Casino Chip of the Day
September 8th, 2022 at 7:21:02 AM
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I just visited Aruba and collected 1 chip from The Casino inside thr Hilton that is a tiny bit different than what PokerGrinder posted in 2019 so I wanted to share it as well, just dont know what format I should use.
https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/off-topic/general/8928-casino-chip-of-the-day/762/#post712845
There were 4 BJ tables with different mins from $5 - 15, 2 roulette tables with 1 wheel in the middle, a 3CP and Caribbean stud at $5-250. I played 2 hands of BJ, the 2nd was a BJ and I was paid $12, that's when I noticed the felt said 6 to 5. I told the dealer I was moving to another table and he said all tables are 6 to 5 so I colored up and left.
I also have 2 chips from Cali Colombia I will post at a later date when I have the writeups ready.
https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/off-topic/general/8928-casino-chip-of-the-day/762/#post712845
There were 4 BJ tables with different mins from $5 - 15, 2 roulette tables with 1 wheel in the middle, a 3CP and Caribbean stud at $5-250. I played 2 hands of BJ, the 2nd was a BJ and I was paid $12, that's when I noticed the felt said 6 to 5. I told the dealer I was moving to another table and he said all tables are 6 to 5 so I colored up and left.
I also have 2 chips from Cali Colombia I will post at a later date when I have the writeups ready.
I CD-ROM.
September 12th, 2022 at 12:06:02 PM
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I guess they are trying to sell their old set of chips. I’m not sure why you’d pay €3 for a cancelled (hole punched in it) chip rather than go to the table and get a chip for face value.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
September 19th, 2022 at 12:11:44 AM
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Sad but unfortunately the casinos in both Tallinn and Tartu Estonia use the same chips. Bummer.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
September 20th, 2022 at 1:15:53 PM
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Quote: PokerGrinderSad but unfortunately the casinos in both Tallinn and Tartu Estonia use the same chips. Bummer.
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Now I’m in Latvia (Riga) and there are two casinos by the same company that owns the Estonian casinos and they have different chips at both. So random 🤷♂️
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
September 24th, 2022 at 3:02:48 PM
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I collected two new chips tonight which brings my total over the last two months to 27 new chips.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
September 28th, 2022 at 6:54:42 AM
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I didn’t have much luck yesterday, actually I did but I didn’t. I visited 6 casinos and only got to collect one new chip in Vilnius, Lithuania but I did win about €1100. I guess I shouldn’t complain.
Last edited by: PokerGrinder on Sep 28, 2022
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
September 29th, 2022 at 2:31:48 PM
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I’m going on another free Carnival cruise in January to the southern Caribbean including Curaçao and as you know Doc it’s a disaster trying to figure out what exists there. Aruba is easy but Curaçao is a disaster, how does that make any sense?
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
October 8th, 2022 at 1:38:05 PM
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I just collected my 1097,1098,1099,1100 and 1101st casino chip. I think I have an addiction lol
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
November 16th, 2022 at 2:57:06 AM
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Ok I’ve now been home for a month from Europe. A mixture of being sick when I got home (2 weeks after 2 weeks sick in Europe) and a shitstorm that I’ve been dealing with for the past two weeks (mixed with procrastination) means I haven’t updated anything. I just updated all my trip photos to Facebook and I haven’t written the last couple trip reports for my thread I had been updating on here. The plan is to get that done tomorrow and then take pictures of my chips to start posting them.
Sorry for the delays, you all should be used to it with me by now.
Sorry for the delays, you all should be used to it with me by now.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
November 17th, 2022 at 1:23:49 AM
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Category: Europe
City: Edinburgh, Scotland
Casino: Genting Fountain Park
Today’s chip of the day is from Genting Casino Fountain Park in Edinburgh, Scotland. I was staying at a hostel on the Royal Mile which was a quick walk to the first casino I stopped at which I’ll cover tomorrow. From there I took an Uber for £17 to Grosvenor Casino which was using the generic chips that about 50-75% of their casinos use. I then found out that it’s much harder to get an Uber that far out of the main area so I had to pay £33 to get back into the city and visit the casino that is the subject of this chip of the day.
I got to Fountain Park and found a handful (maybe 50) slot machines and about 15 table games. In the back left corner of the casino was a poker room so I asked for a seat. They were running 1/3 and 2/5 so I took a seat in the 2/5 game for about 90 minutes until it broke. The locals were very nice and chatty, they said 2/5 almost never runs but a fish wanted to play bigger so they all obliged. I ordered some butter chicken off the menu and it was honestly some of the worst butter chicken I’ve ever had, so bad that we all laughed about it. I was up a little bit but lost most of it back in the last few pots of the night. I ended winning just under £20 in the game. I grabbed an Uber back to my hostel and called it a night.
The chip is sadly the generic boring Genting chip with the casino location on it. The chip is yellow with six sets of 3 red edge inserts around the chip. The centre inlay is black with the denom in the middle in red and the casino name and location in white above and and below the denom.
City: Edinburgh, Scotland
Casino: Genting Fountain Park
Today’s chip of the day is from Genting Casino Fountain Park in Edinburgh, Scotland. I was staying at a hostel on the Royal Mile which was a quick walk to the first casino I stopped at which I’ll cover tomorrow. From there I took an Uber for £17 to Grosvenor Casino which was using the generic chips that about 50-75% of their casinos use. I then found out that it’s much harder to get an Uber that far out of the main area so I had to pay £33 to get back into the city and visit the casino that is the subject of this chip of the day.
I got to Fountain Park and found a handful (maybe 50) slot machines and about 15 table games. In the back left corner of the casino was a poker room so I asked for a seat. They were running 1/3 and 2/5 so I took a seat in the 2/5 game for about 90 minutes until it broke. The locals were very nice and chatty, they said 2/5 almost never runs but a fish wanted to play bigger so they all obliged. I ordered some butter chicken off the menu and it was honestly some of the worst butter chicken I’ve ever had, so bad that we all laughed about it. I was up a little bit but lost most of it back in the last few pots of the night. I ended winning just under £20 in the game. I grabbed an Uber back to my hostel and called it a night.
The chip is sadly the generic boring Genting chip with the casino location on it. The chip is yellow with six sets of 3 red edge inserts around the chip. The centre inlay is black with the denom in the middle in red and the casino name and location in white above and and below the denom.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
November 17th, 2022 at 1:29:21 AM
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I collected 45 new chips in Europe, 43 will be new to this thread. I am leaving on a small trip in 43 days so that means if I can post 42 more chips while only missing one day then I’ll be done before I leave. It’s possible I guess 🤷♂️
My trip I’m taking is a cruise with my sister out of Baltimore using the follow up free offer from Carnival. It’s 14 days with stops in Aruba, Curaçao, Grand Turk, St Thomas, St Maarten and St Lucia. I’ll grab a new chip on the boat and since I’m driving to Baltimore my plan is to stop at 22 casinos to collect chips but quite a few of those should be in the chip thread already. I haven’t decided yet but after the cruise I might fly to Nassau and use my Caesars free stay. I assume those two chips have been added to this thread already but I haven’t checked.
My trip I’m taking is a cruise with my sister out of Baltimore using the follow up free offer from Carnival. It’s 14 days with stops in Aruba, Curaçao, Grand Turk, St Thomas, St Maarten and St Lucia. I’ll grab a new chip on the boat and since I’m driving to Baltimore my plan is to stop at 22 casinos to collect chips but quite a few of those should be in the chip thread already. I haven’t decided yet but after the cruise I might fly to Nassau and use my Caesars free stay. I assume those two chips have been added to this thread already but I haven’t checked.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
November 18th, 2022 at 1:16:02 AM
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Category: Europe
City: Edinburgh, Scotland
Casino: Genting York Place
Today’s chip of the day is from Genting York Place in Edinburgh, Scotland. This is the first casino that I visited on my Euro trip as it was only a 11 minute walk from where I was staying. When I got there a nice girl tried to check me in but my account said that I was banned or something Iike that. Now I can say I’ve been banned or trespassed from a good amount of casinos from ap stuff but Genting is definitely not one of them. I asked what it said on the account and she said all it says is my account was suspended by one of the private clubs in London. I told her I had been to that clubs and applied for a membership, played that day and had never been back. She was able to see that I had been to quite a few Genting casinos since I was “banned” so she said don’t worry about it and let me in. None of the other Genting casinos I visited on this trip mentioned it when I signed in.
They had about 15 slot machines and about 10 table games. I played BJ to collect my chip. The dealer and pit boss were very funny and were very interested in making sure everyone had a good time which is why I stuck around and played £5 BJ for about 30 minutes or so. I wish more people in casinos realized it’s an entertainment industry and approached the job like these two gentlemen.
The chip is yellow with 6 sets of 3 red edge inserts. The centre inlay is black with the denom on red in the middle and the casino name above and below the denom.
City: Edinburgh, Scotland
Casino: Genting York Place
Today’s chip of the day is from Genting York Place in Edinburgh, Scotland. This is the first casino that I visited on my Euro trip as it was only a 11 minute walk from where I was staying. When I got there a nice girl tried to check me in but my account said that I was banned or something Iike that. Now I can say I’ve been banned or trespassed from a good amount of casinos from ap stuff but Genting is definitely not one of them. I asked what it said on the account and she said all it says is my account was suspended by one of the private clubs in London. I told her I had been to that clubs and applied for a membership, played that day and had never been back. She was able to see that I had been to quite a few Genting casinos since I was “banned” so she said don’t worry about it and let me in. None of the other Genting casinos I visited on this trip mentioned it when I signed in.
They had about 15 slot machines and about 10 table games. I played BJ to collect my chip. The dealer and pit boss were very funny and were very interested in making sure everyone had a good time which is why I stuck around and played £5 BJ for about 30 minutes or so. I wish more people in casinos realized it’s an entertainment industry and approached the job like these two gentlemen.
The chip is yellow with 6 sets of 3 red edge inserts. The centre inlay is black with the denom on red in the middle and the casino name above and below the denom.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
November 18th, 2022 at 10:46:42 AM
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Prior to this moment, the last time that I posted in this forum was back on August 17, when I posted in one of PokerGrinder's trip report threads. Shortly after that, I encountered some medical issues -- spent 8 nights in a hospital in early September with a number of doctor's visits before and since. I have been reading the forum but haven't pushed to post anything. Instead, I have been pushing to recover as completely as possible because of a trip that my wife and I booked more than six months ago and don't want to miss.
The trip is a cruise leaving from Fort Lauderdale, heading out to a few islands in the eastern Caribbean, and then turning south to three ports in Brazil. We debark in Rio, spend the day there, and then fly home over night. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that I will be chip collecting on this trip, because we have sailed on this ship twice before (already posted the chip from the on-board casino) and I understand that Brazil has made gambling illegal. Might be a limited chance to pick up a chip on one of the islands I haven't visited before (Antigua and St. Lucia) but nobody else has posted a chip from either of those Islands.
I mention this trip because, while I have added PG's most recent two chips to the thread index, I will not likely be able to continue doing such after we board the ship. I haven't even (yet) paid to have on-board internet service, and in that trip report by PG back in August he mentioned that his cruise line had blocked the WoV site.
We will be heading out on the morning of 11/28, and I will try to keep the index up-to-date until then, filling in the gaps when I get back home and recover from the fun.
The trip is a cruise leaving from Fort Lauderdale, heading out to a few islands in the eastern Caribbean, and then turning south to three ports in Brazil. We debark in Rio, spend the day there, and then fly home over night. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that I will be chip collecting on this trip, because we have sailed on this ship twice before (already posted the chip from the on-board casino) and I understand that Brazil has made gambling illegal. Might be a limited chance to pick up a chip on one of the islands I haven't visited before (Antigua and St. Lucia) but nobody else has posted a chip from either of those Islands.
I mention this trip because, while I have added PG's most recent two chips to the thread index, I will not likely be able to continue doing such after we board the ship. I haven't even (yet) paid to have on-board internet service, and in that trip report by PG back in August he mentioned that his cruise line had blocked the WoV site.
We will be heading out on the morning of 11/28, and I will try to keep the index up-to-date until then, filling in the gaps when I get back home and recover from the fun.
November 18th, 2022 at 2:37:22 PM
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I’m very glad that you’re doing better health wise Doc.
As far as your trip I hope you two have a great time. Yes carnival had blocked this site for some reason. I did learn something new from your post, I didn’t know Brazil has no casinos.
As far as your trip I hope you two have a great time. Yes carnival had blocked this site for some reason. I did learn something new from your post, I didn’t know Brazil has no casinos.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
November 19th, 2022 at 3:16:00 AM
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Category: Europe
City: Glasgow, Scotland
Casino: Genting Glasgow
Today’s chip of the day is from Genting Glasgow in Glasgow, Scotland. Genting Glasgow has about 80-100 slot machines on two levels and the basement level holds the restaurant, table games and poker room. I visited this casino twice, once to collect a chip and then my last day in Glasgow I wanted to play poker but the other casino with the giant poker room was closed that day, go figure. My first visit I vultured a few slots before playing CSM BJ to collect my chip, I think I won while playing. My second visit I grabbed some food at the bar while I waited for the poker room to open. I had cheese fries (maybe curry fries I can’t remember) and chicken fingers. As far as casino bar food goes it was fine.
The poker room had 5 tables, 3 tables running, 1 cash and 2 for a tourny. The cash game started short but filled up fast. I lost just over £500 on the night after running my KK into a guys JJ on a J high flop. I didn’t collect a chip on the second visit as I already had on the first.
The chip is the standard yellow Genting chip with 6 sets of 3 red edge inserts. Black centre inlay with the denom in the middle in red and the casino name above and below the denom in white. Have I mentioned that Genting chips are very boring?
City: Glasgow, Scotland
Casino: Genting Glasgow
Today’s chip of the day is from Genting Glasgow in Glasgow, Scotland. Genting Glasgow has about 80-100 slot machines on two levels and the basement level holds the restaurant, table games and poker room. I visited this casino twice, once to collect a chip and then my last day in Glasgow I wanted to play poker but the other casino with the giant poker room was closed that day, go figure. My first visit I vultured a few slots before playing CSM BJ to collect my chip, I think I won while playing. My second visit I grabbed some food at the bar while I waited for the poker room to open. I had cheese fries (maybe curry fries I can’t remember) and chicken fingers. As far as casino bar food goes it was fine.
The poker room had 5 tables, 3 tables running, 1 cash and 2 for a tourny. The cash game started short but filled up fast. I lost just over £500 on the night after running my KK into a guys JJ on a J high flop. I didn’t collect a chip on the second visit as I already had on the first.
The chip is the standard yellow Genting chip with 6 sets of 3 red edge inserts. Black centre inlay with the denom in the middle in red and the casino name above and below the denom in white. Have I mentioned that Genting chips are very boring?
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
November 19th, 2022 at 7:49:59 AM
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Well, it seems as if there is plenty of pseudo-conflicting information available. Of particular interest to you, PG, is that only games of chance are (supposedly) banned and have been since 1941, while games of "skill", such as poker, horse racing, and betting on other sports are allowed.Quote: PokerGrinder... I did learn something new from your post, I didn’t know Brazil has no casinos.
link to original post
On the other hand, a simple Google search led me to this site that describes "must see" casinos in Rio De Janeiro, saying that is "where the best casinos in Brazil are found, but of course, they are all unique, and some are quite popular with tourists and locals alike." That linked site includes photos of the buildings and describes offered games including blackjack, roulette, bingo, slot machines, and craps. Who ya gonna believe?
Well, here is a hint at one (possible) explanation: One of those must-see casinos is called the "Rio Hotel, Casino, and Convention Resort." When I did a search on that name, I was led to a site that describes the place as being located in Klerksdorp, which happens to be a city in South Africa. So once again: Who ya gonna believe?
November 19th, 2022 at 11:50:47 AM
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I take it you are feeling better, which is good news, Doc!
the next time Dame Fortune toys with your heart, your soul and your wallet, raise your glass and praise her thus: “Thanks for nothing, you cold-hearted, evil, damnable, nefarious, low-life, malicious monster from Hell!” She is, after all, stone deaf. ... Arnold Snyder
November 19th, 2022 at 4:24:16 PM
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Quote: DocWell, it seems as if there is plenty of pseudo-conflicting information available. Of particular interest to you, PG, is that only games of chance are (supposedly) banned and have been since 1941, while games of "skill", such as poker, horse racing, and betting on other sports are allowed.Quote: PokerGrinder... I did learn something new from your post, I didn’t know Brazil has no casinos.
link to original post
On the other hand, a simple Google search led me to this site that describes "must see" casinos in Rio De Janeiro, saying that is "where the best casinos in Brazil are found, but of course, they are all unique, and some are quite popular with tourists and locals alike." That linked site includes photos of the buildings and describes offered games including blackjack, roulette, bingo, slot machines, and craps. Who ya gonna believe?
Well, here is a hint at one (possible) explanation: One of those must-see casinos is called the "Rio Hotel, Casino, and Convention Resort." When I did a search on that name, I was led to a site that describes the place as being located in Klerksdorp, which happens to be a city in South Africa. So once again: Who ya gonna believe?
link to original post
Well I guess when I eventually go to Brazil I’ll have to do a deep dive on the internet and figure it out, I have a friend from Canada who plays poker for a living in Argentina who will probably know about Brazilian casinos or lack thereof.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
November 19th, 2022 at 11:52:23 PM
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Category: Europe
City: Glasgow, Scotland
Casino: Alea
Today’s chip of the day is from Alea Casino in Glasgow, Scotland. This was a much nicer casino than Genting, it was more Las Vegas style. The main floor was for poker only with about 15 tables. Upstairs they had about 50 slot machines and 15-20 table games. The tables were standard games with the BJ being CSM. I played poker for a few hours, first plo where I lost £100 and then Holdem once the table opened and I won back my lost funds plus an extra £80.
Funny story not about this casino but about attempted casino visits in Glasgow. I wasn’t able to go to the Corinthian club because they closed their casino so I stopped at another Genting Casino by the train station. The door was locked but I got buzzed in. The guy seemed very confused why I was there so I told him I was there to gamble and he was very annoyed and told me that was the casino headquarters and not a casino. I left laughing.
The chip is red with 4 grey/black/grey edge inserts. The centre inlay is white with a grey ring around it and the denom listed 4 times around the inlay in grey. The casino name is black and the weird logo is magenta, no idea what it is.
City: Glasgow, Scotland
Casino: Alea
Today’s chip of the day is from Alea Casino in Glasgow, Scotland. This was a much nicer casino than Genting, it was more Las Vegas style. The main floor was for poker only with about 15 tables. Upstairs they had about 50 slot machines and 15-20 table games. The tables were standard games with the BJ being CSM. I played poker for a few hours, first plo where I lost £100 and then Holdem once the table opened and I won back my lost funds plus an extra £80.
Funny story not about this casino but about attempted casino visits in Glasgow. I wasn’t able to go to the Corinthian club because they closed their casino so I stopped at another Genting Casino by the train station. The door was locked but I got buzzed in. The guy seemed very confused why I was there so I told him I was there to gamble and he was very annoyed and told me that was the casino headquarters and not a casino. I left laughing.
The chip is red with 4 grey/black/grey edge inserts. The centre inlay is white with a grey ring around it and the denom listed 4 times around the inlay in grey. The casino name is black and the weird logo is magenta, no idea what it is.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
November 21st, 2022 at 2:22:20 AM
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Category: Europe
City: Galway, Ireland
Casino: Eglinton
Today’s chip of the day is from Eglinton Casino in Galway, Ireland. The casino had about 8 table games (BJ and roulette) and 6 poker tables. No slots in this casino which is odd because the other casino I collected from had slots and then I visited 4 slots only casinos in Galway as well. I played BJ to get my chip which was sadly dirty and most likely permanently stained (I haven’t washed it yet). Not a whole lot to share about this joint, they had a 5/10 plo, a BJ and roulette open.
The chip is blue with what I believe is very dirty/stained white writing for the casino name and the denom. The middle of the chip has a yellow coat of arms looking thing.
City: Galway, Ireland
Casino: Eglinton
Today’s chip of the day is from Eglinton Casino in Galway, Ireland. The casino had about 8 table games (BJ and roulette) and 6 poker tables. No slots in this casino which is odd because the other casino I collected from had slots and then I visited 4 slots only casinos in Galway as well. I played BJ to get my chip which was sadly dirty and most likely permanently stained (I haven’t washed it yet). Not a whole lot to share about this joint, they had a 5/10 plo, a BJ and roulette open.
The chip is blue with what I believe is very dirty/stained white writing for the casino name and the denom. The middle of the chip has a yellow coat of arms looking thing.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
November 21st, 2022 at 11:24:42 AM
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Doc, I wish you good health and an enjoyable cruise!
November 21st, 2022 at 9:51:22 PM
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Category: Europe
City: Galway, Ireland
Casino: 4 Aces
Today’s chip of the day is from 4 Aces Casino in Galway, Ireland. This was the first casino I stopped in in Galway but while the casino was open the BJ wouldn’t be open until later that night so I went for a walk to Salthill which is a touristy area by the water. From there I kept on going for quite awhile until I got to the end of the pier. It was a pretty walk through residential area to get to the shops, restaurants and casinos. Sadly as I had found online all 4 casinos in the Salthill area are slots only but I checked them out nonetheless since I was passing them anyways. After walking there and back for a couple hours I came back to 4 Aces.
I asked the guy if he’d open up the BJ table and he did so promptly. If I remember correctly they had 1 BJ, 1 roulette and 2 poker tables in the small room off the main area of the casino where all the slots were. The cards looked beat up and overall it was a sad excuse for a casino. He shuffled the cards and I bought in. I found out that they were using €1 and €5 chips from a closed casino that was a hour south of Dublin. When I asked why he said it’s because too many people were keeping their chips as souvenirs so they put these out instead. I laughed and pocketed a €25 chip without telling them. This is the 4th time that I’ve been FORCED (had to do it lol) to collect a 25 chip for my collection. I have 2 $25 chips from Deadwood, SD and a £25 chip from the Baracuda Casino in London.
The chip is green with 6 pairs of white edge inserts. Around the centre inlay is 4 white rectangles and the denom 4 times in white alternating. The centre inlay is white with the denom in the middle in black and the casino name and location in blue.
City: Galway, Ireland
Casino: 4 Aces
Today’s chip of the day is from 4 Aces Casino in Galway, Ireland. This was the first casino I stopped in in Galway but while the casino was open the BJ wouldn’t be open until later that night so I went for a walk to Salthill which is a touristy area by the water. From there I kept on going for quite awhile until I got to the end of the pier. It was a pretty walk through residential area to get to the shops, restaurants and casinos. Sadly as I had found online all 4 casinos in the Salthill area are slots only but I checked them out nonetheless since I was passing them anyways. After walking there and back for a couple hours I came back to 4 Aces.
I asked the guy if he’d open up the BJ table and he did so promptly. If I remember correctly they had 1 BJ, 1 roulette and 2 poker tables in the small room off the main area of the casino where all the slots were. The cards looked beat up and overall it was a sad excuse for a casino. He shuffled the cards and I bought in. I found out that they were using €1 and €5 chips from a closed casino that was a hour south of Dublin. When I asked why he said it’s because too many people were keeping their chips as souvenirs so they put these out instead. I laughed and pocketed a €25 chip without telling them. This is the 4th time that I’ve been FORCED (had to do it lol) to collect a 25 chip for my collection. I have 2 $25 chips from Deadwood, SD and a £25 chip from the Baracuda Casino in London.
The chip is green with 6 pairs of white edge inserts. Around the centre inlay is 4 white rectangles and the denom 4 times in white alternating. The centre inlay is white with the denom in the middle in black and the casino name and location in blue.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
November 22nd, 2022 at 7:01:33 AM
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Quote: PokerGrinder... I found out that they were using €1 and €5 chips from a closed casino that was a hour south of Dublin. When I asked why he said it’s because too many people were keeping their chips as souvenirs so they put these out instead. I laughed and pocketed a €25 chip without telling them.
link to original post
So did you also save a €1 chip from the closed casino? Since it is closed, we can't blame you for not going there, but maybe the chip itself qualifies as a collectible. ;-)
November 22nd, 2022 at 1:21:35 PM
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I’m actually surprised I didn’t see this comment coming. No I didn’t, as you know I’m anal about these things and only the collect the correct chip in the correct casino. Sort of like I could have collected all the NCL chips for every ship on the cruise I went on but only took one for the ship I was on.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
November 23rd, 2022 at 7:20:03 AM
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Category: Europe
City: Dublin, Ireland
Casino: D1 Club
Today’s chip of the day is from D1 Club Casino in Dublin, Ireland. This casino has two levels, slots on the main floor and tables/poker in the basement. I have no idea how many slots they have cause I actually didn’t bother to check out much of the slot area and I’m not actually sure why. Anyways the basement had 10 table games and 2 poker tables. I signed up for a required membership and was given a $10 match play for being a first timer. I used that on BJ and then played poker for about 20 minutes when a seat was available. I still had more stops so I didn’t stay very long for that reason.
I kept both a €1 and €5 chip as I usually do when the hot stamp €1 looks like crap. The €1 is grey with the suits 3 times each in white around the chip. The casino name and the chip denom are hot stamped in black on the inlay. The €5 is red with 3 white edge inserts. There are 4 denoms and 4 rectangles in white alternating around the inlay. The centre inlay is black with the casino name in white.
City: Dublin, Ireland
Casino: D1 Club
Today’s chip of the day is from D1 Club Casino in Dublin, Ireland. This casino has two levels, slots on the main floor and tables/poker in the basement. I have no idea how many slots they have cause I actually didn’t bother to check out much of the slot area and I’m not actually sure why. Anyways the basement had 10 table games and 2 poker tables. I signed up for a required membership and was given a $10 match play for being a first timer. I used that on BJ and then played poker for about 20 minutes when a seat was available. I still had more stops so I didn’t stay very long for that reason.
I kept both a €1 and €5 chip as I usually do when the hot stamp €1 looks like crap. The €1 is grey with the suits 3 times each in white around the chip. The casino name and the chip denom are hot stamped in black on the inlay. The €5 is red with 3 white edge inserts. There are 4 denoms and 4 rectangles in white alternating around the inlay. The centre inlay is black with the casino name in white.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
November 24th, 2022 at 1:26:49 AM
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Category: Europe
City: Dublin, Ireland
Casino: Carlton Casino Club
Today’s chip of the day is from Carlton Casino Club in Dublin, Ireland. I stopped into this casino after leaving the Sporting emporium but they wouldn’t let me in wearing shorts so I called it a night. I went back another day properly dressed and got in no problem. Membership cost was €20 I think but I was given €25 in free play chips. The casino is very elegant and the staff is dressed in dress shirts and ties. There were about 8 table games and a handful of slot machines. I played CSM BJ to collect my chip and had a very nice conversation with a young dealer who had moved to Dublin from Italy to deal cards. We chatted about this and that for about 30 minutes before I left. I really enjoyed the conversation but I still had multiple stops to make that night so I had to get going.
The chip is light blue with 3 sets of 2 white edge inserts. The denom is listed 4 times around the inlay separated by 4 pairs of white rectangles. The centre inlay is white with the logo being 3 gold C’s for Carlton Casino Club inside of 3 gold squares. The casino name is listed in black.
City: Dublin, Ireland
Casino: Carlton Casino Club
Today’s chip of the day is from Carlton Casino Club in Dublin, Ireland. I stopped into this casino after leaving the Sporting emporium but they wouldn’t let me in wearing shorts so I called it a night. I went back another day properly dressed and got in no problem. Membership cost was €20 I think but I was given €25 in free play chips. The casino is very elegant and the staff is dressed in dress shirts and ties. There were about 8 table games and a handful of slot machines. I played CSM BJ to collect my chip and had a very nice conversation with a young dealer who had moved to Dublin from Italy to deal cards. We chatted about this and that for about 30 minutes before I left. I really enjoyed the conversation but I still had multiple stops to make that night so I had to get going.
The chip is light blue with 3 sets of 2 white edge inserts. The denom is listed 4 times around the inlay separated by 4 pairs of white rectangles. The centre inlay is white with the logo being 3 gold C’s for Carlton Casino Club inside of 3 gold squares. The casino name is listed in black.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
November 24th, 2022 at 7:12:55 AM
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PG, I'm glad you were finally able to make it to Dublin. --Steve
November 24th, 2022 at 11:50:30 AM
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Thanks I loved Ireland. Funny though that the only casino you visited 2.5 years ago that’s still open is the Sporting Empirium.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
November 24th, 2022 at 10:26:53 PM
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Category: Europe
City: Dublin, Ireland
Casino: Phoenix Card Club
Today’s chip of the day is from The Phoenix Card Club in Dublin, Ireland. I stopped here after Carlton as it was only a few minutes walk away. I passed it by accident as it’s just a door beside a convenience store with one small sign and had to double back.
I climbed the stairs which took me to two unmarked doors. After a minute of deciding what to do an Asian man came up, punch a code into one of the doors and entered, I followed him in. At the desk I asked to sign up for a club card and they seemed confused why I was there. They said the only table open was punto banco and asked if I knew how to play. I answered isn’t it just baccarat, the woman said no. I told her it’s all good I’ll figure it out. I googled it and yes it is baccarat. The membership was free and I was able to “buy” a €25 match play which didn’t actually cost me any money. I played a shoe of baccarat cause with only one table running in the casino the size of a closet I felt like it would be weird to play a couple hands and leave. I ended up winning under €5 and got my chip. Almost the entire staff was Romanian while all the players were Chinese. They were clearly not used to randoms popping by so the pit boss was enjoying chatting with me cause most of their customers don’t speak English. After the shoe was over I cashed out and headed on my way. There was Also a roulette table, a second baccarat table and I think a bj table but don’t quote me on that.
The chip is white with 4 odd shaped pink/purple edge inserts. The denom is listed around the outer area of the chip 4 times in purple. The centre inlay looks like a blue nights sky with stars. The logo is a white Phoenix in a gold circle. The casino name is gold and the denom is white.
City: Dublin, Ireland
Casino: Phoenix Card Club
Today’s chip of the day is from The Phoenix Card Club in Dublin, Ireland. I stopped here after Carlton as it was only a few minutes walk away. I passed it by accident as it’s just a door beside a convenience store with one small sign and had to double back.
I climbed the stairs which took me to two unmarked doors. After a minute of deciding what to do an Asian man came up, punch a code into one of the doors and entered, I followed him in. At the desk I asked to sign up for a club card and they seemed confused why I was there. They said the only table open was punto banco and asked if I knew how to play. I answered isn’t it just baccarat, the woman said no. I told her it’s all good I’ll figure it out. I googled it and yes it is baccarat. The membership was free and I was able to “buy” a €25 match play which didn’t actually cost me any money. I played a shoe of baccarat cause with only one table running in the casino the size of a closet I felt like it would be weird to play a couple hands and leave. I ended up winning under €5 and got my chip. Almost the entire staff was Romanian while all the players were Chinese. They were clearly not used to randoms popping by so the pit boss was enjoying chatting with me cause most of their customers don’t speak English. After the shoe was over I cashed out and headed on my way. There was Also a roulette table, a second baccarat table and I think a bj table but don’t quote me on that.
The chip is white with 4 odd shaped pink/purple edge inserts. The denom is listed around the outer area of the chip 4 times in purple. The centre inlay looks like a blue nights sky with stars. The logo is a white Phoenix in a gold circle. The casino name is gold and the denom is white.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
November 25th, 2022 at 5:36:07 AM
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Perhaps I am just addled about my own upcoming trip, but this latest CCotD post from PokerGrinder has me confused. I am nigh onto certain that I had already seen the photo of the entrance to the casino and the stairway at the end of the hall and that I had read about PG's experience at the casino. However, I can't find the post where I saw all of that, and I didn't have the Phoenix card club chip in the thread index. Am I hallucinating, or was this topic covered somewhere else?
November 25th, 2022 at 6:26:38 AM
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Doc, there are a couple pictures if that casino in PG's Europe trip thread, page 6.
Steve
Steve
November 25th, 2022 at 6:42:09 AM
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I too felt like I had read this before.Quote: DocPerhaps I am just addled about my own upcoming trip, but this latest CCotD post from PokerGrinder has me confused. I am nigh onto certain that I had already seen the photo of the entrance to the casino and the stairway at the end of the hall and that I had read about PG's experience at the casino. However, I can't find the post where I saw all of that, and I didn't have the Phoenix card club chip in the thread index. Am I hallucinating, or was this topic covered somewhere else?
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The mountain is tall but grass grows on top of the mountain.
November 25th, 2022 at 12:05:26 PM
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Yes I wrote about this casino in my trip thread a few months ago but I hadn’t posted it as a chip of the day yet.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
November 25th, 2022 at 6:27:38 PM
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Thanks to both PG and RideTheEdge. I hate it when facts prove my senility and even more so when I can't find the evidence to support those facts. ;-)
November 26th, 2022 at 1:33:07 AM
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Category: Europe
City: Dublin, Ireland
Casino: Dublin Poker Club
Today’s chip of the day is from the Dublin Poker Club in Dublin, Ireland. I stumbled upon this poker room by chance when I was trying to visit another casino that was unfortunately closed. I was knocking on the door of the closed casino when a man in a suit asked me if I was looking for a poker game. I told him I was and he mentioned that there was a new poker room. He looked up the name of the it and I was able to find a Facebook page, I thanked him and continued on my casino collecting path.
Fast forward to the next night and I took a cab to the Bonnington Hotel where the poker room was supposed to be. I got there and asked the front desk who gave me directions through the hotel and very quickly I got lost and ended up somewhere I shouldn’t be. A staff member saw I was lost and told me he would walk me to the poker room which went through a dark ballroom and back hallway looking area to a conference room that had poker tables in it, very odd. There was one cash game running at the front of the room and a tournament at the back with I think 2 tables left. The room had 16 tables total. I got a seat in the game and played for just over a hour and lost a few hundred euro. The group was fun, there was one guy who kept talking to me and I couldn’t understand him at all so a player at the other end of the table became my translator for the thick Irish accent that I was having trouble understanding. Every time he spoke, the other guy would immediately repeat it for me cause he could see how lost I was trying to keep up with the fellow with the thick accent.
The chip is blue with 4 white/dark blue triangle edge inserts. There are 4 dark blue rectangles each with 5 light blue stars in them around the centre inlay. The centre inlay has a light blue ring around a black inner circle. Each suit is present in white in the light blue outer ring. D4 is oriole, events is white and the denom is light blue. The best I can find on D4 Events is they are the ones who are running the poker room and they hold large tournament series. I’m not sure why it’s called Dublin Poker Club and not D4 poker club or something.
City: Dublin, Ireland
Casino: Dublin Poker Club
Today’s chip of the day is from the Dublin Poker Club in Dublin, Ireland. I stumbled upon this poker room by chance when I was trying to visit another casino that was unfortunately closed. I was knocking on the door of the closed casino when a man in a suit asked me if I was looking for a poker game. I told him I was and he mentioned that there was a new poker room. He looked up the name of the it and I was able to find a Facebook page, I thanked him and continued on my casino collecting path.
Fast forward to the next night and I took a cab to the Bonnington Hotel where the poker room was supposed to be. I got there and asked the front desk who gave me directions through the hotel and very quickly I got lost and ended up somewhere I shouldn’t be. A staff member saw I was lost and told me he would walk me to the poker room which went through a dark ballroom and back hallway looking area to a conference room that had poker tables in it, very odd. There was one cash game running at the front of the room and a tournament at the back with I think 2 tables left. The room had 16 tables total. I got a seat in the game and played for just over a hour and lost a few hundred euro. The group was fun, there was one guy who kept talking to me and I couldn’t understand him at all so a player at the other end of the table became my translator for the thick Irish accent that I was having trouble understanding. Every time he spoke, the other guy would immediately repeat it for me cause he could see how lost I was trying to keep up with the fellow with the thick accent.
The chip is blue with 4 white/dark blue triangle edge inserts. There are 4 dark blue rectangles each with 5 light blue stars in them around the centre inlay. The centre inlay has a light blue ring around a black inner circle. Each suit is present in white in the light blue outer ring. D4 is oriole, events is white and the denom is light blue. The best I can find on D4 Events is they are the ones who are running the poker room and they hold large tournament series. I’m not sure why it’s called Dublin Poker Club and not D4 poker club or something.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
November 26th, 2022 at 1:33:40 AM
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Btw I know Doc is going to give me a hard time about how to list this one.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
November 26th, 2022 at 3:21:47 PM
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Quote: PokerGrinderBtw I know Doc is going to give me a hard time about how to list this one.
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Doc made a liar out of me lol.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
November 27th, 2022 at 2:25:33 AM
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Category: Europe
City: London, England
Casino: FortyFive Kensington
Today’s chip of the day is from FortyFive Kensington in London, England. In January, 2020 Genting Cromwell Mint was rebranded to FortyFive Kensington to garner a more upscale clientele than they had previously. I visited Genting Cromwell Mint back in 2017 which was my first time in London. Unfortunately as I just read in my chip of the day post from Cromwell Mint, in 2017 I had no recollection of the casino so I certainly don’t have anything to add now more than 5 years later.
I visited this casino during my short 2 day stop in London from Amsterdam to Dover for the cruise. I didn’t have to sign up for a membership as I already had one from 2017. The casino was small, but very nice and upscale as they were going for. The casino was mostly table games, both live and e-tables but they did have 20 slot machines. Not much was open when I was there but there were a few people playing roulette and I played blackjack. They dealt a 4 deck game out of a shoe with a min/max of 25/2000. The staff was nice but due to the dealer being from Eastern Europe there was a slight language barrier so the chatting was kept to a minimum.
The chip is much nicer than the generic yellow Genting chips although it is the same model. The chip is green with 6 sets of 3 orange edge inserts. The centre inlay is black with 9 vertical lines, 4 white and 5 gold to signify 45. The casino name is also coloured the same way with “four” being white and “five” being gold. The denom is also gold.
City: London, England
Casino: FortyFive Kensington
Today’s chip of the day is from FortyFive Kensington in London, England. In January, 2020 Genting Cromwell Mint was rebranded to FortyFive Kensington to garner a more upscale clientele than they had previously. I visited Genting Cromwell Mint back in 2017 which was my first time in London. Unfortunately as I just read in my chip of the day post from Cromwell Mint, in 2017 I had no recollection of the casino so I certainly don’t have anything to add now more than 5 years later.
I visited this casino during my short 2 day stop in London from Amsterdam to Dover for the cruise. I didn’t have to sign up for a membership as I already had one from 2017. The casino was small, but very nice and upscale as they were going for. The casino was mostly table games, both live and e-tables but they did have 20 slot machines. Not much was open when I was there but there were a few people playing roulette and I played blackjack. They dealt a 4 deck game out of a shoe with a min/max of 25/2000. The staff was nice but due to the dealer being from Eastern Europe there was a slight language barrier so the chatting was kept to a minimum.
The chip is much nicer than the generic yellow Genting chips although it is the same model. The chip is green with 6 sets of 3 orange edge inserts. The centre inlay is black with 9 vertical lines, 4 white and 5 gold to signify 45. The casino name is also coloured the same way with “four” being white and “five” being gold. The denom is also gold.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
November 27th, 2022 at 7:07:18 AM
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To my somewhat-warped senses, it is slightly amusing that in coloring the name "FORTYFIVE" they had a minor conflict that the "FIVE" in gold was only four letters, making something of a mismatch with the pattern for the colored lines. No big deal, of course.Quote: PokerGrinder...The centre inlay is black with 9 vertical lines, 4 white and 5 gold to signify 45. The casino name is also coloured the same way with “four” being white and “five” being gold. The denom is also gold.
November 27th, 2022 at 12:55:19 PM
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That’s funny I didn’t notice that but now I can’t unsee it and it looks wrong.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
November 27th, 2022 at 10:59:35 PM
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Category: Europe
City: London, England
Casino: Park Lane
Today’s chip of the day is from Park Lane Casino in London, England. Sadly I was dead tired when I was there and don’t seem to remember how many tables there were or the options. The main level was for slots and downstairs was the table room. I played blackjack with a player who was betting £500-£1000 a hand. I played about half a shoe before leaving a loser with a chip in my pocket. While looking up this casino I found an article that came out today saying that this casino has been sold to Metropolitan Gaming and will be rebranded to Metropolitan Lane Casino. I guess I’ll have to stop in next time I’m in London.
The chip is red with 6 white edge inserts. The casino name and location (the casino is located in Mayfair in London) are listed in white around the chip.the centre inlay is white with 4 red notches that resemble edge inserts but I guess in this case they are inlay inserts. The casino logo is most of a “P” and a “L” inside a gold box. The denom is gold with a black border and the BG logo for Bourgogne et Grasset is black.
City: London, England
Casino: Park Lane
Today’s chip of the day is from Park Lane Casino in London, England. Sadly I was dead tired when I was there and don’t seem to remember how many tables there were or the options. The main level was for slots and downstairs was the table room. I played blackjack with a player who was betting £500-£1000 a hand. I played about half a shoe before leaving a loser with a chip in my pocket. While looking up this casino I found an article that came out today saying that this casino has been sold to Metropolitan Gaming and will be rebranded to Metropolitan Lane Casino. I guess I’ll have to stop in next time I’m in London.
The chip is red with 6 white edge inserts. The casino name and location (the casino is located in Mayfair in London) are listed in white around the chip.the centre inlay is white with 4 red notches that resemble edge inserts but I guess in this case they are inlay inserts. The casino logo is most of a “P” and a “L” inside a gold box. The denom is gold with a black border and the BG logo for Bourgogne et Grasset is black.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
November 30th, 2022 at 1:30:45 AM
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Category: Cruise Ships
Cruise Line: Carnival
Ship: Pride
Today’s chip of the day is from Carnival Pride. I took the Carnival Pride cruise using a free cruise offer with my friend Danelle in August. The ship left out of Dover, England and made stops in Warnemunde and Rostock (Germany), Helsinki (Finland), Gothenburg and a skipped stop unfortunately in Stockholm (Sweden), Copenhagen (Denmark) and finally Tallinn (Estonia). This was the first cruise I had been on since I was 13 and went on a Caribbean cruise with my entire extended family of 15 people. That cruise was on Celebrity and infinitely nicer than this cruise. Carnival was described to me by many cruisers as the “Motel 6” of cruise lines basically meaning a clean 2 star but not in the league of the higher end cruise lines. Btw I stay in Motel 6 hotels a lot when I’m travelling alone so I have no problem with them at all. After this cruise I went on a NCL cruise and the difference was easy to see.
The ship was built in 2001 and refurbished in 2014 but still looks like my grandmother’s house from 1970. The ship can hold 2136 passengers with 13 decks so not a massive boat but also not a small one. The casino has about 200 slots and 13 table games, both those numbers are from memory. The ship has 19 vulturable games and based on those I was able to get enough play in to get a night at both the steak house and sushi restaurant comped plus receive more free offers for cruises, some with free play. The level of play to get these offers seems to be quite low as I left that cruise never expecting to get another free cruise don’t mind one with $500 free play. They are either hurting more than I thought or they are generous. To put it into perspective, the NCL cruise I went on right after this one I played more in 7 days than I did in 12 on carnival and I haven’t gotten a single follow up offer from NCL. The table games are pretty tough on the ship, no ap opportunities. I played csm bj to collect my chip. I kept a $5 chip as the $1 chips didn’t have the ship name on them. The casino uses USD even though the ship was leaving out of England. As Doc has mentioned previously there were many ship’s chips mixed into the $5 chips and a few in the $25 chips as well. I could have kept many souvenirs but I only wanted the one from the boat I was on.
This chip post has been more about the cruise than the casino or the chip but I got on a roll and started rambling, so sue me. i am using one of the follow up offers and taking a free cruise with my sister to the southern Caribbean for 14 days in January so I’ll collect another chip on that boat. I’m looking at using 2-3 more of the offers if they work with my schedule.
The chip is red with 4 yellow/blue edge inserts. The oversized inlay is a picture of the Pride on water. The boat name and the denom are white with red/brown on the bottom of the writing. The other side of the chip has the winners club which is the name of the casino as I found online. The bottom of the inlay says triple crown and judging by the flowers and jockey in the middle I assume that jockey won horse racing’s triple crown but I know nothing about horse racing so that’s an assumption.
Cruise Line: Carnival
Ship: Pride
Today’s chip of the day is from Carnival Pride. I took the Carnival Pride cruise using a free cruise offer with my friend Danelle in August. The ship left out of Dover, England and made stops in Warnemunde and Rostock (Germany), Helsinki (Finland), Gothenburg and a skipped stop unfortunately in Stockholm (Sweden), Copenhagen (Denmark) and finally Tallinn (Estonia). This was the first cruise I had been on since I was 13 and went on a Caribbean cruise with my entire extended family of 15 people. That cruise was on Celebrity and infinitely nicer than this cruise. Carnival was described to me by many cruisers as the “Motel 6” of cruise lines basically meaning a clean 2 star but not in the league of the higher end cruise lines. Btw I stay in Motel 6 hotels a lot when I’m travelling alone so I have no problem with them at all. After this cruise I went on a NCL cruise and the difference was easy to see.
The ship was built in 2001 and refurbished in 2014 but still looks like my grandmother’s house from 1970. The ship can hold 2136 passengers with 13 decks so not a massive boat but also not a small one. The casino has about 200 slots and 13 table games, both those numbers are from memory. The ship has 19 vulturable games and based on those I was able to get enough play in to get a night at both the steak house and sushi restaurant comped plus receive more free offers for cruises, some with free play. The level of play to get these offers seems to be quite low as I left that cruise never expecting to get another free cruise don’t mind one with $500 free play. They are either hurting more than I thought or they are generous. To put it into perspective, the NCL cruise I went on right after this one I played more in 7 days than I did in 12 on carnival and I haven’t gotten a single follow up offer from NCL. The table games are pretty tough on the ship, no ap opportunities. I played csm bj to collect my chip. I kept a $5 chip as the $1 chips didn’t have the ship name on them. The casino uses USD even though the ship was leaving out of England. As Doc has mentioned previously there were many ship’s chips mixed into the $5 chips and a few in the $25 chips as well. I could have kept many souvenirs but I only wanted the one from the boat I was on.
This chip post has been more about the cruise than the casino or the chip but I got on a roll and started rambling, so sue me. i am using one of the follow up offers and taking a free cruise with my sister to the southern Caribbean for 14 days in January so I’ll collect another chip on that boat. I’m looking at using 2-3 more of the offers if they work with my schedule.
The chip is red with 4 yellow/blue edge inserts. The oversized inlay is a picture of the Pride on water. The boat name and the denom are white with red/brown on the bottom of the writing. The other side of the chip has the winners club which is the name of the casino as I found online. The bottom of the inlay says triple crown and judging by the flowers and jockey in the middle I assume that jockey won horse racing’s triple crown but I know nothing about horse racing so that’s an assumption.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
December 1st, 2022 at 1:14:54 AM
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Category: Cruise Ships
Cruise Line: Norwegian
Ship: Jade
Today’s chip of the day is from Norwegian Jade. This was a “free” cruise I received from Caesars which in reality was just heavily discounted. For 7 days not including the gratuities I think we paid about $700 USD for both of us. So it was about 75% off instead of free like Carnival. NCL was much nicer and newer looking than the Carnival ship. I was told that they refurbish the ships every two years, I don’t know if that’s true or not since that would be expensive.
The casino had about 250 slots to go with 15 table games and 1 poker table on the main floor and 4 tables in the HL room. The poker was garbage as they rake an insane 10% up to $25 and almost all of the bj was 6-5 and csm. The $50 and above tables were dealt out of a shoe and paid 3-2 but those tables got little to no action. I’m not sure if it was just this cruise or if it’s always like this but the Carnival casino was much busier than the NCL one. Leor and I played $10 craps a few times and I only found generic chips like the one my dad brought back for me years ago. I was going to keep one but I saw an advertisement run across the guest services tv about collectible chips. I didn’t catch it completely so I asked the lady working there and was directed to the cage. At the cage they have $5 chips they sell at face for every NCL ship. The chips are usable on the tables but I assume if they get one on the tables it gets put back into storage to be sold. My chip is in good condition but not uncirculated so they do get used from time to time. Doc if you go on a NCL cruise it’s going to get expensive for you as I assume you’d keep one of each chip.
The chip is red with 14 light blue edge inserts. The centre inlay has a picture of Jade in the water with the cruise line in white and the NCL logo at the top of the inlay. The denom is red and in white the chip is listed as being from 2013 and limited edition. The other side of the chip has a yellow inlay which gets whiter in the middle. The cruise line and boat name are black with the denom in red. The NCL logo is at the top with “limited edition 2013” in grey at the bottom. The green sparkly ribbon looks like the design on the boat.
Cruise Line: Norwegian
Ship: Jade
Today’s chip of the day is from Norwegian Jade. This was a “free” cruise I received from Caesars which in reality was just heavily discounted. For 7 days not including the gratuities I think we paid about $700 USD for both of us. So it was about 75% off instead of free like Carnival. NCL was much nicer and newer looking than the Carnival ship. I was told that they refurbish the ships every two years, I don’t know if that’s true or not since that would be expensive.
The casino had about 250 slots to go with 15 table games and 1 poker table on the main floor and 4 tables in the HL room. The poker was garbage as they rake an insane 10% up to $25 and almost all of the bj was 6-5 and csm. The $50 and above tables were dealt out of a shoe and paid 3-2 but those tables got little to no action. I’m not sure if it was just this cruise or if it’s always like this but the Carnival casino was much busier than the NCL one. Leor and I played $10 craps a few times and I only found generic chips like the one my dad brought back for me years ago. I was going to keep one but I saw an advertisement run across the guest services tv about collectible chips. I didn’t catch it completely so I asked the lady working there and was directed to the cage. At the cage they have $5 chips they sell at face for every NCL ship. The chips are usable on the tables but I assume if they get one on the tables it gets put back into storage to be sold. My chip is in good condition but not uncirculated so they do get used from time to time. Doc if you go on a NCL cruise it’s going to get expensive for you as I assume you’d keep one of each chip.
The chip is red with 14 light blue edge inserts. The centre inlay has a picture of Jade in the water with the cruise line in white and the NCL logo at the top of the inlay. The denom is red and in white the chip is listed as being from 2013 and limited edition. The other side of the chip has a yellow inlay which gets whiter in the middle. The cruise line and boat name are black with the denom in red. The NCL logo is at the top with “limited edition 2013” in grey at the bottom. The green sparkly ribbon looks like the design on the boat.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
December 1st, 2022 at 10:47:42 PM
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Category: Europe
City: Rostock, Germany
Casino: Spielbank
Today’s chip of the day is from Spielbank Casino in Rostock, Germany. Rostock is the town beside Warnemunde that cruises dock in “near” Berlin. I chose not to take the trip to Berlin as it was 3 hours each way by train to spend only 6 hours in the city which isn’t worth it to me. This was the only cruise port where I was able to collect a chip since we didn’t leave port until 9 pm where as the other ports were between 3-6 pm leaving time before the casinos had tables opened.
We explored Rostock for a few hours and then headed back to the boat. I went back and changed into jeans to get into the casino and then headed out around 630 for the 7 pm opening. I took a train and then walked about 20 minutes to the small casino. The casino had 76 slots, 7 table games and 2 poker tables. I played a shoe of bj to collect my chip. There were a few people playing roulette and bj and as I was leaving the poker game was starting up.
The chip is teal with six white/pink/white edge inserts. The centre inlay is white with a grey design in the background and a black design overtop of it. The name (in German) and the denom are black. I’m not sure why “mv” means on the chip.
City: Rostock, Germany
Casino: Spielbank
Today’s chip of the day is from Spielbank Casino in Rostock, Germany. Rostock is the town beside Warnemunde that cruises dock in “near” Berlin. I chose not to take the trip to Berlin as it was 3 hours each way by train to spend only 6 hours in the city which isn’t worth it to me. This was the only cruise port where I was able to collect a chip since we didn’t leave port until 9 pm where as the other ports were between 3-6 pm leaving time before the casinos had tables opened.
We explored Rostock for a few hours and then headed back to the boat. I went back and changed into jeans to get into the casino and then headed out around 630 for the 7 pm opening. I took a train and then walked about 20 minutes to the small casino. The casino had 76 slots, 7 table games and 2 poker tables. I played a shoe of bj to collect my chip. There were a few people playing roulette and bj and as I was leaving the poker game was starting up.
The chip is teal with six white/pink/white edge inserts. The centre inlay is white with a grey design in the background and a black design overtop of it. The name (in German) and the denom are black. I’m not sure why “mv” means on the chip.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
December 2nd, 2022 at 12:47:02 AM
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I believe "Spielbanken MV" is the name of the parent company.
https://spielbanken-mv.de/
edit: Best guess: Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
https://spielbanken-mv.de/
edit: Best guess: Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Last edited by: Dieter on Dec 2, 2022
May the cards fall in your favor.
December 3rd, 2022 at 5:37:26 AM
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Category: Europe
City: Acharnes, Greece
Casino: Regency Casino Mont Parnes
Today’s chip of the day is from Regency Casino Mont Parnes in Acharnes, Greece. There are two casinos within a hour of Athens give or take. One offers a bus that costs I think €15 and includes dinner and the other offers a free bus multiple times a hour which is easy to find. We decided to go to the easier one for obvious reasons. We walked about 10 minutes to catch the bus that took us 30 or so minutes north of the city to a gondola that took us the rest of the way. The gondola took 10 or so minutes to reach the top. At the top we waited in line for the longest club card sign up ever which came with €5 fp, some draw, a horrible hot dog/beer and some half off coupons.
Casinocity lists 708 slots which seems about right and 78 table games and poker tables which seems wayyyy too high. Unless we somehow missed a section of the casino which I highly doubt we did I would say they had 30-40 tables combined. Maybe they had more before Covid, I really don’t know. Anyways we played 2/5 NL for a couple of hours with some nice locals, one even bought us ice cream. I lost a few shekels on some ap slots and won €90 in the poker game. The casino was your standard giant casino, nothing really stood out about it.
I kept both a €1 and €5 chip as I do sometimes. The €1 is a grey hot stamp with the 4 suits twice each around the outside of the chip. The centre has the logo (sun over the horizon), the casino name and denom hot stamped in black. The letters BJ also appear in the inlay but I’m not sure what those are for. The obvious is blackjack but I doubt it. The €5 chip is red with an edge insert I don’t think I’ve seen before. It’s a rectangle with 4 smaller rectangles under it in turquoise. The denom is also turquoise and listed 3 times around the inlay. The centre inlay is white with a gold ring. The casino name and logo are black and the denom is red.
City: Acharnes, Greece
Casino: Regency Casino Mont Parnes
Today’s chip of the day is from Regency Casino Mont Parnes in Acharnes, Greece. There are two casinos within a hour of Athens give or take. One offers a bus that costs I think €15 and includes dinner and the other offers a free bus multiple times a hour which is easy to find. We decided to go to the easier one for obvious reasons. We walked about 10 minutes to catch the bus that took us 30 or so minutes north of the city to a gondola that took us the rest of the way. The gondola took 10 or so minutes to reach the top. At the top we waited in line for the longest club card sign up ever which came with €5 fp, some draw, a horrible hot dog/beer and some half off coupons.
Casinocity lists 708 slots which seems about right and 78 table games and poker tables which seems wayyyy too high. Unless we somehow missed a section of the casino which I highly doubt we did I would say they had 30-40 tables combined. Maybe they had more before Covid, I really don’t know. Anyways we played 2/5 NL for a couple of hours with some nice locals, one even bought us ice cream. I lost a few shekels on some ap slots and won €90 in the poker game. The casino was your standard giant casino, nothing really stood out about it.
I kept both a €1 and €5 chip as I do sometimes. The €1 is a grey hot stamp with the 4 suits twice each around the outside of the chip. The centre has the logo (sun over the horizon), the casino name and denom hot stamped in black. The letters BJ also appear in the inlay but I’m not sure what those are for. The obvious is blackjack but I doubt it. The €5 chip is red with an edge insert I don’t think I’ve seen before. It’s a rectangle with 4 smaller rectangles under it in turquoise. The denom is also turquoise and listed 3 times around the inlay. The centre inlay is white with a gold ring. The casino name and logo are black and the denom is red.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
December 4th, 2022 at 1:44:04 AM
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Category: Europe
City: St Julian’s, Malta
Casino: Portomaso
Today’s chip of the day is from Portomaso Casino in St Julian’s, Malta. This casino was across the street from the hotel that I was staying at which was a convenience that I hadn’t planned. Portomaso has about 100 slots and 8 table games and then another 25 or so table games that are being broadcasted to live casino players online. The main function of this casino seemed to be for online casinos based on the space allocation of the casino. About 20% of the slot machines were AP friendly with multiple games to click through on each machine. The poker games were hit or miss here as they struggled to get enough players for the cash games. The nightly tournaments seemed to get a solid 3 tables a night though. I played about 8 hours over 3 nights and broke even. One of the pros told me the games are mediocre if there isn’t a series running in Malta.
I kept both chips again as the €1 is a faded hot stamp. I actually found a nice non hot stamp chip from Portomaso over at their sister casino which I’ll cover later and thought about taking it but I’m pretty anal about collecting the chip at the correct casino so I didn’t. The €5 chip is red with 6 light blue edge inserts. The denom and 4 rectangles alternate around the inlay in the same blue. The centre inlay is white with a shiny dark blue ring and a light blue ring around that. The casino name is written in shiny dark blue covering most of the inlay. FYI the €1 I found at the sister casino looked exactly like this €5 but with different colours. The €1 chip that I did collect here is blue with a faded gold hot stamp on the inlay that lists both Oracle and Portomaso Casino names and the denom in the middle.
City: St Julian’s, Malta
Casino: Portomaso
Today’s chip of the day is from Portomaso Casino in St Julian’s, Malta. This casino was across the street from the hotel that I was staying at which was a convenience that I hadn’t planned. Portomaso has about 100 slots and 8 table games and then another 25 or so table games that are being broadcasted to live casino players online. The main function of this casino seemed to be for online casinos based on the space allocation of the casino. About 20% of the slot machines were AP friendly with multiple games to click through on each machine. The poker games were hit or miss here as they struggled to get enough players for the cash games. The nightly tournaments seemed to get a solid 3 tables a night though. I played about 8 hours over 3 nights and broke even. One of the pros told me the games are mediocre if there isn’t a series running in Malta.
I kept both chips again as the €1 is a faded hot stamp. I actually found a nice non hot stamp chip from Portomaso over at their sister casino which I’ll cover later and thought about taking it but I’m pretty anal about collecting the chip at the correct casino so I didn’t. The €5 chip is red with 6 light blue edge inserts. The denom and 4 rectangles alternate around the inlay in the same blue. The centre inlay is white with a shiny dark blue ring and a light blue ring around that. The casino name is written in shiny dark blue covering most of the inlay. FYI the €1 I found at the sister casino looked exactly like this €5 but with different colours. The €1 chip that I did collect here is blue with a faded gold hot stamp on the inlay that lists both Oracle and Portomaso Casino names and the denom in the middle.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
December 5th, 2022 at 1:03:08 AM
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Category: Europe
City: St Paul’s Bay, Malta
Casino: Oracle
Today’s chip of the day is from Oracle Casino in St Paul’s Bay, Malta. I mentioned in yesterday’s post that Portomaso has a sister casino named Oracle away from the other 3 casinos in Malta. I was able to walk to the 3 main casinos but this one I took a bus for about 40 minutes each way for €2. They had 150 slots give or take and a room full of closed table games (except 2). There were only 10 vulturable machines and they were all picked over unlike the other casinos. I played a few hands of bj to collect a chip and walked away with €35 from the match play and wining most of my hands. For their sake I hope that weekends are busier because otherwise I’m not sure if they will be around much longer.
The chip is blue with 6 red edge inserts. The denom is listed 4 times with two rectangles between each denom also in red around the inlay. The centre inlay is white with a shiny blue ring and a red ring around the inlay. I’m not going to try and guess what that weird pot looking thing is but it’s holding gold coins. The casino name and location are black.
City: St Paul’s Bay, Malta
Casino: Oracle
Today’s chip of the day is from Oracle Casino in St Paul’s Bay, Malta. I mentioned in yesterday’s post that Portomaso has a sister casino named Oracle away from the other 3 casinos in Malta. I was able to walk to the 3 main casinos but this one I took a bus for about 40 minutes each way for €2. They had 150 slots give or take and a room full of closed table games (except 2). There were only 10 vulturable machines and they were all picked over unlike the other casinos. I played a few hands of bj to collect a chip and walked away with €35 from the match play and wining most of my hands. For their sake I hope that weekends are busier because otherwise I’m not sure if they will be around much longer.
The chip is blue with 6 red edge inserts. The denom is listed 4 times with two rectangles between each denom also in red around the inlay. The centre inlay is white with a shiny blue ring and a red ring around the inlay. I’m not going to try and guess what that weird pot looking thing is but it’s holding gold coins. The casino name and location are black.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
December 5th, 2022 at 10:38:59 PM
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Category: Europe
City: St Julian’s, Malta
Casino: Dragonara
Today’s chip of the day is from Dragonara Casino in St Julian’s, Malta. This casino is located inside the compound that holds the Westin Hotel and Resort. It’s one of the many amenities along with a private beach, restaurants etc. The casino had about 130-150 slots and 10-12 table games. Unfortunately they had less vulturables so I didn’t spend as much time there. I won €100 while collecting my chip. When I signed up for a membership the girls working there were chatting about Canada with me. Somehow slurpees came up and they had no idea what they were, I tried to explain them but they still didn’t know what they are. I guess Eastern Europe where the ladies were from don’t have slurpees.
The chip is blue with 6 burnt orange edge inserts. The denom is listed 4 times around the inlay with 2 rectangles between each denom, also in burnt orange. The centre inlay is white with the casino name and location in black and the denom in gold with a black outline.
City: St Julian’s, Malta
Casino: Dragonara
Today’s chip of the day is from Dragonara Casino in St Julian’s, Malta. This casino is located inside the compound that holds the Westin Hotel and Resort. It’s one of the many amenities along with a private beach, restaurants etc. The casino had about 130-150 slots and 10-12 table games. Unfortunately they had less vulturables so I didn’t spend as much time there. I won €100 while collecting my chip. When I signed up for a membership the girls working there were chatting about Canada with me. Somehow slurpees came up and they had no idea what they were, I tried to explain them but they still didn’t know what they are. I guess Eastern Europe where the ladies were from don’t have slurpees.
The chip is blue with 6 burnt orange edge inserts. The denom is listed 4 times around the inlay with 2 rectangles between each denom, also in burnt orange. The centre inlay is white with the casino name and location in black and the denom in gold with a black outline.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
December 7th, 2022 at 1:10:50 AM
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Category: Europe
City: St Julian’s, Malta
Casino: Casino Malta
Today’s chip of the day is from Casino Malta in St Julian’s, Malta. Casino Malta is the newest casino on the island and is owned by Olympic who owns casinos in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Italy and Slovakia. Despite the fact that one company owns the casinos, every country I went to I had to sign up for a new Olympic club card as the card wasn’t transferable from country to country. Casino Malta has about 300 slots and 29 table games. There were a ton of vulturables all over the casino so I was able to make just under €700 before winning a few bucks playing bj to collect a chip. The casino was mostly empty despite being in the centre of the most touristy area.
The chip is white with 12 green edge inserts and 3 green diamonds?!? around the outer part of the chip. The centre inlay is green and silver. The casino name is green on the silver area and the denom is green on the silver area inside what looks like a flower of some sort.
City: St Julian’s, Malta
Casino: Casino Malta
Today’s chip of the day is from Casino Malta in St Julian’s, Malta. Casino Malta is the newest casino on the island and is owned by Olympic who owns casinos in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Italy and Slovakia. Despite the fact that one company owns the casinos, every country I went to I had to sign up for a new Olympic club card as the card wasn’t transferable from country to country. Casino Malta has about 300 slots and 29 table games. There were a ton of vulturables all over the casino so I was able to make just under €700 before winning a few bucks playing bj to collect a chip. The casino was mostly empty despite being in the centre of the most touristy area.
The chip is white with 12 green edge inserts and 3 green diamonds?!? around the outer part of the chip. The centre inlay is green and silver. The casino name is green on the silver area and the denom is green on the silver area inside what looks like a flower of some sort.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
