Casino Chip of the Day

Quote: Ayecarumba

Regarding Gold Spike, it is amazing how reluctant I am to walk even a block off the Fremont Experience canopy.

I understand that. I was that way myself, until this trip. I'd even been reluctant to walk to the Cal from the Las Vegas Club. This trip, though, I had no such qualms; at least not in the daytime. I walked to the Cal and MSS, and also to the Mob Museum on Stewart, a whole two blocks from the canopy.

It's odd, but Vegas is just about empty of pedestrians outside the Strip and Fremont St. Walking alone on deserted streets is eerie and t feels very unsafe. I mean, if someone wants to mug you, that's the best place to do it.

I have two distinct memories of the Spike.
Last week while staying at El Cortez on Monday we called the Spike to see what the price for a day pass to the pool was . $10 a person and pool was open till 10pm. Pool is small with a shallow deck with loungers. Two "waterfalls". No hot tub. Decent amount of chairs and loungers. Almost no one there. If at the El C go here as opposed to the GN pool.

But when I first went to LV was around the time the Horseshoe was closed. The Spike sold Sam Adams for $1. No one else on Fremont had SA. Now we were staying at the GN. It was really a lot more crazy there so I would go to the LV Club over to the Cali, walk down to the Lady and leave through the valet. That left me across the street from the Spike. I also learned at that time they sold quarts of beer for a $1. So my first night there I notice a lot of people wearing bracelets. That was when the bartender told me that everyone was released at midnight from the lock up and this was the closest bar.

However now that is a diffrent place.

I have two distinct memories of the Spike.
Last week while staying at El Cortez on Monday we called the Spike to see what the price for a day pass to the pool was . $10 a person and pool was open till 10pm. Pool is small with a shallow deck with loungers. Two "waterfalls". No hot tub. Decent amount of chairs and loungers. Almost no one there. If at the El C go here as opposed to the GN pool.

But when I first went to LV was around the time the Horseshoe was closed. The Spike sold Sam Adams for $1. No one else on Fremont had SA. Now we were staying at the GN. It was really a lot more crazy there so I would go to the LV Club over to the Cali, walk down to the Lady and leave through the valet. That left me across the street from the Spike. I also learned at that time they sold quarts of beer for a $1. So my first night there I notice a lot of people wearing bracelets. That was when the bartender told me that everyone was released at midnight from the lock up and this was the closest bar.

However now that is a diffrent place.

Quote: Doc

Careful that you don't get lost here -- the posted chip is from the Gold Spike! The Gold Strike is a different casino, not even in Las Vegas, with its chip to be posted very soon. :-)

Caught my typo, thanks

State: Nevada
City: Jean
Casino: Gold Strike

Yep, Johnzimbo, it didn't take long for the thread to get to the real Gold Strike casino.

Just two and a half months ago, the Wizard wrote a review of the Gold Strike, so I probably don't need to say much here about the casino or hotel. Instead, I would like to tell you a little bit about the town of Jean. I would like to, but it seems that my memories of past readings and what I can find on the internet today contain such a pile of contradictions, that you probably should view this whole discussion with considerable skepticism. I am definitely no historian.

I recall (with my very fallible memory) reading an article that said that Jean was established by a mining tycoon at the point where the railroad came closest to his mines; i.e., it was a logistics thing. I recall the article saying that he named the town for his wife.

Well, attribute any errors there either to my memory or to the article, because Wikipedia mentions nothing about mining and says that the town, originally called Goodsprings Junction, was renamed in 1905 by the postmaster in honor of his wife. Then this article and this one talk about Goodsprings being a ghost town a few miles away from Jean with some abandoned mines. One says it originally was named Goods Springs and named for Joseph Good. It also says that the place has an operating bar and café, so I'm not really sure about the "ghost town" designation. Particularly since Wikipedia claims that no one lives in the town of Jean.

The nearest I can come to fitting these pieces together is that Goods Springs/Goodsprings was the mining town with Goodsprings Junction being the closest railroad location, with the name being changed to recognize somebody's wife. Take all this misinformation for what you will.

At least some of what was mined in Goodsprings was gold-copper ore, according to one of those articles, so I suppose there is sufficient connection to name a casino in Jean the Gold Strike. The casino opened in 1990 and is about 1/3 of the way from the California-Nevada line to Las Vegas. It represents one of those attempts to waylay the gambling tourists before they can make it to Sin City. Or maybe a refuge for those who want a really, really, cheap place to stay while they low-limit gamble.

If you think its odd having a giant mock riverboat called the Colorado Belle in Laughlin, what did you think of that giant paddle wheeler called the Navada Landing right out in the desert at Jean? It was demolished several years ago, and along with it, I think the fire went out of the Gold Strike. I dawdled and missed out on getting a souvenir chip from the Nevada Landing.

The Gold Strike chip shown below is a Chipco chip issued in 1999. I think it has a satin (smooth) finish, but I forgot to check that out yesterday when I had the class cover off my desk and rearranged all of the chips in my collection. The two images are opposite sides of the same chip and maintain the old west gold mining motif. The edge of the chip has "Jean, Nevada" printed in two places, separated by either a "1" or just a vertical bar. I had that same uncertainty with the Circus Circus chip, and I don't remember whether anyone ever told me whether the $5 chips said "5" or just had the same vertical bars.

What???? Six and a half hours since I posted that chip and no one has any other chips to post or any comments about Jean or the Gold Strike or even about the Nevada Landing or the fallible memory derived from my senility? Saturdays must be exciting where you folks live.

By the way, that is not a sketch of me on the chip.

I am starting to realize I really have done a crappy job of chip collecting as I have stopped in at the Gold Strike many times and assumed I had a chip, but when going through my pictures I find I never snagged one there :( and ditto for the Nevada Landing.

I only stayed there a couple times but have friends who used to always stay there as everything was comped, and my best story about the place comes from them. Maybe 15 years ago they were there one weekend when a lady who had taken a turnaround bus from So. Cal. was playing nickel slots, killing time until she could get on the bus, and actually won the jackpot which was a car, a BMW. The buzz about the win swept through the casino quickly and hours later my friend was talking to their host who told them "That's the fourth car that has been hit on those machines this year...but nobody has taken the car yet". Friend asked what he meant by this and the host said "it's a hassle to actually give them the car, and most people playing nickel slots are not in the market for a Beemer, so we offer them cash". My friend says "what if they say no to the cash?" and the host said "we keep increasing the offer until they take the cash. If you ever win a car in a casino, do NOT accept the first cash offer from the casino".

I can only hope someday I get to use this advice!

State: Nevada
City: Las Vegas
Casino: Golden Gate

I would have posted this much earlier, but the site doesn't seem to have been working properly today. I kept getting error messages. Anyone know what's been going on? I think I'll use whatever is causing that problem as an excuse for the low level of interest in this thread yesterday.

The Golden Gate is Las Vegas's oldest hotel and paraphrases the city's promotional slogan as "What Happens in Vegas – Started Here!"

The Hotel Nevada opened on the corner of Fremont Street and Main Street in 1906. The following year, it was assigned Las Vegas's first telephone, with the number 1. Who the heck did they call? With re-legalized gambling in 1931, the gaming equipment was hauled out of storage, and the place was renamed Sal Sagev, using what would later become the "secret" Cub Scout code. It was renamed the Golden Gate by investors from San Francisco in 1955. Their web site presents a nice history chronology here.

The Golden Gate is now majority-owned by Derek and Greg Stevens, previously mentioned as the owners of Fitzgeralds/The D. They share ownership with the son of one of those 1955 investors from San Francisco. The 100+ year old establishment was renovated just a few years ago and is currently undergoing an expansion, which their web site claims should be complete this summer.

The small deli in the back has long offered a limited menu including the famous shrimp cocktail in a sundae glass – just a mess of tiny boiled shrimp with cocktail sauce without a bunch of lettuce hiding them. Crackers available for the grabbing on the side. The price started at 50 cents in 1959, went to 99 cents, $1.49, $1.99, and (while there is construction in the deli area) to $2.99 at Du-Par's restaurant elsewhere on the property. I think at one time they wanted to see a player's card to get the best price, but that restriction may be history too. I seem to recall that there is a jumbo version (larger shrimp in the same tulip glass) of this available, too, but I didn't get into the Golden Gate on my recent visit to Las Vegas, so my personal info is a year out of date and my memory is as fuzzy as usual.

The chip shown below is the Sun pattern from the Blue Chip company and is similar to the base form of the CasaBlanca chip posted previously. It was issued in 2003, according to the MOGH catalog. In contrast to the CasaBlanca chip, this one is solid blue with no edge inserts and has a smaller center insert with a silhouette of the Golden Gate Bridge. This strikes me as another chance to start some geeky discussion of suspension bridges, catenary arcs, distribution of loads, forces on a dam, etc., but I think I'll just let that go.

Quote: Doc

I would have posted this much earlier, but the site doesn't seem to have been working properly today. I kept getting error messages. Anyone know what's been going on?

I thought it was gremlins...

Quote:

The following year, it was assigned Las Vegas's first telephone, with the number 1. Who the heck did they call?

I know that's a rhetorical question, but there is an obvious answer: they called, and received calls from, out of town and out of state guests.

Quote:

The small deli in the back has long offered a limited menu including the famous shrimp cocktail in a sundae glass – just a mess of tiny boiled shrimp with cocktail sauce without a bunch of lettuce hiding them. Crackers available for the grabbing on the side. The price started at 50 cents in 1959, went to 99 cents, $1.49, $1.99, and (while there is construction in the deli area) to $2.99 at Du-Par's restaurant elsewhere on the property.

I wouldn't go near shrimp, as you well know, but I ate twice at Du-Par's. Once I had dinner with the Wizard before our last tutoring session, and on the day I left I had breakfast there. It was quite good and reasonably priced. The reason I went there for breakfast, is that they had an ad outside the hotel proclaiming they have the best pancakes in America. I just had to try them.

They were good, I grant that, and the maple syrup is served hot. I don't like pancakes much, but these were better than most I've tried. Very moist inside, so you don't need to drown them in syrup, and huge (and I mean HUGE).

The funny thing is in the menu they're called "Hot Cakes." I'd never seen that in the US before. In Mexico we call them hot cakes as well (see the SWD thread).

Quote:

In contrast to the CasaBlanka chip, this one is solid blue with no edge inserts and has a smaller center insert with a silhouette of the Golden Gate Bridge.

That's a lovely depiction of the Bridge.

Quote: Nareed

That's a lovely depiction of the Bridge.

I like the Golden Gate Casino, the shrimp cocktail, and the real bridge. I have commented numerous times here that as a cheapskate interior decorator I have my condo walls covered with my own photographs. I have a 12" x 30" print of this photo on the wall of my living room. I took the photo from the deck of a cruise ship leaving San Francisco. I used to have a smaller print hanging, but it didn't do justice to the scene, just as this small image on the web does not.

Quote: Doc

I have commented numerous times here that as a cheapskate interior decorator I have my condo walls covered with my own photographs.

Interior design is about taste, not money. Having seen a fair amount of your shots, I can categorically state there's nothing cheap about them.

In fact, would you be wiling to email me the high-resolution version of that shot? Just for my personal use.

Quote: Nareed

In fact, would you be wiling to email me the high-resolution version of that shot? Just for my personal use.

Just sent it to the email address you gave me earlier. Let me know if it does not come through properly. I sent the full image in 3:2 format, rather than the image that I cropped top and bottom to satisfy my own preferences. Modify and use it as you like; just don't go commercial with it.

Quote: Doc

Modify and use it as you like; just don't go commercial with it.

Thank you. I did receive it.

The most I will do is print it, frame it and hang it on my wall. Thank you.

The GG is definately the place to play downtown at night. 3/2 BJ is available in a party pit atmosphere. They also recently redid the casino floor and it looks very nice.

State: Nevada
City: Las Vegas
Casino: Golden Nugget

OK, so there are (at least) two casinos in Nevada named Golden Nugget. Once again, I am posting the duplicate-named chips according to alphabetical order of the cities.

The Las Vegas edition of the Golden Nugget is on Fremont Street at Casino Center Drive, joining the previously-discussed Four Queens, Fremont, and Binion's as the four-corners casinos at the center of the Fremont Street Experience. It is the largest casino in downtown Las Vegas and is generally considered to have the nicest of the hotels.

This WoV site has a review of the Golden Nugget by "KM" that pre-dates the creation of this site. I don't even know who "KM" is (there's no member with that ID), but the review gives more info about the casino-hotel than I am likely to come up with, even though the review pre-dates the opening of the new hotel tower. It even describes the pool in which you can take a water slide down between the sharks in a tank.

The article also mentions one of the two, large, genuine gold nuggets that they have on display, slightly hidden down a hallway – just ask someone for directions if you want to take a look on your next visit. I have never had a good camera with me when I have been there, so I can only show the nuggets in a cell phone photo, and a very-low-quality one at that. Click on this small image if you want to see it bigger and more blurry.



The chip shown below includes the casino name molded into the perimeter in an ornate font, with the two words separated by two logos in which "GN" in the same font is raised above the surrounding field. A nice touch, I think. The chip is blue with three yellow edge inserts spaced in a manner reminiscent of some scifi alien spacecraft. The center inlay is very slightly larger than the center circle indention of the chip and shows the name, city, and denomination.

The MOGH catalog says that this chip was issued in 2000 and shows other issues dated from 1985 through 2005 that appear to be the same chip with different center inlays. Several of the inlays look quite similar, too. Nothing evident on the chip indicates the manufacturer, but that handy-dandy UV flashlight I bought last month reveals a hidden top hat and cane right at the top of the "$1", showing that this is one more Paulson chip. Only the presence and position of that hidden logo allowed me to identify this as the 2000 issue in the catalog. The 2005 issue has the same inlay without the UV logo, while there is another 2000 issue that has the hidden logo to the left of the "$1".

When I recently discovered and photographed the non-matching "other" side of my Gold Spike chip, I also tried to photograph one of the hidden UV images on a chip, but either my little flashlight is not up to the task, or I haven't found a suitable technique. Sorry. You'll have to check out the MOGH catalog, if you want to see what they look like.



Edit 5/27/12: Check this post later in this thread about UV images visible on this and other chips.

Quote: Doc

The article also mentions one of the two, large, genuine gold nuggets that they have on display, slightly hidden down a hallway – just ask someone for directions if you want to take a look on your next visit.

It is a bit hard to find. It's also one of my favorite exhibits in Vegas.

On the other side of the hallway there's a vending machine that sells small gold ingots (I think that's the term). Allegedly it uses current market values and updates the price every few minutes. I think it's an impulse buy kind of thing for the more affluent segments. It's not a gimmick for the hotel, as it's not that easy to locate.

BTW the GN chip in my recently initiated collection looks exactly the same, so I won't bother posting it.

Quote:

When I recently discovered and photographed the non-matching "other" side of my Gold Spike chip, I also tried to photograph one of the hidden UV images on a chip, but either my little flashlight is not up to the task, or I haven't found a suitable technique.

Ironically photographing light is not easy. I assume you didn't use a flash, past that I've no suggestions. What I can do is see if an acquaintance will let me bother her a few minutes and let me use a desktop UV light she keeps in her office. It uses a small UV fluorescent tube, so it might produce a stronger effect.

Quote: Nareed

BTW the GN chip in my recently initiated collection looks exactly the same, so I won't bother posting it.
...

What I can do is see if an acquaintance will let me bother her a few minutes and let me use a desktop UV light she keeps in her office. It uses a small UV fluorescent tube, so it might produce a stronger effect.

It would not surprise me at all if your chip is the 2005 issue that looks exactly the same under visible light but does not have the hidden UV image, so don't be too disappointed if you don't find it.

I was an amatuer gambler (probably 22) when I first went to the Golden Nugget. I took my buddy with me to Vegas, we each had what we thought was a monster bankroll of $300 to gamble. We were already down a bit and I knew enough about gambling to know that we would last a while at a $15 pai gow poker table. I told my buddy not to expect to win much here, but that we would definately be able to get a few free drinks while playing. I told him just to have his hand set the house way. My buddy bought in for about $150 and proceeded to lose all his money $15 at a time without winning a single hand. It took about 20 hands total to knock him out, including 9 losses in a row. He was broke the rest of the trip and still hates Pai Gow Poker...

Quote: Doc

It would not surprise me at all if your chip is the 2005 issue that looks exactly the same under visible light but does not have the hidden UV image, so don't be too disappointed if you don't find it.

I'll keep that in mind.

Still, remember your flashlight found nothing on US currency? I'll bring all my chips along and see if something pops up. If I can, I'll also get some shots of the fluorescent strip on dollar notes.

Love him or hate him; but when Steve Wynn redid the Golden Nugget in the early to mid 70's, he started a chain reaction that changed the meaning of "casino resort" in Las Vegas (GN, Mirage, TI, Bellagio), gambling in the U.S., and now internationally in Macau. Wynn's vision for what a casino resort should be, is still in practice at the GN 40 years later.

The only knock I have against the GN is that the rails on their Craps tables seem unusually high compared to other places. I rarely play there due to the minimum bet typically being set at $15.

The poker room in the GN is an interesting place. There are some real character's there, mostly sharps looking to separate casual tourists from their bankrolls. The tables are pretty close together in a little room, so it can get uncomfortable.

Quote: Johnzimbo

I am starting to realize I really have done a crappy job of chip collecting as I have stopped in at the Gold Strike many times and assumed I had a chip, but when going through my pictures I find I never snagged one there :( and ditto for the Nevada Landing.

I am so lame...I do have an old chip from the Gold Strike. I'll post it here even though I am two days late, then will post my Golden Nugget chips.

Here are my two Golden Nugget chips, snagged maybe late 80's and/or early 90's. I don't have any good stories from the place as the limits are usually higher there than I am comfy with.

Thanks for the chip images, Johnzimbo.

According to the MOGH catalog, your Gold Strike chip was issued in 1987. The first Golden Nugget chip (same base chip as mine but a different center inlay) was issued in 1985.

Your second Golden Nugget chip (blue and white) is just listed as having been issued in the 80s. I think that chip would not meet the current NGCB regulations, because it does not indicate the city. I don't know when that became a requirement from the NGCB. If it was in place back in the early 80s, they might have been able to get an exception to the rule prior to there being a second Golden Nugget casino in the state. Your chip probably pre-dates the chips like mine that have the city listed on the center insert, to comply with the regs and/or to distinguish from the Laughlin casino after it became a Golden Nugget (details on that tomorrow!)

Quote: Doc

Your second Golden Nugget chip (blue and white) is just listed as having been issued in the 80s. I think that chip would not meet the current NGCB regulations, because it does not indicate the city. I don't know when that became a requirement from the NGCB. If it was in place back in the early 80s, they might have been able to get an exception to the rule prior to there being a second Golden Nugget casino in the state. Your chip probably pre-dates the chips like mine that have the city listed on the center insert, to comply with the regs and/or to distinguish from the Laughlin casino after it became a Golden Nugget (details on that tomorrow!)

The original Golden Nugget in Atlantic City (vs. the renamed Trump Castle that was recently renovated and rebranded) opened around that time too. Perhaps the blue and white chip, with no city location could be a cross over?

Quote: Ayecarumba

The original Golden Nugget in Atlantic City (vs. the renamed Trump Castle that was recently renovated and rebranded) opened around that time too. Perhaps the blue and white chip, with no city location could be a cross over?

If you are suggesting that the chip might have also been used in Atlantic City, I don't think that would be the case. I am not certain, but I believe that New Jersey regulations require that the $1 chips be predominantly white, and the one posted by Johnzimbo is a blue chip with two large white edge inserts. I know that all of my chips from New Jersey are white, and all of the $1 chips from the original Atlantic City Golden Nugget that are included in the MOGH catalog are white.

State: Nevada
City: Laughlin
Casino: Golden Nugget

I just came across this timeline of the history of Laughlin, and it has some relevance to today's Casino Chip of the Day. It says that when Davis Dam was completed in the 1950s, almost all the housing and other facilities in the area were located on the Arizona side of the Colorado River. The exceptions were the Riverside Bait Shop and the Bobcat Club, plus some fishing camps. It goes on to say:

Quote: Cited Article

In 1965, Don Laughlin bought the Riverside and Oddie Lopp bought the Bobcat Club. The Riverside became a full sized casino with motel rooms and the Bobcat Club was renamed the Nevada Club. Parking lots were built on the Arizona side of the river and Taxi boats started carrying passengers to the casinos.

Odie Lopp operated the casino as the Bobcat Club starting in 1967 and as the Nevada Club from 1970-75. Another source reports, "when Odie Lopp's Nevada Club was closed, all of the chips were dumped into the Colorado river." Del Webb also operated a Nevada Club casino in Laughlin from 1978-88. I think it was the same establishment, perhaps refurbished, but I am not absolutely certain.

After Steve Wynn acquired control of the Las Vegas version of the Golden Nugget, he formed Golden Nugget Companies. He briefly operated a Golden Nugget casino in Atlantic City but sold it to Bally's. When Wynn's company acquired the Nevada Club in Laughlin in 1988 (or 1989 per some sources), he changed that casino's name to the Golden Nugget. After construction of the Mirage in Las Vegas, the name of Golden Nugget Companies changed to Mirage Resorts, and Wynn eventually merged/sold out to MGM.

Ownership of the Laughlin Golden Nugget changed hands a couple more times, and since 2005 the establishment has belonged to Landry's Restaurants. The one in Las Vegas does also, which I forgot to mention yesterday.

The Golden Nugget in Laughlin, as one of the two oldest casino-hotels in town, is understandably also the smallest. It is described in the Wizard's article on Laughlin as trying to be a mini version of the one in Las Vegas. He also says, "The place is like stepping back in time 30 years. You can always find some unusual, outdated video poker games there."

The chip shown below is the exact same mold as yesterday's Casino Chip of the Day, except for the lack of edge inserts and a center inlay appropriate for this casino. Although there is no hidden UV image on this chip, the matching mold suggests to me that this chip was also made by Paulson, and the MOGH catalog says that it was issued in 1999. That catalog shows two almost-identical chips issued that year, with one having a linen texture center inlay, but my chip has the smooth inlay.

I was out of town this weekend (and yesterday). Now I'm playing catchup both at work and here. Here are the chips that I missed:

Quote: Ayecarumba

The poker room in the GN is an interesting place. There are some real character's there, mostly sharps looking to separate casual tourists from their bankrolls. The tables are pretty close together in a little room, so it can get uncomfortable.

Pretty close? Ridiculously close. So close you can't get up without hitting the chair of someone seated at the table behind you. And they have the most uncomfortable chairs in town I think. GN has no buy-in ceiling, so some folks buy in for $50,000 just to intimidate the table. Cash plays.

And I've long heard that the gold nuggets on display are fakes. The real ones are in a bank vault somewhere.

Quote: rdw4potus

I was out of town this weekend (and yesterday). Now I'm playing catchup both at work and here.

I was right on the verge of sending out a search party.

Quote: zippyboy

And I've long heard that the gold nuggets on display are fakes. The real ones are in a bank vault somewhere.

I'm skeptical for at least two reasons.
1) That's one heck of a security window they have them displayed behind.
2) If they're not going to bother displaying the real ones, why bother to own them? Just sell them or melt them down or whatever and keep the "fakes" on display. No need to keep a trophy hidden in a bank vault if you have a secure place to display it.

Quote: Doc

I was right on the verge of sending out a search party.

You'd have found me in Chicago, protesting the NATO convention. Though mostly because of the road closures and airport congestion that got in the way of a trip to an otherwise lovely wedding.

While I was at WoVCon][, Ayecarumba provided me a link to his Flamingo and Fitzgeralds chip images. I promised that I would add them to the thread in the appropriate places, here and here, but I completely forgot about it before I got home. Thanks, Ayecarumba, for the images, and I apologize for my forgetfulness.

State: Nevada
City: Reno
Casino: Grand Sierra

The Grand Sierra Resort began life in 1978 as the MGM Grand Reno, an attempt to duplicate the original Las Vegas version of the hotel-casino. Both the Las Vegas and Reno properties were sold to Bally in 1986. While the Vegas establishment still holds that name after several changes in ownership and now belongs to Caesars Entertainment, the Ballys Reno has had a similarly complex history through sales, corporate spinoffs and name changes: Ballys, Hilton, Park Place Entertainment, and Caesars Entertainment, like the Las Vegas property, and almost to Harrah's Entertainment. Instead of that last change, the property was sold to a group of investors known as the Grand Sierra Resort Corporation in 2006. As with other casino investments, there were complications. Ownership shifted to JPMorgan and then in 2011 to Meruelo Group, which kept the same name for the casino resort. According to Wikipedia, Meruelo picked up for $42 million what Grand Sierra Resort Corporation had bought for $151 million.

The resort is located between Reno and Sparks, just east of the US 395 freeway, and I think it was the nicest, most spacious casino that I visited in Reno. Of course, I rushed through the town and may have blurred memories.

I really know almost nothing about this chip. About all I can say is that it is blue with a dozen brown edge inserts and a center inlay that covers almost the entire chip. It has what appears to be the logo of Bally Technologies on the right hand side, but I haven't been able to find information about chips being manufactured by Bally. Does anyone have a source for that? The MOGH catalog says it was issued in 2007 and is an "RTP" mold, but I don't know what that means. Any help would be appreciated.

Regarding the Bally's logo on the Grand Sierra chip, this is just a WAG:

Any chance that thru all the baton passing, that Bally's still owned a piece of it when that chip was produced?

I apologize if this has been asked at some point in this thread.

Let me preface my question by saying that if you want to buy high-quality chips, in particular casino-quality Paulsons, for home use they cost well over $1 each. For example, this set of 1000 chips on Ebay costs $1,925, although granted it comes with a carrying case (which is probably worth about $50).

That said, will casinos that have the good chips mind if you ask to buy a large quantity, like 1000, of them? I tend to think their cost would be less than $1 each, given that they can buy in enormous bulk. I can say that I purchased 100 each of $1 chips at the Stardust and Frontier before they closed without much problem. Then again, they both used the cheap slippery chips that I hate.

When I got married at the Trop last year, I went to the cashier and asked for 100 $1 chips for wedding favors. I was given brand new ones, with a free chip rack, with no questions asked.

Quote: DJTeddyBear

Any chance that thru all the baton passing, that Bally's still owned a piece of it when that chip was produced?

While I don't have a good explanation myself, I doubt that one. Bally's parent company was in bankruptcy when Hilton and Harveys were bidding on the casino. The sale to Hilton took place in 1992, and the chip wasn't issued until 2007. While Ballys still exists, I expect creditors sold 100% of assets that had ready buyers, rather than hanging onto a piece for fifteen years. I certainly could be wrong here.

Bally Manufacturing and associated companies produced a lot of products for gaming over the years, from slot machines to pinball machines to video games, and they are now offering a casino chip tracking system. My guess is that some business under their control and using their logo was manufacturing casino chips in 2007 (and may still be), but I just haven't found good info on that.

Quote: Wizard

... will casinos that have the good chips mind if you ask to buy a large quantity, like 1000, of them? I tend to think their cost would be less than $1 each, given that they can buy in enormous bulk.

I have no idea what casinos pay for the chips, and I expect there is a fair amount of variability depending on edge inserts and center inlays, plus tags that probably aren't relevant to $1 chips.

My uninformed opinion is that casinos would be glad to have the chips go out in bulk, not just because there might be a profit on the sale (if they paid less than $1 each) but mostly because of the public promotion of their casino that is likely to result from your passing those chips out or using them for your home games or whatever. I told the story of how I got started collecting by having my wife take home several Bellagio $1 chips as gifts to friends; I don't know whether any of those friends ever went to Bellagio, but I think the chips were a good (involuntary) advertising expense.

Here's my chip from when it was Bally's...

Quote: Wizard

I apologize if this has been asked at some point in this thread.

Let me preface my question by saying that if you want to buy high-quality chips, in particular casino-quality Paulsons, for home use they cost well over $1 each. For example, this set of 1000 chips on Ebay costs $1,925, although granted it comes with a carrying case (which is probably worth about $50).

That said, will casinos that have the good chips mind if you ask to buy a large quantity, like 1000, of them? I tend to think their cost would be less than $1 each, given that they can buy in enormous bulk. I can say that I purchased 100 each of $1 chips at the Stardust and Frontier before they closed without much problem. Then again, they both used the cheap slippery chips that I hate.

I don't think they would mind a few 1,000 unit buyers, but if they have a regular reduction in their inventory, they may have to re-order more often. Also, remember that with, commemerative issues, they can easily advertise them as "non-redeemable for cash" after a certain date. Regular cheques have to correspond to a certain amount of cash on hand in the cage, so if 25% of their chips are out as "souvenirs", but are accounted for as, "could still be redeemed", the casino would have to keep a dead cash reserve.

Check out this information from the Chipco website, where the manufacturer actually encourages casinos to consider chip sales as an income stream. Naturally, the higher the face value, the larger the profit margin for the customer, since the cost of producing a $25 cheque is the same as the $1.


Increased Profits from Collector Activity

Event	Quantity Ordered	Chips Taken	Average Time on Tables	% Taken as Souvenirs	Casino Profit	Return on Investment
John Ascuaga's NUGGET Sparks, NV "Rib Cook-Off" Series	10,000	6,000	30 Days	60%	$26,100	401%
Clarion Hotel & Casino Reno, NV Collectors Series $5 Chip	4,000	2,500	60 Days	63%	$10,875	318%
Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines Inaugural $5 "Majesty of the Seas" Chip	500	383	30 Days	76.6%	$1,665	497%
Bally's Reno, NV $5 "Reno Air Races" $5 "New Years Eve" $5 "Reno Rodeo" $5 "Hot August Nights"	1,500 1,500 1,500 1,500	1,460 591 1,304 1,147	30 Days	97% 39% 87% 75%	$6,351 $2,571 $5,672 $4,989	497% 175% 385% 338%
The Silver Slipper Central City, CO Grand Opening $5 & $1	20,000	5,273	60 Days	26.4%	$16,282	125%
Annie Oakley's Central City, CO Grand Opening $5	7,500	916	60 Days	12.2%	$3,985	122%

Quote: Doc

The MOGH catalog says it was issued in 2007 and is an "RTP" mold, but I don't know what that means. Any help would be appreciated.

"RTP" stands for "RT Plastics", a precision injection molding company in Las Vegas.

Quote: Johnzimbo

Here's my chip from when it was Bally's...

Thanks a bunch, Johnzimbo. We haven't had very many chips posted for casinos that no longer exist.

Quote: Ayecarumba

"RTP" stands for "RT Plastics", a precision injection molding company in Las Vegas.

Thanks for that, Ayecarumba. I hadn't been able to find anything, and I had never heard of RT Plastics.

Their web site is terrible. It has lots of little blocks marked "Photo" but without the photo. On their "About Us" page, they have the statement:

Quote: R T Plastics

R.T. Plastics is the largest domestic supplier of casino value chips, roulette chips, tournament chips, and home gambling chips in the United States.

I have difficulty accepting that statement unless either: (1) They disregard Paulson since part of GPI's operations are overseas, or (2) R T Plastics makes a whole bunch of those junk chips sold at the Dollar Store for "home gambling". I think most of those are from China rather than being domestic products.

In any case, we still do not have an explanation for the Bally logo on the chip. Any suggestions on that?

I have never seen either that Bally's Chip (Thanks!)
Nor have I ever seen a JANugget "Rib CookOff" Chip (although I have seen HotAugustNights chips)
I'll have to be on the lookout for one of those Rib CookOff chips... (and I would have never guessed that they made so much money off of the cookoff...but I imagine so as its probbaly the biggest event on the west coast)

Quote: Ayecarumba

Check out this information from the Chipco website....

I tried to back some info out of that table of data. I didn't look at all of the casinos, but it appears that they are basing the calculations on chip costs in the range of $0.65 each. However, I cannot replicate the calculation of ROI -- maybe my accounting technique is just too out of date.

Some of the info is obscured because they have $1 and $5 chips mixed together and don't tell how many of each denomination were bought and kept as souvenirs.

Quote: Doc

I tried to back some info out of that table of data. I didn't look at all of the casinos, but it appears that they are basing the calculations on chip costs in the range of $0.65 each. However, I cannot replicate the calculation of ROI -- maybe my accounting technique is just too out of date.

Some of the info is obscured because they have $1 and $5 chips mixed together and don't tell how many of each denomination were bought and kept as souvenirs.

I think purposely so. I am almost certain the per piece cost is scaled to the volume of the order/size of the contract. The cost for the mold has got to be the most significant investment. If a customer is willing to use a standard mold (e.g., top hat and cane) rather than a custom one (e.g., name engraved), I am sure they would get the cheapest per piece price. However, who wants to take a single color, gold foil hot stamp, home as a souvenir? (Well, besides me..)

Quote: Ayecarumba

I am almost certain the per piece cost is scaled to the volume of the order/size of the contract.

I did my calculation with the assumption that "Casino Profit" meant the revenue from chips sold and taken (kept by the player as souvenirs) less the total cost of just those chips, not the whole order. That gave me a formula for unit chip cost as:

Unit cost = (Sales Revenue - Profit)/ # kept = [(Denomination * # kept) - Profit ] / (# kept)

Using that formula, here is what I calculated for the unit cost of each of the $5 denomination chips for which the number of $5 chips that were kept is clear. The first three columns are from the Chipco table that Ayecarumba posted, and the last column is calculated by the formula.

Casino	# chips taken	Casino Profit	Chip Unit Cost
Clarion	2,500	$10,875	$0.6500
Royal Caribbean	383	$1,665	$0.6527
Bally - Air Races	1,460	$6,351	$0.6500
Bally - New Years Eve	591	$2,571	$0.6497
Bally - Reno Rodeo	1,304	$5,672	$0.6503
Bally - Hot August Nights	1,147	$4,989	$0.6504
Annie Oakley's	916	$3,985	$0.6496