Casino Chip of the Day
Quote: rdw4potusHardly adds any time at all, I'm sure:-)
Per GoogleMaps, it would increase the driving time from 4 hrs. 10 min to a mere 24 hours (including the estimated 1:28 on the ferry, if your timing is perfect). Nope, not going to happen this trip.
For my only two visits to that area, I drove the loop from Maine to New Brunswick to Nova Scotia to PEI to New Brunswick to Maine. In that direction, you don't have to pay fees for the NS-PEI ferry or the PEI-NB bridge. Maybe some day we'll try that loop but using the ME-NS ferry to get the chip. Thanks for the idea!
Quote: DocFor my only two visits to that area, I drove the loop from Maine to New Brunswick to Nova Scotia to PEI to New Brunswick to Maine. In that direction, you don't have to pay fees for the NS-PEI ferry or the PEI-NB bridge. Maybe some day we'll try that loop but using the ME-NS ferry to get the chip. Thanks for the idea!
Would you mind explaining this a little further so that I know when I eventually get over there? I know that taking the bridge to PEI costs nothing but $40 on the way back. How do you avoid the cost?
City: Deer River
Casino: White Oak
Today's chip of the day is from White Oak Casino in Deer River, MN. The casino opened on August 23, 2000. I have very little recollection of this casino, all of the casinos from the final day of my trip have sort of morphed into one. The casino has 2 BJ tables and 300 slot machines, it markets itself as the best little casino.
The chip is a white Paulson RHC. The chip has 4 edge inserts, 2 green and 2 dark purple. The centre inlay has the entire casino logo covering it. The logo has a garland of flowers around the outside with a bald eagle in the middle. The casino name is in black, the denomination in yellow and the location in white.
Edit: Aaack! I was 40 seconds too slow, & let you slip another post in before my reply.
Quote: PokerGrinderThe chip is a white Paulson SCV.
Almost. It is a Paulson RHC (Reversed Hat and Cane). The logos at the 11:30 and 5:30 positions have the canes crossing the hats in the opposite direction from the canes in the other six figures.
Quote: DocUnless something has changed, they collect the bridge toll in the NB to PEI direction and the ferry fare in the PEI to NS direction. It was that way in both August 2006 and September 2010. If you travel in the counter-clockwise direction (as we did), there is/was no charge for either.
Edit: Aaack! I was 40 seconds too slow, & let you slip another post in before my reply.
I just looked it up and the Confederation bridge site says that they collect the fee when leaving PEI driving into NB. I guess it changed. I looked at the ferry it is $70 to take a car on. With this information I would say it is cheaper to enter and leave PEI on the bridge.
I didn't notice the reverse cane, didn't think to look for it.
Quote: PokerGrinderI just looked it up and the Confederation bridge site says that they collect the fee when leaving PEI driving into NB. I guess it changed. I looked at the ferry it is $70 to take a car on. With this information I would say it is cheaper to enter and leave PEI on the bridge.
I didn't notice the reverse cane, didn't think to look for it.
re: PEI bridge, it might be worth the $70 ferry fee to avoid the drive between the bridge and ferry port if you're going to NS anyway. There are casinos in Sydney and Halifax, after all:-)
I did read her all of the recent comments, and she did note that she would be interested in another trip to the Atlantic provinces, just not next month. I think that from a chip-collecting viewpoint, the reasonable route might be a two-way crossing of the bridge (visiting Red Shores in between), then driving down to Yarmouth for a daytime ferry ride on to Portland (with a second chip collected). Maybe some Massachusetts casinos will be open by the time we get around to that trip.
Quote: rdw4potusre: PEI bridge, it might be worth the $70 ferry fee to avoid the drive between the bridge and ferry port if you're going to NS anyway. There are casinos in Sydney and Halifax, after all:-)
I have those casinos on my list to get, the ferry actually doesn't save any time really. It technically saves you 23 minutes over taking the bridge twice but with boarding and de-boarding times it would be the same and the ferry costs $30 more.
Quote: DocSydney? Halifax? Been there, done that of course. Or were you making a suggestion to PokerGrinder rather than continuing to make plans on how I can offend my wife?
I did read her all of the recent comments, and she did note that she would be interested in another trip to the Atlantic provinces, just not next month. I think that from a chip-collecting viewpoint, the reasonable route might be a two-way crossing of the bridge (visiting Red Shores in between), then driving down to Yarmouth for a daytime ferry ride on to Portland (with a second chip collected). Maybe some Massachusetts casinos will be open by the time we get around to that trip.
I had planned to do it (including other casinos before and after this portion) Casino NB to Red Shores, to Casino NS Sydney to Casino NS Halifax to Hollywood Casino Bangor to Oxford Casino. Now that I know about the ferry to Portland where I can grab another chip that throws a wrench in my plans. Probably take the ferry but then I would have to backtrack slightly to get the Maine casinos. I have a serious sickness I think.
City: Walker
Casino: Northern Lights
Today's chip of the day is from Northern Lights Casino in Walker, MN. The casino opened in 1991. I stayed here for about 15 hands of BJ because I couldn't take how thick the smoke was wafting around the casino. It would be nice if the casino would put in a proper ventilation system. The casino has over 900 slot machines, a 6 table poker room and 10 table games including BJ, 3 Card Poker and Ultimate Texas Holdem.
The chip is a white Paulson RHC. The chip has 2 edge inserts, one blue and the other green. The centre inlay is black and undersized. I know it is common for the inlay to be oversized but I don't recall seeing an undersized one. The Northern Lights logo takes up most of the inlay, I think everyone can figure out what the logo is :) The denomination is purple and the location is yellow.
Quote: DocSydney? Halifax? Been there, done that of course. Or were you making a suggestion to PokerGrinder rather than continuing to make plans on how I can offend my wife?
I did read her all of the recent comments, and she did note that she would be interested in another trip to the Atlantic provinces, just not next month. I think that from a chip-collecting viewpoint, the reasonable route might be a two-way crossing of the bridge (visiting Red Shores in between), then driving down to Yarmouth for a daytime ferry ride on to Portland (with a second chip collected). Maybe some Massachusetts casinos will be open by the time we get around to that trip.
Not next month? Absent any schedule conflicts, if you're going to go up there, September is the absolute prime time for great weather, leaf peeping, and avoiding school children. C'mon, Mrs. Doc, pleez pleez pleez? :)
Quote: beachbumbabs...Not next month? Absent any schedule conflicts, if you're going to go up there, September is the absolute prime time for great weather, leaf peeping, and avoiding school children...
I say the same thing about northern Michigan. might even head there this weekend.
City: Cass Lake
Casino: Palace
Today's chip of the day is from Palace Casino in Cass Lake, MN. The casino opened in 1983 by the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. The casino has 581 slot machines and 4 BJ tables. My stay here was very short as the cards were not being very nice. I played about 20 hands and I think I won about 3 of them.
The chip is a white Paulson RHC. The chip has 4 edge inserts, 2 pink and 2 green. The centre inlay is blue with a sun setting over the forest in the middle. The casino name is in white across the middle. The denomination and location are in yellow. I only took a picture of this side of the chip because I forgot there is a slight difference on the back. The back is exactly the same except instead of having the casino location on the bottom it has the casino phone number. I hate when casinos do this, looks so tacky.
City: Red Lake
Casino: Seven Clans Red Lake
Well we have come to the end of my personal collection, tomorrow I will start posting seven gift chips and then I am really done. Hopefully we can keep the posts coming after I am done. Sadly I don't see any new chips coming too soon from me as I have all the chips close to me so now it involves a serious trip to do much collecting.
Today's chip of the day is from Seven Clans Casino Red Lake. The casino opened in 2001. I visited the last of the 3 Seven Clans Casinos as my last stop on my chip collecting trip end of June. The casino has 325 slot machines and 4 BJ tables. I ate at the restaurant here and had some really good cream of chicken and wild rice soup which I know is simple but they did it well.
The chip is a white Paulson RHC. The chip has 6 edge inserts, 3 red and 3 black. The centre inlay is white with the standard Seven Clans logo this time in red (the other two had the logo in yellow or blue). The casino name is in the middle in black except for "seven" which is red, the denomination is also red at the bottom.
You've made a substantial contribution to the thread; thanks!
Quote: DocThe day I got my chip from Aliante Station it seemed as if it took me about three hours to drive out there and back. I think trying to get all the "outer" casinos on one trip sounds like an ambitious undertaking unless you are going to be in town for more than a week. That assumes that you plan to play at least a little and not just make a buy-and-run at the cashier. My wife gets annoyed at me when I make one of those runs trying to get five or six chips in one day; we hit ten casinos in one day in Reno/Sparks, and I'll let you guess just how pleased she was.
If the D chips are in play by WoVCon][, I think we should try to play a little there that afternoon, since we will already be in the immediate vicinity. I don't remember whether any decision has been made yet about group gaming as part of WoVCon][.
Doc I know this post was from 3 years ago but I was looking through some old posts and saw this. I got all the strip and downtown casinos my first time in Vegas. The second time I was there about 2 years ago I collected all but 7 casinos in the Vegas area including Laughlin,searchlight nugget and the Primm and Jean casinos. Not sure the exact count for the haul but it was around 45 casinos, I rented a car for the day and start to finish it took me about 18-19 hours. The only reason I didn't get the last seven till a later trip was because after that many hours I couldn't see straight anymore.
So whenever your wife says that is too many chips to gather in one day just say "hey at least I'm not crazy like PokerGrinder". :)
The Aladdin does deserve to be represented in the index. Ordinarily, I would ask Lucyjr to post that chip image again while telling us a bit more about the old casino. Unfortunately, Lucyjr hasn't even visited the forum since October 2012, so I don't know that I would get much of a response to such a request.
I think perhaps the next time we get a dry spell in the thread, I might make the official post myself, relating what I can dig up about the casino, using the image that Lucyjr provided, and giving full credit to that source, including a link to that original post. I have said that I do not want this thread to be a place to post images found from auctions, image libraries, and such unless a member has the actual chip, but we at least have Lucyjr's post that indicates that a member had the chip at that time and may still have it.
On the other hand, perhaps I should say that I'll do that unless someone else here has their own Aladdin chip and would like to prepare such an "official" CCotD post. Anyone?
Quote: DocGood catch, PokerGrinder. That was so early in the history of this thread that I really didn't have the structure planned very completely. As part of the discussion at that time, I did mention (1) that my Planet Hollywood chip (covered a good bit later) said "Aladdin" on the perimeter and (2) that if folks had chips to present from casinos that I didn't have in my collection, I would prefer that they wait to post them after I had posted my set.
The Aladdin does deserve to be represented in the index. Ordinarily, I would ask Lucyjr to post that chip image again while telling us a bit more about the old casino. Unfortunately, Lucyjr hasn't even visited the forum since October 2012, so I don't know that I would get much of a response to such a request.
I think perhaps the next time we get a dry spell in the thread, I might make the official post myself, relating what I can dig up about the casino, using the image that Lucyjr provided, and giving full credit to that source, including a link to that original post. I have said that I do not want this thread to be a place to post images found from auctions, image libraries, and such unless a member has the actual chip, but we at least have Lucyjr's post that indicates that a member had the chip at that time and may still have it.
On the other hand, perhaps I should say that I'll do that unless someone else here has their own Aladdin chip and would like to prepare such an "official" CCotD post. Anyone?
I think that is a really good idea Doc. That's too bad that Lucyjr is longer active. Sadly I don't have an Aladdin chip as I was 16 when PH opened 😀
Quote: DocGood catch, PokerGrinder. That was so early in the history of this thread that I really didn't have the structure planned very completely. As part of the discussion at that time, I did mention (1) that my Planet Hollywood chip (covered a good bit later) said "Aladdin" on the perimeter and (2) that if folks had chips to present from casinos that I didn't have in my collection, I would prefer that they wait to post them after I had posted my set.
The Aladdin does deserve to be represented in the index. Ordinarily, I would ask Lucyjr to post that chip image again while telling us a bit more about the old casino. Unfortunately, Lucyjr hasn't even visited the forum since October 2012, so I don't know that I would get much of a response to such a request.
I think perhaps the next time we get a dry spell in the thread, I might make the official post myself, relating what I can dig up about the casino, using the image that Lucyjr provided, and giving full credit to that source, including a link to that original post. I have said that I do not want this thread to be a place to post images found from auctions, image libraries, and such unless a member has the actual chip, but we at least have Lucyjr's post that indicates that a member had the chip at that time and may still have it.
On the other hand, perhaps I should say that I'll do that unless someone else here has their own Aladdin chip and would like to prepare such an "official" CCotD post. Anyone?
I will try and find my chip from the first Aladdin Doc and provide a little write up when no one else is posting. After it was torn down (imploded?) the new building also ran as the Aladdin for a while before opening as PH. So there should be two different sets of Aladdin chips around.
Here's a question for comments: Since there were two Aladdin casinos on the same site, would it be better (assuming folks have chips of both types to post) to present them all together with one index entry or to treat them as two completely separate places? When a casino changes name, I treat it as a new place; if I had a chip from the old MGM Grand (now Bally's), I would treat that as separate/different from the current MGM Grand. But I don't think we have previously encountered two casinos of the same name in the same location.
Quote: DocThanks, kenarman. That's a much better option than my making the post. Right after Lucyjr posted that Aladdin chip, Zippyboy posted a whole set of them, but I'm not sure whether they are from the old casino or the new one.
Here's a question for comments: Since there were two Aladdin casinos on the same site, would it be better (assuming folks have chips of both types to post) to present them all together with one index entry or to treat them as two completely separate places? When a casino changes name, I treat it as a new place; if I had a chip from the old MGM Grand (now Bally's), I would treat that as separate/different from the current MGM Grand. But I don't think we have previously encountered two casinos of the same name in the same location.
I personally would say that it is one casino and therefore one index. It is the same casino license for the same named casino. MGM is a little different in my mind that they are located over a mile from each other and the casinos have different gaming licenses. Here is a good example I think, one of the Iowa casinos (can't remember which one at the moment) is currently building a brand new casino down the road from where the current one sits. When the construction is done the casino will move into the new building and technically be new casino. I personally for the sake of my collection will have no interest in recollecting the chip even if they issue new chips for the same named casino because as far as I am concerned it is still the same casino name operating under the same gaming license. Just my two cents. So to sum up any post of an Aladdin chip should cover all versions of the casino up until it became PH IMO.
City: Galway, Ireland
Casino: Galway Bay
This is the first of 7 gift chips that I am going to share here, these were all given to me either by other collectors or family members. These chips are not part of my collection, I keep them separate.
Today's chip of the day is from the Galway Bay Casino in Galway, Ireland. This chip was given to me by my sister. She got this chip for me when she was backpacking Europe about 4 years ago. There is not much information online and the casino doesn't seem to exist anymore. We had a interesting time trying to figure out where she got this chip as she swears it was from Glasgow, Scotland. However with all that I could find on the internet this chip should have definitely come from Ireland. She said the casino was inside of a hotel that she was at. The only thing I can think of but have absolutely no evidence to back up is that this casino has a sister property in Glasgow. I remember Doc mentioning that he got chips in Caribbean casinos that weren't for that casino, maybe that same thing happened here, Problem is no casino still exists in Glasgow that might have been connected to this property. So this is where I hit a dead end. There are 2 casinos in Ireland using the exact same style of chips for their half Euro chip.
We have a breakthrough! What I was able to find about the casino was that it is in Oranmore just outside of Galway. A review that I found about the casino from 2012 says that they host poker tournaments and deal BJ, 3 Card Poker and Roulette as well. I just found some more information, the hotel that the casino was in was called the Ramada Encore Galway Hotel Oranmore. That hotel is now the Galway Oyster Hotel, I found one reference to the casino still existing in the new hotel so there you have it. Hope all this makes sense.
The chip is as cheap a model as you will find. It looks like it is from a set that you would buy at Wal-Mart for $10. The chip is yellow/orange with 12 white suit pips around the chip. The centre inlay has a black hot stamp of the casino name and the denomination.
City: Puerto Plata. Dominican Republic
Casino: Jack Tar Village
Today's chip of the day is from the Jack Tar Village Casino. I received this chip from a fellow collector from his trip to this resort a couple of years ago. The chip says Jack Tar Village Resort Casino but when I looked it up online and on MoGH it is listed as the American Casino at Jack Tar Village Resort. I decided to list it as the chip says but I can change it if people think otherwise. The resort is your classic all inclusive like all the rest. World Casino Directory says that they have 40 slot machines and 12 tables including BJ, Craps, Roulette, Caribbean Stud and Texas Holdem. I thought that Jack Tar would have been a person but it turns out it is a term used for the seaman of the Merchant or Royal Navy. During WWl it was used as a nickname for those in the US Navy.
The chip is white plastic with a metal insert in the middle. I am not sure of the manufacturer as there are no markings to look into. The white part of the chip has each suit and 2 sets of dice around the coin in black. The coin has the denomination in the middle, around the edges of the coin it says "Jack Tar Village Resort Casino".
City: Puerto Plata. Dominican Republic
Casino: Ocean World
Today's chip of the day is from the Ocean World Casino in Peurto, Plata, DR. I got this from the same collector as yesterday's chip. The casino opened on December 12, 2006 and is currently closed, not sure if they plan to reopen. The casino had 60 slot machines and 10 tables including BJ, Roulette, Craps and 4 Poker tables. One of the downsides to the casino being closed is that the website hasn't been renewed so their is not much information to find about the place.
The chip is a white Paulson RHC. The centre inlay has a gold hot stamp of the casino name, location and the chip denomination.
Quote: PokerGrinderCategory: Caribbean Islands
City: Puerto Plata. Dominican Republic
Casino: Jack Tar Village
The resort is your classic all inclusive like all the rest.
Thanks for the memories. I used to go to Jack Tar Village several times a year. It wasn't like "all the rest" back then. What do I mean? Well, the food was crap and only draft beer was "all inclusive". The local beer, El Presidente" was excellent but you had to pay for it. Some rooms were of a low standard. There was a Robert Trent Jones golf course surrounding the resort, green fee included, in addition to there being a clothing optional pool for adults.
Bottom line however I think you should list it as Jack Tar Village. That's where it is and regardless of who manages it, it's on property.
City: Santo Domingo. Dominican Republic
Casino: E.E. Casinos
Today's chip of the day is from Casino Diamante but the chip says E.E. Casinos. I wasn't sure what to list it under. Thoughts? The casino is in the Melia Santo Domingo Hotel. For some reason the hotel website doesn't mention the casino at all. The casino has 168 slot machines and 14 tables including BJ, Craps, Roulette and Poker. Santo Domingo is at the bottom of the island versus Puerto Plata which is on the top of the island.
The chip is a white plastic model. The chip has 8 edge inserts. sandy brown/pink/sandy brown. The centre inlay is white with the casino logo, a blue diamond in the middle of the chip. The casino groups name and location are in black around the inlay, The denomination is in black inside of the diamond.
Quote: PokerGrinderDoc I found another chip that was not indexed.
Good catch! While I even made a small quip about Aluisio's post, I apparently was still fully focused on posting my own set of chips and didn't treat that one as an official CCotD. I will send a PM to Aluisio directing him to your post and this comment, in case he doesn't read this thread regularly.
Perhaps because I have never been to Chile, I have some uncertainty about how that chip should be listed, both in the post header and in the directory. Aluisio listed it as the Enjoy Casino & Resort in Viña del Mar, but his two chips say "Casino Municipal de Viña del Mar" and "Casino Viña del Mar". The MoGH Chip Guide lists it as "Vina del Mar Municipal Casino" and shows one of the same chips that Aluisio posted. That guide also lists separately the "Enjoy Casino and Resort" as having multiple locations and shows chips with that name on them. CasinoCity.com lists the "Casino Viña del Mar".
Since the chips do not say anything about "Enjoy", I think it would work better to list the chip/casino under the name that appears on a chip. I will leave it to Aluisio to revise the post header with such a name (if he agrees with this suggestion) and to add the line "Category: South America". Then, I will add it to the index.
If Aluisio prefers and has additional info to provide about the casino or chips, he is welcome to re-post the image and full info in this thread after you have finished your set of chips, giving the place its due recognition (a day of its own) rather than just pointing it out as my oversight from more than three years ago, though a new CCotD should probably provide a link to the original post.
Quote: DocGood catch! While I even made a small quip about Aluisio's post, I apparently was still fully focused on posting my own set of chips and didn't treat that one as an official CCotD. I will send a PM to Aluisio directing him to your post and this comment, in case he doesn't read this thread regularly.
Perhaps because I have never been to Chile, I have some uncertainty about how that chip should be listed, both in the post header and in the directory. Aluisio listed it as the Enjoy Casino & Resort in Viña del Mar, but his two chips say "Casino Municipal de Viña del Mar" and "Casino Viña del Mar". The MoGH Chip Guide lists it as "Vina del Mar Municipal Casino" and shows one of the same chips that Aluisio posted. That guide also lists separately the "Enjoy Casino and Resort" as having multiple locations and shows chips with that name on them. CasinoCity.com lists the "Casino Viña del Mar".
Since the chips do not say anything about "Enjoy", I think it would work better to list the chip/casino under the name that appears on a chip. I will leave it to Aluisio to revise the post header with such a name (if he agrees with this suggestion) and to add the line "Category: South America". Then, I will add it to the index.
If Aluisio prefers and has additional info to provide about the casino or chips, he is welcome to re-post the image and full info in this thread after you have finished your set of chips, giving the place its due recognition (a day of its own) rather than just pointing it out as my oversight from more than three years ago, though a new CCotD should probably provide a link to the original post.
I agree if Aluisio is willing to repost the chip as a ccotd that would be great. I also agree that the casino should be listed under the name on the chip from the information that you found. As you saw with my last couple of chip posts that is what I have done. It seems from my limited knowledge of foreign chips that this situation seems to happen a lot. That being the casino name not matching up with the name on the casino.
Cruise Line: Carnival
Ship: Dream
Casino: Jackpot
This is my first attempt at posting a chip from a cruise ship. I changed the headings slightly from your's Doc, I added in casino name because my chip has both a ship name and a casino name. Feel free to let me know your opinions on that.
Today's chip of the day is from Jackpot Casino on-board the Carnival Dream cruise ship. I am not 100% sure where I got this chip, I want to say my friend who collects but I can't seem to remember him giving it to me. Anyway Carnival Dream cruise ship opened in 2009. This ship can hold a maximum of 3646 people, of which 1367 are on-board crew members. I have been on a cruise before but that still seems like a lot of staff. It makes sense though with how big these ships are and how many things on-board need to be staffed. This ship departs from either LA, New Orleans or San Juan Puerto Rico and cruises to the Caribbean Islands.
The chip is a blue Paulson RHC. The chip has 4 edge inserts, 2 green and 2 purple. The centre inlay is oversized with a picture of the cruise ship on the front. The cruise ship name is white with blue trim at the top of the inlay and the denomination is a neat combination of red with little bits of black and white inside of it.
The back of the chip has the same oversized inlay with a picture of a slot machine hitting 3 7's with a stack of coins in front of it. The casino name is at the top of the inlay, the denomination at the bottom. They have the same colour scheme as the denomination on the front, red with black and white mixed in.
Also Doc I have 2 more chips to post and then I am done so you could talk to Kenarman about posting his Aladdin chip and Aluisio about reposting his chip from Chile.
Quote: PokerGrinderI changed the headings slightly from your's Doc, I added in casino name because my chip has both a ship name and a casino name. Feel free to let me know your opinions on that.
In the index for cruise ships, I list the cruise line and the ship's name. I have never encountered a ship with multiple casinos on board, so I don't think there will be any confusion about which casino on the Carnival Dream we are talking about. I'm not sure how often they may change names of casinos on a ship, perhaps with each remodel. I think it's fine to have "Jackpot" listed in the header of your post.
Quote: PokerGrinderAlso Doc I have 2 more chips to post and then I am done so you could talk to Kenarman about posting his Aladdin chip and Aluisio about reposting his chip from Chile.
I sent a PM to Aluisio yesterday, but he hasn't read it yet. I'll send a reminder note to Kenarman now. I'm getting ready to head out of town for two weeks, so I won't be doing much follow up on who is posting when.
Today, we made it to Grantville, PA, staying half a mile from the Hollywood Casino & Penn National race track. Already have my souvenir from there, so I don't think I will stop in again.
Quote: DocHeading to the northeast to see my kids and my sister-in-law, but we're also crossing the border to visit five Canadian provinces. Plan to pick up my own souvenirs from some of the casinos you recently discussed.
Today, we made it to Grantville, PA, staying half a mile from the Hollywood Casino & Penn National race track. Already have my souvenir from there, so I don't think I will stop in again.
Oh of course, you mentioned that a couple weeks ago I believe. I am jealous my collection is sorely missing most of the east coast. All I have from the east coast is up-state NY, 2 PA casinos and Atlantic City. I need to get over there so many chips in a small area.
Cruise Line: Norwegian
Ship: ???
Sorry for there being no posts for the last couple of days and today's is going to be short since I wasn't able to find out much about the chip.
Today's chip of the day is from Norwegian Cruise Line. My parents got me this chip when they were on a business retreat a couple of years ago. My dad is not much of a gambler but will try a little BJ sometimes when he is on vacation. He likes to bring me a chip because he knows I collect them. He brought me back $5 chips from seven different casinos on the Las Vegas strip when he went there for a business trip about two years before I was legal in Las Vegas. He enjoyed the walk and when he got home and realized that I collect $1 chips he told me to save them until I was 21 and then use them to get all the casinos on the strip (I think it also covered the downtown casinos). I did just that and it made him happy that he was able to help add 35 chips to my collection. Sadly neither of my parents can remember the actual ship they were on, only that they would never cruise with Norwegian again. They have been on a few cruises and said this one didn't compare to the others.
The chip is a blue Paulson RHC. The centre inlay is blue and grayish blue to simulate waves I believe. The cruise line name and the denomination are both in white. There is a blue NCL (Norwegian Cruise Line) logo on both sides of the denomination in the middle.
My wife and I continued our trip today, visiting the Turning Stone casino in Verona, NY and the OLG Thousand Islands casino in Gananoque, ON. Two interesting things about this Canadian casino and my chip collecting obsession:
(1) The $1 chips they had in play included both the older "1000 Islands Charity Casino" version and the newer one that says "OLG Thousand Islands". Naturally, I kept one of each. Maybe I should re-think whether this casino should be listed as two different casinos due to the name change, as I have done for other name changes. I can't remember what logic I used in the past for this particular place.
(2) The blackjack dealer (they no longer have a craps table) informed me that the casino is being sold and will change names again, since it will no longer be part of OLG. The employees are supposed to find out tomorrow who the purchaser is. Guess that means we'll be making a trip back to Gananoque some day.
Tomorrow's schedule calls for visits to three more casinos, and another the day after. Unfortunately, my French sux.
Quote: DocI suspect this $1 NCL chip is used on multiple ships, so I just listed it that way: "NCL (multiple ships)".
My wife and I continued our trip today, visiting the Turning Stone casino in Verona, NY and the OLG Thousand Islands casino in Gananoque, ON. Two interesting things about this Canadian casino and my chip collecting obsession:
(1) The $1 chips they had in play included both the older "1000 Islands Charity Casino" version and the newer one that says "OLG Thousand Islands". Naturally, I kept one of each. Maybe I should re-think whether this casino should be listed as two different casinos due to the name change, as I have done for other name changes. I can't remember what logic I used in the past for this particular place.
(2) The blackjack dealer (they no longer have a craps table) informed me that the casino is being sold and will change names again, since it will no longer be part of OLG. The employees are supposed to find out tomorrow who the purchaser is. Guess that means we'll be making a trip back to Gananoque some day.
Tomorrow's schedule calls for visits to three more casinos, and another the day after. Unfortunately, my French sux.
Yes I noticed that when I was there a couple of months ago, I just kept the one that I liked better since they basically have the same name. Also Since none of us went to the casino with it's previous name we couldn't really post it as a new casino (well we could, that is obviously just my opinion). We both visited the casino under it's current name.
Very interesting that they will be changing the casino name, I guess I will have to go there next time I am in the area. You are fuelling my addiction Doc.
What other casinos are you collecting from on this trip?
Edit: I actually have both of the chips, I am not sure why I didn't post both.
As for the other casinos to be visited, my basic plan is to try to hit every casino that meets these qualifications: (1) East of here, (2) not already in my collection, and (3) has real table games other than poker.
The only really questionable case (I think) is the Salon de Jeux Quebec. I haven't been able to figure out whether their electronic blackjack has real chips, like the two casinos I visited in Arkansas, or just a TITO system. The site says both:
andQuote:Sit yourself down comfortably in front of the screen and have a ball trying to beat the dealer, without going over 21. You and your friends will love playing electronic blackjack!
Quote:With chips purchased at the table, place your bet in accordance with the minimum and maximum limits indicated at the table.
I am not yet convinced that these are not just video images of chips.
Quote: DocFor a long time, I have posted very little while traveling -- I just can't handle it well from either my phone or my Nexus tablet. This trip, for the first time in maybe a decade, I have brought a computer along, leaving the tablet behind. Reason: last spring I purchased a tiny 11" MacBook that spends its time hidden under my computer stand and attached to a large monitor, with full-size Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. It has worked quite well as a home office system, and I decided to take the little bugger on a vacation to Canada to see how well it would work on the road without the accessories. So far, so good.
As for the other casinos to be visited, my basic plan is to try to hit every casino that meets these qualifications: (1) East of here, (2) not already in my collection, and (3) has real table games other than poker.
The only really questionable case (I think) is the Salon de Jeux Quebec. I haven't been able to figure out whether their electronic blackjack has real chips, like the two casinos I visited in Arkansas, or just a TITO system. The site says both: and
I am not yet convinced that these are not just video images of chips.
I am glad you are finding it so easy to use your Macbook and travel. It definitely keeps the thread more alive since it seems like it is mostly me and you posting for the last little while.
As far as the Salon de Jeux Quebec I had decided on two separate occasions that there were no chips. From the looks of it the electronic BJ is the same as in Montreal and Casino du Lac-Leamy where you buy in cash, play and cash out on a TITO. For me my plan is to stop in on my way to Casino de Charlevoix when I go since it is on the way. If you do go make sure to let me know whether to bother or not. At this point for all the research I have done on the matter I would put it at about 5% that they have chips. Keep in mind that I am wrong a lot though... :)
At Mont Tremblant, the table games area was dead when I arrived about 8 p.m. There were four dealers at their tables (roulette, 3CP, $15 BJ, and $50 BJ) but no players at all. Later, another guy arrived and sat at the "cheap" BJ table. I joined him for a few minutes to collect my souvenir. I wound up keeping both the $1 and $5 denominations for no rational reason beyond the facts that I generally collect one type and the other type looked much better in this case.
Tomorrow, it is on to Montreal and then back into the states for a couple of days.
Quote: DocI visited Casino du Lac Leamy this afternoon and Casino Mont Tremblant this evening. At Lac Leamy, I talked with a pit supervisor and mentioned the uncertain possibility of collecting a souvenir chip at Salon de Jeux Quebec. He checked into it and later told me he had learned that the entire gaming room (he refused to call it a casino) was electronic without any real cards, chips, etc., including at their poker tables. Saves me a stop to investigate on-site for myself.
At Mont Tremblant, the table games area was dead when I arrived about 8 p.m. There were four dealers at their tables (roulette, 3CP, $15 BJ, and $50 BJ) but no players at all. Later, another guy arrived and sat at the "cheap" BJ table. I joined him for a few minutes to collect my souvenir. I wound up keeping both the $1 and $5 denominations for no rational reason beyond the facts that I generally collect one type and the other type looked much better in this case.
Tomorrow, it is on to Montreal and then back into the states for a couple of days.
Good investigating Doc, I should have thought of that. It was exactly the same when I visited Mont-Tremblant. They had four tables, no players and the smallest table was $15 BJ. I played 4 or 5 hands and only lost one so I ran out of there with a profit. That is funny, what do you plan on doing with the $5 chip?
The Montreal casino is really nice. Craps is on the third floor in the back right of the building. I had trouble finding it in the gigantic casino. I know you don't collect from poker rooms but you should. There are two really easy ones to collect in Kahnawake!
Quote: AyecarumbaHow does the currency conversion work (if at all) in these casinos? Can you buy in and cash out with US dollars?
No you have to buy in using CDN dollars. I have never tried to change USD in a Quebec casino as I have easy access to Canadian money obviously, but I assume the cage would change it at a less than enviable rate. Although I won't guarantee this as some US casinos will not change CDN --> USD but I have never heard of anyone not being able to change USD --> CDN in a Canadian casino.
City: Las Vegas
Casino: Vegas World
This will be my last chip post as we have reached the end of my collection. I am quite surprised that nobody previously has posted this chip as we have members who were collecting when this place was still around. A while back I mentioned that I received two old chips from a dear family friend before he passed away, this is the second of those chips
Today's chip of the day is from Vegas World Casino in Las Vegas, NV. Bob Stupak's Vegas World opened in 1979 and closed in 1995 to make way for the current Stratosphere. When it was built the Stratosphere was one of the ten tallest buildings in the world. Vegas World's space themed casino was famous for it's Vegas Vacation Club which would send mailers out to players for free hotels, food and casino play. People kept returning and telling their friends about the casino offers which allowed the casino to have their hotel at 100% occupancy year round. As I am way too young to know, was this not a common practice? From what I have read it sounds like he was the first to bring in the non-high rollers with offers like this. The casino apparently had things hanging from the ceiling for their space theme and Stupak would try any gimmick he could to get players in his casino.
The chip is a silver token. I believe the mark on the front of the chip at the bottom is the mint mark but between my not great vision and the wear on the token I am not able to make it out even with a magnifying glass. The coin came out in 1989 as it states on the coin. The coin has Bob Stupak's Vegas World in the middle surrounded by stars. Above the casino name is the slogan "The sky's the limit". The other side of the chip has an astronaut holding/swimming in stacks of cash with the same slogan as the front of the chip.
Thank you everyone for letting me share my collection and hopefully I will have more chips to share in the future.
My plans for the $5 chip aren't set yet. I'll probably put it on display and try to figure out what to do with the $1 chip. I might put that one to the side of the display, where I have some tokens that I later replaced with "duplicate" clay chips.
Quote: PokerGrinderNo you have to buy in using CDN dollars. I have never tried to change USD in a Quebec casino as I have easy access to Canadian money obviously, but I assume the cage would change it at a less than enviable rate.
Yes, I exchanged US to CA at my first casino stop. I was so delighted to be receiving more raw $ in that exchange, that I didn't really focus on the rate. As with several other such places, they offered to fill out a form about the exchange and allow me to convert the opposite direction for the same amount at the reverse rate within 24 hours. It's a customer service thing. I didn't bother, because I knew I would be needing CA$ for other things during the visit. Most of those CA$ will probably vanish at the tables.
Quote: PokerGrinderAs I am way too young to know, was this not a common practice? From what I have read it sounds like he was the first to bring in the non-high rollers with offers like this.
Hi and thanks for your contributions. There was some fine print on those offers. My memory is foggy, but we looked at it and decline. I recall there being a lot of "match play" and it wasn't exactly a free promotion.
I'm sure he advertised other places, but I also recall when the ads started appearing there was a fair amount of commentary about the changing face of Vegas, whether it was appropriate to market to families, etc.
Edit: Found some historical info on that advertising and the controversy that's pretty interesting. From
http://barronmarketingsolutions.com/the-untold-story-of-bob-stupak/
Quote: articleTake Bob Stupak, for example. A true renegade marketer. He took a one-floor, slots-only dump at the downtown end of the Strip and built it into the big, tall, flashy Vegas World Hotel & Casino, now called The Stratosphere…all without taking on any debt and building it one floor at a time as he had the cash to do it.
He generated cash by selling (via direct mail) pre-paid $399 vacation packages. His full-page ads for his Vegas World package featuring 2 nights’ lodging, meals, drinks, shows and $1,000 of ‘house money’ to gamble with for $399 were seen everywhere: Parade Magazine in Sunday newspapers, Playboy, TV Guide.
People on certain lists received elaborate direct-mail pieces selling the package, and over several years, millions of those sales letters were sent. His was and remains the only Las Vegas Strip hotel literally built by direct-response advertising.
NOW, THE UNTOLD STORY…
Where Bob got his most valuable prospect list that he mailed most aggressively to…
Every guest got a fancy welcome package, which included four full-color postcards with a photo of Vegas World and a display of One Million Dollars In Cash on one side. They were wrapped with a note telling guests to address them with notes to friends back home and drop them in the specially marked mail slot in the lobby – Bob even bought the stamps.
He did not mention he would copy down the names and addresses before mailing out the postcards. He did not mention that he would soon afterward mail a letter telling these folks that they were invited to get the same great vacation their friends had recently enjoyed for just $399, plus get a free spin of the Million Dollar Slot Machine and be guaranteed to at least win a diamond-like ring or a little color TV or some other nifty prize.
He mailed these prospects repetitively and persistently with a conversion rate upwards from 20%. So, if 300 guests turned in 4 postcards, that’s 1,200 fresh prospects every couple of days, about 15,000 fresh prospects a month for which NO COST was incurred in acquiring them but a postcard and a stamp. Pretty ingenious!
Labor intensive? Yep – but that’s the point. Renegade millionaires go to whatever trouble it takes to accomplish their goals – trouble that most people won’t touch. That’s the untold story of extraordinary achievement.
