish should be part of that expedition. Next time (if there is one) maybe I'll actually get to play there instead of (grimace of disgrace) buying a chip from the cashier.

Silver Saddle is still registering as below $1 million a year in gaming revenue. It's a nasty bar, full of dangerous drunks. I would only go during the day.

Quote: pacomartin

It's a nasty bar, full of dangerous drunks. I would only go during the day.

So.... yes Doc, you need to go back, play a hand of BJ, and get a "real" chip. I would recommend you take the Wizard, gofaster and Paco with you. If things get dicey, gofaster can throw Wizard into the crowd, while Paco hails a cab...

I was playing some Pai Gow Poker here last night, and chatted up the dealer about how the casino was setup. He said the new Margaritaville casino operates under its own casino license, and as a result, he can ONLY deal at Margaritaville and can't deal at the Flamingo. He also said the dealers only split tips between the table games in Margaritaville, so he gets quite a bit more money.

When I asked why they set it up that way given how expensive casino licenses are, he said its because they are splitting the profits with the Margaritaville company, so they can't use the Flamingo's license.

Dan, I saw a couple Margaritaville Casino chips last night, but most were Flamingo chips.

Quote: bluefire

I was playing some Pai Gow Poker here last night, and chatted up the dealer about how the casino was setup. He said the new Margaritaville casino operates under its own casino license, and as a result, he can ONLY deal at Margaritaville and can't deal at the Flamingo. He also said the dealers only split tips between the table games in Margaritaville, so he gets quite a bit more money.

When I asked why they set it up that way given how expensive casino licenses are, he said its because they are splitting the profits with the Margaritaville company, so they can't use the Flamingo's license.

Quote: bluefire

Dan, I saw a couple Margaritaville Casino chips last night, but most were Flamingo chips.

Interesting that the profits from Margaritaville get split, but apparently, the Flamingo chips are allowed to intermingle. What if someone buys a huge stack of chips at Margaritaville and takes them all to the Flamingo. Does Jimmy Buffet get credit for the buy, or does the Flamingo take the credit since, even if the player only cashes them at the cage, they end up at the Flamingo cage?

If all they care about is the hold (the amount of a buy-in wagered and lost), why would dealer's be restricted from working at both joints? Maybe, overhead?

With all the Flamingo chips circulating at the joint, I wonder if the cage at Margaritaville actually keeps extra cash on hand to cover them, or if the cage would simply say, "You will need to take the Flamingo chips to their cage", even though they were wagered and won at M-ville?

The Margaritaville Casino doesn't have a cage (or bathrooms). You have to turn chips in at the Flamingo cage & go all the way to the bathrooms near Bugsy's cabaret or the restrooms in the M-ville restaurant.

In the Casino chip and token report the Licensee is listed as FLAMINGO LAS VEGAS/O'SHEAS.

09/07/11 is when all these chips were authorized to "LAS VEGAS MARGARITAVILLE CASINO AT THE FLAMINGO"

$1 LAS VEGAS HAMMOCK AND PARROTS
$5 IT'S 5 O'CLOCK SOMEWHERE WITH LIME BACKGROUND
$5 IT'S 5 O'CLOCK SOMEWHERE WITH CLOCK
$25 CHANGES IN LATITUDE CHANGES IN ATTITUDE WITH JET
$25 FIINS UP LANDSHARK WITH BLUE FIN
$100 MARGARITAVILEE CASINO AT THE FLAMINGO THE LOVE AND LAS VEGAS LUCK


I find it very difficult to believe that they would get a separate license for Margaritaville. they may operate them as separate profit centers, with their own hiring rules, but not as different licenses.

So how are the margaritas at the Margaritaville casino?

Outstanding I would hope.

This thread just turned Doc's world on its head :) Right now he is getting very hot & bothered ...

Quote: teddys

This thread just turned Doc's world on its head :) Right now he is getting very hot & bothered ...

Nah! Just got back from five nights at Harveys Lake Tahoe. During the trip I added chips from 22 casinos to my collection. (It was my first trip to the Reno/Tahoe/Carson City area.) I like the idea that I can add a Margaritaville chip to my collection the next time I am in Las Vegas.

There is one very minor issue I suppose I should mention: there was a reason I stopped at 22 casinos this trip instead of 19 or 25. I have mentioned before that I display my collection under the glass top on my desk. I try to arrange them in a neat, geometric array, and not all numbers of chips will array conveniently. My collection now totals 270, which I will display as 15 staggered rows of 18 chips each. An array of 268 or 269 or 271 chips is much more difficult to lay out attractively on my desktop. (OK, give it a go, math nerds!) Maybe I will post another photo as I did once before, but I just got in last night after midnight, and I haven't bothered with the rearranging yet.

Quote: Doc

... Maybe I will post another photo as I did once before....

Well, this thread seems to have gone quiet for a few moments, so I don't suppose there is much harm in hijacking it to follow up on my post from yesterday, rather than starting a new thread. I finally got around to rearranging the chips on my desk this afternoon and took a new photo. Here is the low-res version:



To see it in higher-res, click on this link then click on that image to get the full-size version that you can scroll around. I don't think even the largest image is adequate to read all of the 270 chips -- blame that on my limited photography skills, I suppose.

Here is my list of the casinos from which I obtained these chips, in the order that the chips appear on the desktop, starting at the top left (Aliante Station) and going down the columns one at a time toward the right.


A total of 270 casinos are represented in the chip collection shown (11 "chips" are metal tokens). The list below also includes my metal tokens from Caesars Palace & Hard Rock in addition to their clay chips, but those two tokens are not shown in the photo or included in the 270 count.

From Nevada (Las Vegas mostly) (141 + 2 extra tokens):
Aliante Station (N. Las Vegas), Aquarius (Laughlin), Aria, Arizona Charlie's Decatur, Arizona Charlie's East, Atlantis (Reno), Bally's, Barbary Coast, Barcelona (N. Las Vegas-token), Bellagio, Bighorn (N. Las Vegas), Bill's Gambling Hall and Saloon, Binion's, Boardwalk, Boulder Station, Buffalo Bill's (Primm), Caesars Palace (clay chip), Caesars Palace (extra metal token), California, Cannery (N. Las Vegas), Carson Nugget (Carson City), Carson Valley (Minden), Casa Blanca (Mesquite), Casino Royale, Casuarina, Circus Circus, Circus Circus (Reno), Club Cal Neva (Reno), Club Fortune (Henderson), Colorado Belle (Laughlin), Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Crystal Bay (Lake Tahoe), Eastside Cannery, Edgewater (Laughlin), El Cortez, Eldorado (Henderson), Eldorado (Reno), Ellis Island, Eureka (Mesquite), Excalibur, Fandango (Carson City), Fiesta (Henderson), Fiesta Rancho (N. Las Vegas), Fitzgeralds, Flamingo, Four Queens, Fremont, Gold Coast, Gold Dust West (Carson City), Gold Spike, Gold Strike (Jean), Golden Gate, Golden Nugget, Golden Nugget (Laughlin), Grand Sierra (Reno), Green Valley Ranch (Henderson), Hacienda (Boulder City), Hard Rock (clay chip), Hard Rock (extra metal token), Harrah's, Harrah's (Lake Tahoe), Harrah's (Laughlin), Harrah's (Reno), Harveys (Lake Tahoe), Hooters, Horseshoe, Hyatt Regency (Henderson), Hyatt Regency (Lake Tahoe), Imperial Palace, Jerry's Nugget (N. Las Vegas), John Ascuaga's Nugget (Sparks), Joker's Wild (Henderson), Klondike Sunset (Henderson - token), Lakeside (Lake Tahoe), Las Vegas Club, Las Vegas Hilton, Longhorn (token), Lucky Club (N. Las Vegas), Luxor, M Resort, Main Street Station, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, Mirage, MontBleu (Lake Tahoe), Monte Carlo, Monte Lago (Henderson), Nevada Palace, New Frontier, New York New York, Orleans, O'Sheas, Pahrump Nugget (Pahrump), Palace Station, Palazzo, Palms, Paris, Peppermill (Reno), Pioneer (Laughlin), Planet Hollywood/Alladin, Plaza, Poker Palace (N. Las Vegas-token), Primm Valley Resort (Primm), Railroad Pass (Henderson), Rampart, Red Rock, Rio, River Palms (Laughlin), Riverside (Laughlin), Riviera, Saddle West (Pahrump), Sahara, Sam's Town, Sands Regency (Reno), Santa Fe Station, Searchlight Nugget (Searchlight-token), Siena (Reno), Silver Legacy (Reno), Silver Nugget (N. Las Vegas-token), Silver Saddle (token), Silverton, Skyline (Henderson-token), Slots-A-Fun, South Coast, South Point, Stardust, Stratosphere, Suncoast, Sunset Station, Tahoe Biltmore (Lake Tahoe), Terrible's, Terrible's Town (Pahrump), Texas Gambling Hall (N. Las Vegas), Treasure Island, Tropicana, Tropicana Express (Laughlin), Tuscany, Venetian, Virgin River (Mesquite), Western, Whiskey Pete's (Primm), Wild Wild West, Wynn LV

From Delaware (3):
Delaware Park (Wilmington), Dover Downs (Dover), Harrington Raceway & Casino (Harrington)

From Illinois (1):
Harrah's (Metropolis)

From Indiana (6):
Aztar (Evansville), Belterra (Florence), French Lick Resort (French Lick), Grand Victoria (Rising Sun), Hollywood (Lawrenceburg), Horseshoe Southern Indiana (Elizabeth)

From Louisiana (3):
Boomtown (New Orleans), Harrah’s (New Orleans), Treasure Chest (New Orleans)

From Mississippi (31):
Ameristar (Vicksburg), Bally's (Tunica), Bayou Caddy's Jubilee (Greenville) , Beau Rivage (Biloxi), Boomtown (Biloxi), Diamond Jack’s (Vicksburg), Fitzgerald's (Tunica), Gold Strike (Tunica), Grand Casino Biloxi, Grand Casino Tunica, Hard Rock (Biloxi), Harlow’s (Greenville), Harrah's (Tunica), Hollywood (Bay St. Louis), Hollywood (Tunica), Horizon (Vicksburg), Horseshoe (Tunica), Imperial Palace (Biloxi), Island View (Gulfport), Isle of Capri (Biloxi), Isle of Capri (Lula), Isle of Capri (Natchez), Palace (Biloxi), Rainbow (Vicksburg), Resorts Tunica, Riverwalk (Vicksburg), Roadhouse (Tunica), Sam's Town (Tunica), Sheraton (Tunica), Silver Slipper (Bay St. Louis), Treasure Bay (Biloxi)

From New Jersey (12):
Bally's, Borgata, Caesars, Golden Nugget, Harrah's Marina, Hilton, Marina, Plaza, Resorts AC, Showboat, Taj Mahal, Tropicana

From Pennsylvania (9):
Harrah's (Chester), Hollywood (Grantville), Meadows (Washington), Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs (Plains), Mount Airy (Mount Pocono), Parx (Bensalem), Rivers (Pittsburgh), Sands (Bethlehem), Sugar House (Philadelphia)

From West Virginia (5):
Greenbrier (White Sulphur Springs), Hollywood (Charles Town), Mountaineer Race Track & Casino (Chester), Tri-State Race Track & Gaming (Cross Lanes), Wheeling Island Race Track & Casino (Wheeling)

From Tribal Casinos (31):
Agua Caliente (Rancho Mirage, CA), Augustine (Coachella, CA), Avi (Laughlin, NV), Barona Valley Ranch (Lakeside, CA), Blue Water (Parker, AZ), Fantasy Springs (Indio, CA), Foxwoods (CT), Harrah's Cherokee (Cherokee, NC), Harrah's Rincon (Valley Center, CA), Havasu Landing (Havasu Landing, CA), MGM Grand at Foxwoods (CT), Mohegan Sun (CT), Morongo (Cabazon, CA), Pala (Pala, CA), Paradise (Fort Yuma, AZ), Pauma (Pauma Valley, CA), Pechanga (Temecula, CA), Rama (Rama, ON) , Red Earth (Salton Sea Beach, CA), San Manuel (Highland, CA), Santa Ysabel (Santa Ysabel, CA), Seminole Hard Rock (Tampa, FL), Seneca Allegany (Salamanca, NY), Seneca Niagara (Niagara Falls, NY), Silver Star (Pearl River, MS), Soboba (San Jacinto, CA), Spa Resort (Palm Springs, CA), Spotlight 29 (Coachella, CA), Sycuan (El Cajon, CA), Valley View (Valley Center, CA), Viejas Casino & Turf Club (Alpine, CA)

From Cruise Ships (7):
Celebrity Cruises -- from Century, Fun Ships (Carnival), Millennium (Celebrity), Monarch Sun (Monarch), Summit (Celebrity), Vision of the Seas (Royal Caribbean), Zuiderdam (Holland America)

From Canada (7):
Casino New Brunswick (Moncton, NB), Casino Niagara (Niagara Falls, ON), Casino Nova Scotia (Halifax, NS), Casino Nova Scotia (Sydney, NS), Edgewater (Vancouver, BC), Niagara Fallsview (Niagara Falls, ON), River Rock (Richmond, BC)

From the Carribbean (14):
Alhambra (Aruba - token actually given @ Seaport Casino, Aruba), Americana (Curaçao), Atlantis (Paradise Island, Bahamas), Awasa (Curaçao), Carnaval (Curaçao), Crystal (Aruba-token), Crystal Palace (Nassau, Bahamas), Divi Carina Beach (St. Croix), Excelsior (Aruba), Otrabanda (Curaçao), Royal Beach Resort (St. Kitts), San Marco (Curaçao), Stellaris (Aruba), Treasure Island (St. Maarten - token actually given @ Paradise Casino in Curaçao)


I kept the chip from the Monarch Sun cruise ship when I sailed that ship in 1976 -- my very first casino. With that lone exception, the chips in this collection are rather new acquisitions. They were gathered as I visited and played in these casinos beginning in the fall of 2003. As I have reported here previously, three of these 270 chips were purchased from the cashiers at casinos where I did not actually play, because their table games were closed when I visited, and I did not expect to get back when they were open.

VERY nice collection!

Quote: Doc

As I have reported here previously, three of these 270 chips were purchased from the cashiers at casinos where I did not actually play, because their table games were closed when I visited, and I did not expect to get back when they were open.

Did you at least ease your guilt of not playing by throwing a couple bucks into a slot machine?

Quote: DJTeddyBear

VERY nice collection!

Thank you. I enjoy looking at this collection whenever I am at my desk. Having the chips displayed in this manner allows me to enjoy it and to show it off without it taking up any room, unlike collecting souvenir coffee mugs, T shirts, etc. Adding to the collection just makes the array a little more compact.

No, I did not play the slots in any of those three casinos. I am not a slot player. On my first few visits to Las Vegas, before TITO was ubiquitous, I would wander through all of the casinos along the strip, dropping a single quarter in a slot in each establishment. Then I would go home and tell folks, "I gambled at the MGM, the Bellagio, the Venetian, the Mirage...."

Also, I didn't feel guilt -- more a feeling of annoyance that I couldn't maintain the theme exactly. I doubt I will ever play at any of those three casinos -- one is gone, one is too dangerous, and one is too remote (Pahrump) for me to get to it conveniently in the evening when their tables are open.

Quote: Doc

Also, I didn't feel guilt -- more a feeling of annoyance that I couldn't maintain the theme exactly. I doubt I will ever play at any of those three casinos -- one is gone, one is too dangerous, and one is too remote (Pahrump) for me to get to it conveniently in the evening when their tables are open.

Doc, I'm quite jealous... I've got a lot of $1 chips, but not 270. I don't have a lot of the Southern casinos, and only a couple of the PA casinos. I do have the entire Illinois (save Rivers), Indiana casinos, and Iowa. But your collection is quite nice!

Quote: Tiltpoul

I don't have a lot of the Southern casinos, and only a couple of the PA casinos. I do have the entire Illinois (save Rivers), Indiana casinos, and Iowa. But your collection is quite nice!

With your being from Ohio, I suppose you have easier access to the IL and IN casinos than I do from NC. I try to go to a music festival each July in Louisville, and I have extended my trip the past two years to pick up a few chips from those adjoining states. If I had a good excuse to get up Chicago way, I would get a bunch more. When are the Ohio casinos supposed to open with tables? I think there is supposed to be one in Cincinnati, which would not be far out of my way next summer.

My wife and I still have in mind a trip to northern New Mexico and Colorado that seems to keep getting pushed back on the calendar. If we ever get that trip booked, then I should be able to add quite a few more to the collection. Otherwise, I will probably just be adding one here and there over the next few years: Margaritaville, Revel, a few more in PA after the others open, and maybe a trip further through Louisiana some day. I even have a few more in Canada that I have in mind for the next time I get up that way, but there aren't many locations left with a whole bunch of casinos close together in an area that interests me enough to travel to.

Thanks for posting the photo(s) Doc. I enjoy them very much. Like many others on this board, I have a small collection of chips and tokens, and your table has inspired me to display my modest holdings.

Do you have any interest in going global? Perhaps a trip to Macau or Singapore?

Quote: Ayecarumba

Like many others on this board, I have a small collection of chips and tokens, and your table has inspired me to display my modest holdings.

If you can get the glass cut to the appropriate size/shape (and yes you can), then most any size collection could be displayed just as mine is. My office desktop is 29" x 64" overall, with an inlay area a little over 23" x 58", which is where I have the chips arranged. You could do the same thing on a coffee table, end table, night stand, etc., just selecting a table with a size appropriate to your current and anticipated collection. I have little clear pads stuck on the back of the glass around the perimeter that mostly support the glass on the desktop, rather than putting all the weight right on the chips.

Quote: Ayecarumba

Do you have any interest in going global? Perhaps a trip to Macau or Singapore?

Not really. The closest I've been to eastern Asia was a brief visit to Hawaii on a cruise ship, and that's not very close. (Come to think of it, I thought I was pretty close to a visit to Asia in 1969, courtesy of the U.S. Army, but it turned out they had different plans for me.)

In some respects, my chips from Canada, Caribbean islands, and cruise ship casinos could be viewed as "going global." I played in a couple of casinos in Egypt when I visited/worked there twice in the early 1980s, but I wasn't collecting chips at that time. I also failed to keep chips from a number of cruise ships before I started the collection. My travels in Europe and South America have been extremely limited, and I have never played in a casino on either of those continents. Never been to Australia. I suppose I could expand my travels if someone wanted to pick up the tab, but for now I stick mostly to the U.S. of A.

Quote: Doc

With your being from Ohio, I suppose you have easier access to the IL and IN casinos than I do from NC. I try to go to a music festival each July in Louisville, and I have extended my trip the past two years to pick up a few chips from those adjoining states. If I had a good excuse to get up Chicago way, I would get a bunch more. When are the Ohio casinos supposed to open with tables? I think there is supposed to be one in Cincinnati, which would not be far out of my way next summer.

There are four casinos opening in Ohio.
1) Cleveland (Horseshoe)- Should be open March 2012.
2) Toledo (Hollywood)- Should be open early 2012.
3) Cincinnati (Horseshoe)- Early 2013.
4) Columbus (Hollywood)- 2100... of course, I joke... right now it's supposed to be late 2012, but don't hold your breath on this one

Quote: Tiltpoul

There are four casinos opening in Ohio.
1) Cleveland (Horseshoe)- Should be open March 2012.
2) Toledo (Hollywood)- Should be open early 2012.
3) Cincinnati (Horseshoe)- Early 2013.
4) Columbus (Hollywood)- 2100... of course, I joke... right now it's supposed to be late 2012, but don't hold your breath on this one

Thanks for the info!

Everything I have read is that the casino IS using the Flamingo license. That is from interviews with Jimmy on the Margaritaville website.

I forgot to post later on. I played in Margaritaville a few more days, and they had all their regular chips. Still no cashier there, but they do have chips at every denomination. I dunno if they were short/hadn't arrived yet the first time I played, but later on it was all Margaritaville chips.

I wonder how the Flamingo cage picks them out. I can't think its a 1 by 1 manual separation.

Also, drink service was spectacular. Buffett music got old, but what can you do.

They now have a reverse Happy Hour from 2AM-10AM with cheaper drinks. Still an expensive drink, but people watching is great at 2AM from the 5 O'Clock Bar.