Casino Chip of the Day

Quote: PokerGrinder

I forgot to mention that I was surprised at how many Oklahoma casinos have not been covered in this thread yet.

Maybe that's because there's like a gazzillion casinos there. I had no idea until recently just how many are in Oklahoma. I'd like to do a road trip there myself and check out the video poker, and the race track, of course. But my understanding is that half of those joints there are all Class-2 gaming. I looked on some of their websites and there's some weird looking machines I have never seen before. Looking forward to your reports.

Quote: bobbartop

Maybe that's because there's like a gazzillion casinos there. I had no idea until recently just how many are in Oklahoma. I'd like to do a road trip there myself and check out the video poker, and the race track, of course. But my understanding is that half of those joints there are all Class-2 gaming. I looked on some of their websites and there's some weird looking machines I have never seen before. Looking forward to your reports.

I had to weed through all the casinos I found listed on a site to figure out which ones had table games as I didn't want to go to any that don't have a chip to collect. If you ever want a list of all casinos that have tables check a previous thread I started, I posted the list on there and I update it from time to time.

Quote: PokerGrinder

I had to weed through all the casinos I found listed on a site to figure out which ones had table games as I didn't want to go to any that don't have a chip to collect. If you ever want a list of all casinos that have tables check a previous thread I started, I posted the list on there and I update it from time to time.

That sounds good, will give me something to read later today instead of watching the depressing news on television. I checked your handle and you have 8 threads, I am not sure which one it is, but I have plenty of time right now. I spotted some conversation about barbeque. Oh man, I loved good barbeque. That was past tense. I gave up meat and try to avoid sodium now since a few years ago. If you ever decide to do a trip report on kale and beets, let me know.

Quote: bobbartop

That sounds good, will give me something to read later today instead of watching the depressing news on television. I checked your handle and you have 8 threads, I am not sure which one it is, but I have plenty of time right now. I spotted some conversation about barbeque. Oh man, I loved good barbeque. That was past tense. I gave up meat and try to avoid sodium now since a few years ago. If you ever decide to do a trip report on kale and beets, let me know.

I don't understand how anyone could give up meat. I had the best burger of my like last night. It was ground fancy meat maybe sirloin, with a crab cake on top.

Sorry for the slight derail.

Quote: GWAE

I don't understand how anyone could give up meat. I had the best burger of my like last night. It was ground fancy meat maybe sirloin, with a crab cake on top.

Sorry for the slight derail.

If you are trying to encourage me to bet against you in the GWAE weight loss challenge... it is working. hehe

I almost typed something similar, and then didn't out of respect for Doc's Thread.
Aye is a rascal.
GWAE is AP and a rascal, bet with care ;-)
Sorry Doc....

Quote: bobbartop

That sounds good, will give me something to read later today instead of watching the depressing news on television. I checked your handle and you have 8 threads, I am not sure which one it is, but I have plenty of time right now. I spotted some conversation about barbeque. Oh man, I loved good barbeque. That was past tense. I gave up meat and try to avoid sodium now since a few years ago. If you ever decide to do a trip report on kale and beets, let me know.

It's the thread called complete chip list I think.

Quote: TwoFeathersATL

I almost typed something similar, and then didn't out of respect for Doc's Thread.
Aye is a rascal.
GWAE is AP and a rascal, bet with care ;-)
Sorry Doc....

Haha I thought about that when I typed it.

Here is the restaurant we ate in.
http://www.dsfireside.com/

We took a trip to amish country for the day. I was hoping to get some chips on the trip but couldn't talk wife into going to that casino in the mountains In Maryland I think. Can't remember the name of it but I don't have a chip yet.

Quote: GWAE

I don't understand how anyone could give up meat. I had the best burger of my like last night. It was ground fancy meat maybe sirloin, with a crab cake on top.

It wasn't an easy decision made in haste. When the ambulance paramedics said my blood pressure was 250/150 and the world was spinning like a top, it took me a whole day to make that decision. After I woke up, of course.

Not just that, but the food industry is cruel. I'm an animal lover. If I was dictator I would shut down the beef industry and you ALL would be eating kale from now on. And don't get me started on the veal industry. It's brutal. And for what? Look, if I had a farm with a herd of beef cattle, I would put pink ribbons around their necks and give them names, like Daisy and Bossey. Their life would be spent grazing on gourmet grass and alfalfa, and drinking lemonade in the summer.

Quote: PokerGrinder

It's the thread called complete chip list I think.

Thank you, PokerGrinder. I'll check it all out. Looking forward to reading something interesting.

Quote: Ayecarumba

Here are my two flavors of Commerce $1 chips:

Interestingly, they were both in play at the time I visited.

These are Commerce chips when they first opened in 1983. Nothing fancy, just solid clay Top Hats, well worn. I saw these other Commerce chips posted by Ayecarumba on page 377 back in 2013 and had to add these grungy old chips to the collection.

It was the "California Commerce Club" at first, much later they decided it was a "casino".



When these chips were in play it was strictly forms of Draw poker, and Panguingue. The club opened with 100 tables. They were self-dealt, no dealers. The floor was split in thirds, basically, a third high draw jacks-or-better, a third lowball, (with some very big games), and a section for the Pan Players. There was no Pai Gow, or anything like that. There was no hotel. The parking lot was moderately sized, next to a Christmas tree lot.

Quote: bobbartop

It was the "California Commerce Club" at first, much later they decided it was a "casino".

<snip>

The floor was split in thirds, basically, a third high draw jacks-or-better, ....

I was just reminiscing, back in those days there was a game we called "Declare". It's not what you're thinking, it wasn't a hi-lo split game. But rather, everyone anted, and there was one Blind. Nobody was allowed to look at their hand until the pot was "declared". This meant, that the player in the Blind would look at his hand, and then throw a large declare button into the pot that said "HI" on the blue side and "LO" on the red side, and that would determine what the hand was, high draw or lowball.

I remember many times in the $2-4 game, without the floorman's approval, we would agree to "9s wild". Wrap your mind around that for a moment and imagine what that did to the game. It was fun. When the floorman came around we tried to hide the fact that we were playing 9s wild, because he would not allow that to go on under his shift, until you slipped him a yellow chip in his palm, of course.

Quote: bobbartop

Thank you, PokerGrinder. I'll check it all out. Looking forward to reading something interesting.

Lol I don't know how interesting it is. Mostly just a giant list.

Quote: PokerGrinder

Lol I don't know how interesting it is. Mostly just a giant list.

It's an interesting giant list.

Quote: bobbartop

These are Commerce chips when they first opened in 1983. Nothing fancy, just solid clay Top Hats, well worn....

Very cool bobbartop! I can't make out the writing on the blue chip, but I assume it is $1. I really enjoy reading about your adventures. Please keep them coming.

I'm in travel status until the 10th or so. For anyone still interested in chips, I won't be able to update the index until I get home. That post #1 is just too complex to edit on a phone.

Quote: PokerGrinder

I forgot to mention that I was surprised at how many Oklahoma casinos have not been covered in this thread yet. I thought that Rdw had done his rounds of OK years ago but I guess he only did a portion of them. Also one of my new chips will be from Louisiana, have fun trying to figure out which one Doc.

I didn't think I was missing more than 2 or 3 OK chips. Do you happen to have a list? Maybe I'll plan a trip. South Carolina to OK via LA and MS makes at least as much sense as MB to LA via OK, right? :-)

Quote: bobbartop

I was just reminiscing, back in those days there was a game we called "Declare". It's not what you're thinking, it wasn't a hi-lo split game. But rather, everyone anted, and there was one Blind. Nobody was allowed to look at their hand until the pot was "declared". This meant, that the player in the Blind would look at his hand, and then throw a large declare button into the pot that said "HI" on the blue side and "LO" on the red side, and that would determine what the hand was, high draw or lowball.

I remember many times in the $2-4 game, without the floorman's approval, we would agree to "9s wild". Wrap your mind around that for a moment and imagine what that did to the game. It was fun. When the floorman came around we tried to hide the fact that we were playing 9s wild, because he would not allow that to go on under his shift, until you slipped him a yellow chip in his palm, of course.

This is a California game? So that yellow chip is a $5, right? :-)

As noted above, I am in travel status, though it's not the kind of trip that PokerGrinder and rdw4potus have been discussing. I have played in 12 casinos, with one being just for the opportunity to lose money, since I had already collected a souvenir chip from there.

I did pick up chips from the other 11, but one of those found a way to vanish later. Because of my incompetence, my collection will remain light by one chip. As for the other 10 chips, there are several levels of contributions I can make to this thread.

Two of the chips are identical to ones already posted in the thread, but I will probably post mine anyway, because I can add the UV photos to reveal the hidden images. Four of the chips are from casinos that have already been discussed, with the $5 chips being shown. I haven't searched thoroughly yet, but I don't think the $1 chips from those casinos have been posted yet, so I will. Those six chip images will be in a single post, once I get home and get the photos ready.

The other four chips/casinos have either never been presented as the casino and chip of the day or the casino has changed names and issued new chips, so that a new CCotD entry is warranted.

Stay tuned!

Quote: rdw4potus

This is a California game? So that yellow chip is a $5, right? :-)

Yes sir, a $5 chip. I know there was a common color scheme in Southern California, but if I think hard enough I could probably come up with plenty of exceptions. In Gardena, quarters were certainly red, dollars blue, and five dollars yellow. A lot of 50-cent chips were "peach", but not all. $20s were usually brown. The $20s at Huntington Park were black, if I recall. I remember playing with $25 chips at Commerce and those were grey.

It was always wise to take care of the floormen. Especially in the "old" days.

One night at the old Horseshoe in Gardena, there was a lively $20-$40 Draw game going. It's a $5 ante, Jacks-or-better to open. If no one opens you ante another $5 and the game goes to $30-$60. A third time, $40-80, and a fourth time $50-$100. It was a loose-structured game. So anyway, I digress, but one guy got mad at the table, a young hot head. This was all self-dealt round table. There are stacks and stacks of yellows and browns covering the table. The hot head reaches over and grabs as much of an opponent's chips as his two hands could cup, and THREW them across the card room. Omg! So the floormen come and grab him and now he is standing there near the table and they are all talking, when the guy gets loose and reaches to the table and grabs ANOTHER two handfuls of yellow and brown chips, THROWS them across the card room. lol People are scrambling everywhere to pick up those chips. Gardena Police soon came and escorted this fool out of there, I never saw him again.

Quote: rdw4potus

I didn't think I was missing more than 2 or 3 OK chips. Do you happen to have a list? Maybe I'll plan a trip. South Carolina to OK via LA and MS makes at least as much sense as MB to LA via OK, right? :-)

Sorry I completely forgot to respond to this. I don't have the list with me but I will be doing a trip report so you will see which ones you are missing very soon. I leave on the 17th.

Just left jack cincy on our way home. Picked up 9 chips on this trip. I will have to see if any of them are new on here.

Ovet under on me getting the picture of jack up?

Quote: GWAE

Just left jack cincy on our way home. Picked up 9 chips on this trip. I will have to see if any of them are new on here.

I have a few more chips I'd like to post also, but it looks like Doc is going to have a lot of work to do when he gets home.

I won't get home until Wednesday afternoon or evening and won't be ready to post anything before Thursday anyway. If you have chips ready to post in the interim, please go right ahead. Let's just try to make it one, new, official, CCotD post per day for as many days as we can without doubling up.

GWAE, I did pick up a chip from Jack Cincinnati this trip, but if you want to do the write-up and can get it ready, then that one is yours, and I will add the UV photo later if you don't.

State: California
City: Lodi
Casino: Roy's Club

My Chip of the Day is from Lodi, California. A small town just north of Stockton with some rich history. Fifty years ago Lodi was famous for Tokays, a sweet red seeded grape that was unique to the town and in big demand. That has long since become extinct, now the town produces mostly chardonnay. And cherries.

As for poker, this town has seen MANY card rooms in its day. Although there were some others around town, the main spot was on a small stretch of Sacramento Street. The railroad tracks on one side of the street, and a string of bars and food places on the other side. In the middle of the block was Roy's Club. It was a popular bar, with a small connected room where the card table was. Roy was a fixture in town, and I'm sure he had a lot of clout with City Hall. I don't know if he is still alive but he would have to be quite old if he is. He was a pleasant man, a big man, who knew how to run a bar and a card game. He could also be tough when he needed to be, and trust me, there was a large 45 caliber behind the cashout desk at all times.

There were other clubs, but eventually Roy's was the only action in town. To the best of my knowledge Lodi was the very last town in California to approve of hold'em. Till then, it was all lowball. Either San Diego or Sacramento were late in approving hold'em, but after they both did, it was still a few years before Lodi did. I'm guessing 1995 or 1996.

The game usually started at night, same basic group of guys, a couple local business owners who were live ones, made for a good lowball game. Mostly $4-$10 when I played, I think you could look at two and kill with $10, making it $20 to go. A friendly game.

And don't forget, you must bet a "7" or better after the draw, or lose the action. In other words, no slipping the nuts after the draw. Which was the way MOST lowball was played in California. 53 cards with the joker being the lowest card fitting in your hand, and A2345 being the nuts, a "wheel".

Last I heard Roy's had turned to Jack's, and another room opened on Cherokee Lane towards the south part of town. They played hold'em. I never played there as I had already moved down the road. Today I think that room is run by the "Parkwest" Group, which runs a few nice rooms in the area, in Livermore, in Sacramento, etc.

Roy's Club is now history, the end of an era.

The chip is a dollar chip, traditional "dollar blue", Top Hat 'n Cane.

Quote: Doc

I won't get home until Wednesday afternoon or evening and won't be ready to post anything before Thursday anyway. If you have chips ready to post in the interim, please go right ahead. Let's just try to make it one, new, official, CCotD post per day for as many days as we can without doubling up.

GWAE, I did pick up a chip from Jack Cincinnati this trip, but if you want to do the write-up and can get it ready, then that one is yours, and I will add the UV photo later if you don't.

With my propensity to procrastinate you are better suited to get it done.

Quote: Doc

I won't get home until Wednesday afternoon or evening and won't be ready to post anything before Thursday anyway. If you have chips ready to post in the interim, please go right ahead. Let's just try to make it one, new, official, CCotD post per day for as many days as we can without doubling up.

I didn't notice your link to "Wine Country" before I posted my Lodi chip. I hope that is ok, it is from a different era. Also, I'm pretty sure that "Wine Country" is now a place I described as "Parkwest". I think.

Drew a blank for a moment as to what link I had provided to"Wine Country." Then I realized you meant the index link to rdw4potus's chip from the Wine Country Casino in Lodi.

Your Roy's chip post is just fine. As a general rule, if a casino changes name and issues chips with the new name, I treat it as a new casino deserving its own CCotD post and a place in the thread index.

Looks like we have a couple posters lined up to keep this thread alive. I'll have 7 Florida chips to post after everyone else is done (I'm doing my collecting trip next weekend).

I recently noted that among the chips that I collected on my trip, there are some from casinos that have already been discussed in this thread and even a couple for which the specific chip that I collected has already been shown here. I will dispense with my presentation of images for these casinos in this post and cover the "new" casinos over the next few days. Note: if there is someone who wants to post chips before I present those others, please let me know, and I will hold off to give you the opportunity. I think I have four chips from casinos that have not been covered at all, so that means four new CCotD posts upcoming from me.

As for the "old" ones, I have two for which the specific chips have already been presented. Back in April, GWAE showed us a $1 chip here from the Yellow Brick Road Casino in Chittenango, NY, and a little over a month ago he showed us a $1 chip from the new Jack Casino in Cleveland here. My identical chips are shown below, each with an accompanying image of the chip under UV illumination to show the hidden hat and cane logo.





Back in 2013, rdw4potus presented a $5 chip from the Hollywood Casino in Toledo here. He presented the corresponding chips from the Greektown Casino and the neighboring Motor City Casino in Detroit here and here and from the Caesars casino across the river in Windsor, ON here.

I don't think that $1 chips from these casinos have yet been presented in this thread -- or at least I haven't found them -- so I am presenting mine below. All four of these also have hidden hat and cane logos, and all six of the chips presented here are the Paulson Reversed-Hat-and-Cane design. Note that none of the edge inserts fluoresce under UV light!









Honest, I really would be presenting my $1 chip from the MGM Grand Casino in Detroit right here in this post, but that chip disappeared somewhere within the first day or so after I collected it. (#$%*&$# -- Snagglefritz!)

Whoops! An error/omission in that previous post. It seems that one of my planned "new" CCotD posts is for a casino that has already been covered.

In June 2013, rdw4potus presented the Point Edward Charity Casino here. As he mentioned, that casino opened in 2000, but the name of the place changed (in 2006, I think) to Ontario Lottery Gaming (OLG) Point Edward, though I cannot find any evidence that they have ever issued any new chips with that name. I guess I wasn't paying close enough attention while I played there last week. Anyway, the $1 chip that I collected has the old name and is presented below.



So I really only have three upcoming CCotD posts.

I never knew about the hat and cane in blacklight. I wonder how long they have been doing that. I read about RFID in chips a long time ago, somewhere on the Strip, Wynn, Caesars, somewhere like that. I don't even remember what that was about. But I assume these "glowing" hats are for authenticity? Poker chips have come a long way. How'd you like to have been the founder of Paulsen way back when?

Adding a fluorescing image to the center inlay probably makes counterfeiting just a bit harder. And chip collecting perhaps just a little more entertaining.

I really haven't paid attention to it before, but on this latest trip, each time I turned in a $100 chip at the cashier's cage, they checked for the UV image. At one casino, she had a fixed UV lamp and held the chips under it. At another, she had a UV light pen that she shined at the chip. I don't have any idea what their cage policies might be as to which chips need to be verified under UV.

Paulson chips often have the hidden hat and cane logo that fluoresces. Many chips have one or more edge inserts that fluoresce, example here. Some have other images that fluoresce under UV light, example here. The one we most often josh about is the design that has the name of the casino (or something else) repeated numerous times on the inlay (only visible under UV light) with an error of some sort one place in the repeated pattern, usually a transposition of letters in the casino name just the one time, example here. (Some of them are much harder to pick out than that one!)

Ha! That is so interesting. They misspelled "piont" once. I never knew about any of this stuff.

State: Ohio
City: Cincinnati
Casino: Jack

GWAE admitted to his “propensity to procrastinate” and gave me the OK to post the chip from the Jack Casino in Cincinnati, even though he also recently collected a souvenir from there.

This is the same casino that used to be the Horseshoe Cincinnati, covered initially in this thread here by rdw4potus, while I eventually showed my souvenir chip at the very end of this very-long post, after a bunch of other chips I had collected on the same trip.

I don’t remember the Horseshoe in adequate detail from a brief visit to be able to distinguish it from the Jack after a similarly brief visit. Yes, the signs have been changed and some of the décor, but I think from the visitor’s perspective it’s basically the same casino operating under a different name. My primary memory is one I would really prefer to forget -- the money I lost playing $10-minimum craps, the first of five straight losing sessions at craps on this trip.

The chip itself is from a mold design that we really don’t see very often: the Paulson SCV/LCV, meaning that one side has the short-cane version of the hat and cane logo molded around the perimeter while the other side has the long-cane version. The short-cane side is presented first below, followed by the long-cane side. For those not familiar with the difference, note the separation between the lower end of the cane and the brim of the top hat – it is less on the short-cane version, and these generally do have shorter canes. It is more common to see one version or the other on both sides of the chip, giving just the SCV and LCV chip designs.

The chip is white and has four narrow edge inserts, two each in colors that I will call slate gray and some version of orange. Yes, I am just so nerdy that I checked the web in an attempt to compare this edge insert color to pumpkin, Crayola orange, Persian orange, Crayola alloy orange, burnt orange, and a few others, but I’m not really convinced that any of those match exactly. Just to make it more confusing, the true color of those orange edge inserts is darker/browner than it appears in the photo. Chalk that up to my camera equipment and my limited photography skills, I suppose. At one time, I worked in the carpet fiber industry, and I knew dye specialists who could really match colors to an extreme.

The center inlays are a little undersized and are white with a black hexagon that contains the casino name, city, and state in white, plus the denomination mark in what I think is brown. It may be difficult to see, even if you click on the little image to get the bigger one, but the letters J A C K are followed/separated by tiny suit pips in the sequence heart, spade, diamond, and club, all appearing in white.

Under UV light, the hidden hat and cane logo fluoresces in a slightly different position on the two sides. Both fluorescing images are the type we would call the long-cane version if they were molded into the chip. Nothing else fluoresces on either side.

I played a couple slots there that I had never seen before. I believe one is even vulturable. I had never made it to the Horseshoe Cincy so now I have to decide if I am going to buy that chip or just not have it in my collection.

Sounds like you had a fun trip minus the losing craps sessions Doc. This thread has become active again lately, which is really nice to see. I leave next Wednesday on my trip and will have 15-18 new CotD's to post when I get back. From the sounds of it other members might have enough new chips to continue the posting for a while. I'm starting to think my over/under on how many new chips this thread will get this year might go over after all.

Quote: PokerGrinder

I'm starting to think my over/under on how many new chips this thread will get this year might go over after all.

I don't remember, was there a bet? How much, odds? If it gets close one way or the other toward the end of the year, I have a handful of chips that have not been posted and would qualify. Doc knows. Not to suggest any collusion or anything. I may have to learn how to post pics one of these days;-) 2F

Category: Canada
City: Gananoque, Ontario
Casino: Shorelines Casino Thousand Islands

The Thousand Islands Charity Casino opened in 2002 and was covered in this thread by rdw4potus here in 2013. Note that the Ontario Lottery Gaming Corporation, which owned the casino, seems to have always used the name "Thousand Islands" in reference to this casino, but the chips said "1000 Islands." The index of this thread shows it using the "1000" designation.

At a date I have not been able to determine, the name of the establishment was changed to "OLG Casino Thousand Islands." I posted my chip from the "1000 Islands" casino as the final part of this post and one from the "OLG Casino Thousand Islands" here, just listing it in the index as "OLG Thousand Islands." I collected both chips during the same blackjack session in September 2015.

During that session (in which I broke even -- plus two souvenir chips), the dealer told me that they had been informed that the casino was being sold and would no longer be part of the OLG group. Even the employees had not yet been told who the new owner would be. It turns out that the new owner is Great Canadian Gaming Corporation, and the new name of the casino is Shorelines Casino Thousand Islands.

That company later announced another new casino to be established just an hour away in Belleville. It's as if they expect me to keep making trips to Canada every year! Groundbreaking took place last April with a projected opening date of "before the end of first quarter 2017," with a July 2016 update saying "March or April".

I did make it back to Gananoque a week ago today and played at the Shorelines Casino Thousand Islands. I played blackjack once again in that same building, and again I came out exactly even -- this time plus just one souvenir chip. Better results than most of my sessions on this trip.

The chip is a white RHC Paulson with six narrow edge inserts in (I think) "color wheel orange", and a slightly undersized center inlay with "Shorelines" in blue and "Casino Thousand Islands" in a matching orange. I don't know what to call the two-toned, saw-tooth ring surrounding the denomination mark, which is in blue.

UV light reveals a different hidden image than anything we have seen recently, and I'm not sure I have any other chips with this: it is simply the manufacturer's name "Paulson" on top of the denomination mark.

Category: Canada
City: Toronto, Ontario
Casino: CNE

With no comments on/about yesterday’s CCotD, I will go ahead with my final new entry….

Today, we have one of the most unusual casinos I have covered in this thread, rather unique in its history, facility, and operations. I might as well begin with a quote from this web site:

Quote: Canadian National Exhibition

The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) is Canada’s largest community event and one of the top 5 agricultural fairs in North America. Founded in 1879 as the Toronto Industrial Exhibition, the CNE has enjoyed a distinguished history as a showcase of the nation. People came to experience the latest innovations in technology and commercial products, to enjoy the popular entertainers of the time, and to engage in a collective community celebration.

Although the CNE has changed significantly over the years, it continues to be one of Ontario’s great annual traditions and an event that offers substantial entertainment value for money. Taking place over the 18 days leading up to and including Labour Day, it is affectionately embraced as an end-of-summer ritual by more than 1.601 million visitors annually, visitors who reflect the rich diversity of Toronto and the region.

While the CNE includes quite a range of demonstrations, concerts, food, games, and entertainment, the element of relevance to this post and to this thread is their casino. Yes, an exhibition that lasts only 18 days a year includes its own casino!

Each year they hire and train dealers, erect a casino in an exhibition facility (read that as “large warehouse-like structure”), and offer a variety of games. In order to have everything running smoothly each year, they do start operating the casino in advance of the rest of the Exhibition – let the dealers get a bit of live practice before the real crowds arrive, I suppose. In 2016, the full CNE runs from August 19 to September 5, but the casino’s operating term is July 31 to September 5. During the full CNE, one must pay the Exhibition entry fee, but not during the preliminary period.

My wife and I visited the CNE site on August 4, during the warm-up period while they were still preparing the rest of the exhibition venues. The site is located almost on the shore of Lake Ontario, between Gardiner Expressway and Lake Shore Boulevard. It was quite clear that 15 days before the official opening, the CNE setup was very much a work in progress. There seemed to be no special control of traffic, other than a sign I saw at an empty parking lot – it said “$30 per day”, and I wasn’t interested.

At that point, I saw a worker in a yellow vest. He seemed to be stationed there to give directions to delivery trucks and work crews, and I asked him where I was supposed to park for the casino. He replied, “The casino? It’s up that way,” pointing behind himself. I drove around a couple of small blocks, found an empty space on the side of a street, and parked. No fee, no meter, and nothing saying I wasn’t supposed to park there. We then walked the half block to the casino.

There were a few small signs on the building indicating that it was the casino, but no neon or fountains or anything major to try to draw a crowd. At the door, they did have people casually checking I.D.s for age and making sure we weren’t carrying exceptionally large weapons, but we mostly just walked in. Inside, the place was a huge open space that could have been used to store or exhibit most anything. I have been to tribal casinos that were run in canvas tents, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a casino quite like this one.

First of all, I didn’t see a single slot machine or VP machine, and none are mentioned in the web site’s description of the casino. It just says, “the CNE Casino features a variety of games including Multi-Action Blackjack, Roulette, WAR, Spanish 21, 3-card Poker, and a private, air-conditioned Texas Hold ‘em Poker room.” There appeared to be a fair amount of activity in the poker room at mid-day on that Thursday, and I saw a separate-but-idle area that appeared to be set up for a poker tournament. The web site refers to a $160,000 tournament.

No, there was no craps game offered. About a third of the card tables were staffed, and those were pretty crowded. I didn’t have in mind to spend much time at the place – just there to pick up a chip – and I really didn’t want to wait for a seat at a game that I might understand. Then I looked behind me and spied something I have never seen before in a casino – a roulette pit with twelve tables set up. I don’t know whether roulette is that popular with the CNE crowd or whether it is just an easier game to teach new dealers. I’ve just never seen a pit set up exclusively with a full dozen wheels!

Two of the tables were in operation at that time, one with a $2 minimum bet and one with $5 minimum. In a hurry to get on my way, I bought in for just $20 at the cheap table (ten $2 chips) and threw away $18 in two spins. I then asked to change my remaining roulette chip for standard chips. I gave a $1 tip to the dealers and kept my $1 (face value, not what it cost me) souvenir!

The chip is a white RHC Paulson with four narrow edge inserts in black. The center inlay is more precisely matched in size to the recessed area of the chip than most any chip I have seen. It is a plain white textured inlay with the abbreviated casino name, the denomination, the city, and the province all in black. Nothing on this chip fluoresces under UV light. Talk about having it all down in black and white!

And now PokerGrinder is heading out for a chip-chasing visit to Oklahoma and Louisiana and will likely miss out on the CNE casino for at least another year!

Quote: PokerGrinder

I leave next Wednesday on my trip and will have 15-18 new CotD's to post when I get back.

BTW, if you're still headed to Louisiana, PG, have you checked the weather there recently? Flood waters have been backing up about as deep as a Canadian snow drift, with tractor-trailer rigs getting swept off the interstate highways. Right now, I-10 is closed in both directions.

The CNE sounds like a fair circuit. Is there any horse racing? You paint a vivid picture of what it must have been like and sounds like a lot of fun, something I'd like to see. Excellent report and good Chip of the Day, Doc.

No, there is no horse racing that I know of, although there is a building called the "Horse Palace." A quick quote about it:

Quote: Wikipedia

The Horse Palace is a heritage building at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Canada, containing stables, a horse ring and various agencies. It was constructed to support the equestrian events of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair (Winter Fair). The ornamentation of the building is considered a fine example of Art Deco.

If you want a better idea of where all of this stuff is, go to Google Maps and search for "BMO Field, Toronto, ON, Canada". To the southwest of that athletic stadium there is a building labeled "Better Living Centre." The casino is located in the northeast corner of that building. To the northeast of BMO field is the Horse Palace.

Quote: Doc

No, there is no horse racing that I know of, although there is a building called the "Horse Palace." A quick quote about it:

If you want a better idea of where all of this stuff is, go to Google Maps and search for "BMO Field, Toronto, ON, Canada". To the southwest of that athletic stadium there is a building labeled "Better Living Centre." The casino is located in the northeast corner of that building. To the northeast of BMO field is the Horse Palace.

I took a good look. I have never been back east in my life, nor to Canada. Unfortunate, yes. I'd sure like to go somewhere like that before my life is over.

Changing the subject for a moment, after I looked at this I also checked vpfree2 for Pick'em. I guess I haven't checked for that in several years, but if I recall there used to be an abundance of Pick'em in that area, at all denominations. Now, not so much. I don't know why it was so common to that area, but it looks like that has changed. That's too bad.

I know that perhaps I have posted photos of my entire chip collection too many times, but I'm going to do it again to keep things current. The last time I posted such a photo here, there were 461 chips in the collection, plus 10 "extras" off to the side of the main array, extras that I don't consider part of the "collection." At that time, I also posted nine earlier similar photos, showing the progression since May 2010.

After my latest trip, the collection has increased from 461 to 471, as shown in the photo below of my home office desktop, this time without the extra chips on the side. I'm not going to re-post the earlier photos, but you can still see them at that link above.



If you want to see that photo in greater detail, click on the image above. Then (perhaps depending on your browser), click on that image to see it in the maximum size I can offer. You should be able to scroll around that image to see individual chips, but it still doesn't have the resolution to let you see each one in detail. Such chip details are what hundreds of posts in this thread are all about.   ;-)

When I have posted photos of this desktop before, there have frequently been replies along the lines of, "You're gonna need a bigger desk." I have noted numerous times that the center rectangle of that desktop has room for more than 150 additional chips beyond what are there now. I think some folks have been skeptical of that, and I don't think I have ever explained it before.

Look at it this way: The current array has 19 staggered rows with spaces for 25 chips in each row, for a total of 475. Since I only have 471 chips now, there are empty spaces for one chip each in the upper left and lower left corners and for two chips in the lower right corner.

As I add more chips, the array will just get tighter until chips are touching all around. If I tighten from left to right until chips in the same row touch, I can get more chips per row but fewer rows will fit. The extreme of that will result in 17 rows, with 9 rows of 37 alternating with 8 rows of 36, for a total of 621 spaces for chips. Or, I can tighten the current array top to bottom until chips in the same column are touching, getting more rows though fewer chips will fit per row. The extreme of that approach gives 29 rows with 15 rows of 22 alternating with 14 rows of 21, for a total of 624 spaces -- room enough for 153 more chips than I have in the collection now.

After that (if I live and collect that long), I guess I'll have to start using more of the area around the perimeter, such as I use for the "extra" chips now.

Love that. I'm on the edge of finishing off my 4th 99 chip frame. After my FL drive next weekend and New Mexico trip next February it will be full. At some point I'd love to consolidate to an array like you all in one spot. Very cool.

I still regret missing 3 chips I'll have to get some day. I was on a collecting trip in June 2015 from Baltimore>Pittsburgh>Erie PA (hit a Royal Flush on 50c VP in a 20 minute session for a $2000 handpay)>Buffalo.

Got into Buffalo after 2 long driving days. Crossed over to Niagara to get Casino Niagara and the surrounding casinos. Got super hassled crossing the border because visiting the casinos to collect chips and gamble a bit didn't sound legit (rented car, Florida license). Had to pull over and have full car searched. Wanted to know why I had so much cash on me (handpay, lol).

So now it's like 8pm and I cross into Canada and forget Waze won't work because I don't have an international data plan on my phone to navigate. It's drizzling, dark, and fog starts rolling in. Knowing i have a 6am flight and need to hurry back to Buffalo to get some sleep at my hotel by the airport, I'm stressed. I drive up and down the main drag of Niagara Falls a few times not being able to see through my car's windshield which is fogging up and the fog/rain outside/tons of people on sidewalks and dense traffic. I absolutely could not find turn ins to the casino parking garages even though I'd see the casinos driving by through the fog.

I eventually gave up and found my way back to a bridge to the USA. Got even MORE hassled this time. Pull over car, go sit in the office, full car search, tons of questions. I just want sleep at this point after like 7 hours driving. Never got those 3 chips. Someday :)

This beats my 2nd worst experience which was in summer of 2013 I believe. I can't remember if it was in Kansas (I believe it was heading toward the Casino White Cloud or Sac & Fox), but a few of those chips took driving down some muddy dirt and gravel roads (thanks GPS) in the middle of NOWHERE where I thought my car might get stuck a few times.

Anyone else have any travel stories in their chip collecting journeys?

Quote: wezvidz

Love that. I'm on the edge of finishing off my 4th 99 chip frame. After my FL drive next weekend and New Mexico trip next February it will be full. At some point I'd love to consolidate to an array like you all in one spot. Very cool.

I still regret missing 3 chips I'll have to get some day. I was on a collecting trip in June 2015 from Baltimore>Pittsburgh>Erie PA (hit a Royal Flush on 50c VP in a 20 minute session for a $2000 handpay)>Buffalo.

Got into Buffalo after 2 long driving days. Crossed over to Niagara to get Casino Niagara and the surrounding casinos. Got super hassled crossing the border because visiting the casinos to collect chips and gamble a bit didn't sound legit (rented car, Florida license). Had to pull over and have full car searched. Wanted to know why I had so much cash on me (handpay, lol).

So now it's like 8pm and I cross into Canada and forget Waze won't work because I don't have an international data plan on my phone to navigate. It's drizzling, dark, and fog starts rolling in. Knowing i have a 6am flight and need to hurry back to Buffalo to get some sleep at my hotel by the airport, I'm stressed. I drive up and down the main drag of Niagara Falls a few times not being able to see through my car's windshield which is fogging up and the fog/rain outside/tons of people on sidewalks and dense traffic. I absolutely could not find turn ins to the casino parking garages even though I'd see the casinos driving by through the fog.

I eventually gave up and found my way back to a bridge to the USA. Got even MORE hassled this time. Pull over car, go sit in the office, full car search, tons of questions. I just want sleep at this point after like 7 hours driving. Never got those 3 chips. Someday :)

This beats my 2nd worst experience which was in summer of 2013 I believe. I can't remember if it was in Kansas (I believe it was heading toward the Casino White Cloud or Sac & Fox), but a few of those chips took driving down some muddy dirt and gravel roads (thanks GPS) in the middle of NOWHERE where I thought my car might get stuck a few times.

Anyone else have any travel stories in their chip collecting journeys?

I'm sorry, but I can't help laughing at this. Sounds like one of the worst trip reports I've ever read. I'm sure you weren't laughing at the time. Sounds pretty frustrating. Hey, but you hit a royal. :-)

Quote: wezvidz

I still regret missing 3 chips I'll have to get some day. ... Got into Buffalo after 2 long driving days. Crossed over to Niagara to get Casino Niagara and the surrounding casinos.
...

Anyone else have any travel stories in their chip collecting journeys?

So how does the count of missing chips get to 3? In Niagara Falls, ON there is Casino Niagara and Fallsview Casino. Did you plan to go further into Ontario to get to another casino, or are you counting one on the southern side of the border?

As for travel stories about collecting chips and the "value" of GPS, two that come to mind immediately are the ones I posted here about getting to the Paragon Casino in Louisiana and here about our experiences visiting the Golden Moon Casino in Mississippi.

Maybe it was just the 2. Makes more sense because after crossing the first border into Canada waiting 30 minutes in the office while they searched my car I thought this certainly wasn't worth the hassle and I just wanted to head back to Buffalo for sleep. Instead I persevered ahead when my thought of turning around turned out to be the best instinct. :)

BTW Doc, that Mississippi story hits close to home! Glad I'm not the only one having unintended adventures during my boring "chip collecting" hobby :)