Casino Chip of the Day
September 5th, 2023 at 3:15:06 PM
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Quote: alpha1243Quote: PokerGrinderState: Texas
City: San Antonio
Casino: Poker Palace
Today’s chip of the day is from the San Antonio Poker Palace in you guessed it, San Antonio, Texas. SAPP opened on January 7, 2021 and that is all I know about the place because I don’t remember being there.
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This casino (see original post) is the San Antonio Poker Palace (SAPP), and not just Poker Palace. This is so it is not confused with the Austin Poker Palace (APP) (see below) or any other card rooms in the state of Texas that use "Poker Palace" as part of their name.
$1 Chip | $5 Chip
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I fixed the mistake in my header. I had it correct in the post but somehow screwed it up in the header. Thanks
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
September 5th, 2023 at 4:34:16 PM
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The full name of the San Antonio Poker Palace now appears in the thread index, and the Alpha Social Club (omitting the word "Card") is now today's CCotD entry.
September 5th, 2023 at 8:13:01 PM
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Perfect! Are you and the Mrs planning any cruises?
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
September 5th, 2023 at 9:38:49 PM
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PG, if that question was directed to me, the answer is, "No, not at present." Our last cruise was Nov.-Dec 2022. We had considered some possibilities for a 2023 cruise, but we have not found the ideal option.
September 6th, 2023 at 12:22:32 AM
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It was. If you haven’t done Greece, Norway or Iceland I very much enjoyed all of those.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
September 6th, 2023 at 9:19:03 AM
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State: Texas
City: Houston
Casino: Champions Poker Club
On Sunday afternoon of 13 August 2023 I decided to give Champions Poker Club a call. They said that there was one table running. When I arrived I was able to use the membership card that the woman printed for me the other day when I was there waiting. She waived the $10 membership fee because I had waited so long and loaded $25 of free time onto my card too. Champions Poker Club charges a $12/hr seat rental fee. I bought in for $400, pocketed several chips, and had a seat in the $1/$3 NLH game.
This is a unique poker room. Not only is it located in an office park, but Champions Poker Club is a hotel with a small 14-table poker room off to the side of the lobby. The tables are all brand new, with elevated rails like you’d find at a final table, and the room is decorated very professionally. The floorperson and staff are also well dressed. There was a house shill in the game and the other players all had more chips in front of them that you’d expect to see at a $1/$3 game. I decided to play until my free time had expired then cashed out a small winner.
$1 Chip | $5 Chip | $25 Chip
Note: The previous listing for “Champions” should be corrected to Champions Social. Also of note is that the $1 chip for Champions Social is different on each side as shown below:
$1 Champions Social (individually numbered and double-sided)
City: Houston
Casino: Champions Poker Club
On Sunday afternoon of 13 August 2023 I decided to give Champions Poker Club a call. They said that there was one table running. When I arrived I was able to use the membership card that the woman printed for me the other day when I was there waiting. She waived the $10 membership fee because I had waited so long and loaded $25 of free time onto my card too. Champions Poker Club charges a $12/hr seat rental fee. I bought in for $400, pocketed several chips, and had a seat in the $1/$3 NLH game.
This is a unique poker room. Not only is it located in an office park, but Champions Poker Club is a hotel with a small 14-table poker room off to the side of the lobby. The tables are all brand new, with elevated rails like you’d find at a final table, and the room is decorated very professionally. The floorperson and staff are also well dressed. There was a house shill in the game and the other players all had more chips in front of them that you’d expect to see at a $1/$3 game. I decided to play until my free time had expired then cashed out a small winner.
$1 Chip | $5 Chip | $25 Chip
Note: The previous listing for “Champions” should be corrected to Champions Social. Also of note is that the $1 chip for Champions Social is different on each side as shown below:
$1 Champions Social (individually numbered and double-sided)
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September 6th, 2023 at 10:01:07 AM
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Quote: PokerGrinderState: Texas
City: Houston
Casino: Kings and Cards
Today's chip of the day is from Kings and Cards Poker Club in Houston, Texas.
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Kings & Cards Poker Club eventually was sold and reopened as Kings of Cards Poker Club -- a slight variation on the name. They did, though, make the effort to purchase all new chips. But this new club was short lived and closed for good a few months later.
What was unique about the original Kings & Cards were their over-sized octagonal $1 tip chip. Only a few other Texas social clubs have issued such chips, with Vault Poker Club in Galveston and Rounders Poker Room in Spring bring the only two others that I know of. Both rooms are no longer in business. Finding these octagonal ceramic chips without any chips or cracks on them isn't easy after all these years. The Kings & Cards chip had some sort of protective coating on the chip which prevented the normal wear, color bleeding, and fading that is a problem with so many ceramic types. The same tip chip from Vault did not have this coating. The difference is easy to see in the images below.
Kings & Cards Poker Club $1 Tip Chip
Vault Poker Club $1 Tip Chip
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September 7th, 2023 at 7:32:17 AM
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State: Texas
City: Houston
Casino: Best Poker Club
Best Poker opened in June of 2022 in a nondescript strip mall location in Houston along I-10. The enormous 35-table room barely survived the year and was sold in December. Perhaps they bit off more that they could chew. Not only was it a very large poker room for the area, but they spent like they were a well established and successful business. Purchasing the electronics to run the screens in a poker room to display tables, games, and wait lists is a necessity, but taking that next step to install a system to track players cards and seat rental fees is another. Best Poker went one step further and purchased swipe card readers and displays at each table to integrate into the Poker Atlas app. All of this is quite a lot for a small start-up poker room. The annual Poker Atlas fee alone is $15,000, and that’s the base price! No wonder Best Poker didn’t last. The new owners reopened the following month as Infinity Poker Club.
While they spared no expense on the poker room and electronics, they apparently looked to save money on their chip set. These generic plastic chips with an inexpensive paper inlay not only looked out of place at Best Poker, but can easily be reproduced by anyone looking to rip off the new poker room and staff.
Infinity Poker Club took over from the short-lived Best Poker Club in January of 2023. To generate excitement and draw new players to their 35-table poker room, Infinity ran a Grand Opening promotion. They would give away a brand new 2023 Nissan Infinity Q50 luxury sedan! Players would earn ticket to the drawing for every hour played between 20 January and 31 March. Double tickets were awarded for play between 10am and 6pm daily.
All of the glitz and glamour is worthless without players. It’s a Catch 22 for these new poker rooms. New players want to be able to go to a poker room at any hour of the day to find a selection of games and stakes to choose from. If the room is empty, or only has one table running, they will leave. And you cannot fill a room with multiple tables offering various games without getting them to stay.
One of the first online reviews for Infinity was prophetic:
Infinity closed in early March. Another Poker Atlas reviewer rang their death knell:
While Infinity Poker did a poor job of taking over for Best Poker, at least they produced a much improved chip set. Many collectors liked this chip, in fact. The Infinity logo with the poker chips featuring a spade and club, along with the denomination and location made for a well designed chip. Too bad that hobbyists had barely 2 months to pick one up to add to their collection.
City: Houston
Casino: Best Poker Club
Best Poker opened in June of 2022 in a nondescript strip mall location in Houston along I-10. The enormous 35-table room barely survived the year and was sold in December. Perhaps they bit off more that they could chew. Not only was it a very large poker room for the area, but they spent like they were a well established and successful business. Purchasing the electronics to run the screens in a poker room to display tables, games, and wait lists is a necessity, but taking that next step to install a system to track players cards and seat rental fees is another. Best Poker went one step further and purchased swipe card readers and displays at each table to integrate into the Poker Atlas app. All of this is quite a lot for a small start-up poker room. The annual Poker Atlas fee alone is $15,000, and that’s the base price! No wonder Best Poker didn’t last. The new owners reopened the following month as Infinity Poker Club.
While they spared no expense on the poker room and electronics, they apparently looked to save money on their chip set. These generic plastic chips with an inexpensive paper inlay not only looked out of place at Best Poker, but can easily be reproduced by anyone looking to rip off the new poker room and staff.
Infinity Poker Club took over from the short-lived Best Poker Club in January of 2023. To generate excitement and draw new players to their 35-table poker room, Infinity ran a Grand Opening promotion. They would give away a brand new 2023 Nissan Infinity Q50 luxury sedan! Players would earn ticket to the drawing for every hour played between 20 January and 31 March. Double tickets were awarded for play between 10am and 6pm daily.
All of the glitz and glamour is worthless without players. It’s a Catch 22 for these new poker rooms. New players want to be able to go to a poker room at any hour of the day to find a selection of games and stakes to choose from. If the room is empty, or only has one table running, they will leave. And you cannot fill a room with multiple tables offering various games without getting them to stay.
One of the first online reviews for Infinity was prophetic:
Quote: 17 January 2023Don't waste your time coming here
It's sad that such a nice place with such great promotions can't get a legit game going. This place is on the same path as Best Poker. Only the owners and staff are playing here, they are on every list. I wish them good luck but it doesn't look good at all.
Infinity closed in early March. Another Poker Atlas reviewer rang their death knell:
Quote: 9 March 2023Stick a fork in them - they are done!
Stopped by to see if a game was going because Poker Atlas shows them offline and the doors are locked. Appears they are done and have thrown in the towel. Run was shorter than Best Poker's at this same location. That's what happens when you tout a car drawing and then cancel at the last minute and point to this disclaimer "We reserve the right to honor, modify or cancel any of the ongoing promos at any time with or without prior notice". Yep, real honest people that ran this place in its short tenure.
While Infinity Poker did a poor job of taking over for Best Poker, at least they produced a much improved chip set. Many collectors liked this chip, in fact. The Infinity logo with the poker chips featuring a spade and club, along with the denomination and location made for a well designed chip. Too bad that hobbyists had barely 2 months to pick one up to add to their collection.
Last edited by: alpha1243 on Sep 7, 2023
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September 7th, 2023 at 8:32:55 AM
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As I wrote in my chip of the day for Infinity it was only 1 table with 3-4 staff/owners playing. I also had atrocious sushi from the place next door. I do love the chips though! I never got to Best Poker. I miss a lot of these Texas rooms because they each survive 3-6 months and I only go once a year.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
September 8th, 2023 at 12:50:47 PM
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State: Texas
City: Humble
Casino: Empire Poker Club Humble
Empire Poker Club Humble is a wordy name for a social poker club, but remember that every poker room in Texas has to have a unique name. As there are Empire Poker Clubs in Houston (called Empire Poker Club Westheimer, as it’s located on Westheimer Road) and Katy (called Empire Poker Club Katy), this third location took on the name Empire Poker Club Humble. They opened in April 2022, and like so many other poker rooms, closed for good less than a year later in January 2023.
The small strip mall location held 7 poker tables and had posted hours of operation from noon to 4am daily. The poker tables themselves at all of their locations were unique in that the felt had lines separating each of the players so everyone knew where to position their chairs and where to put their chips. Along with the betting line, this created individual boxes on the felt for each of the 10 player.
The chips were unremarkable. Every property used the same generic plastic chips adorned with the same Empire Poker Club logo which was affixed to the inlay on a paper sticker. Only the location distinguished the chips from one property to the other. These paper inlays were easily torn, peeled, and worn so much that some of the more heavily used $5 chips had no inlay remaining whatsoever.
The poker room reopened in February 2023 under the name 4 Suits Social. In August I called and spoke to Lillian, their general manager, to inquire about the fees. She said that they did not charge any membership or hourly fees, but that they took a 10% rake from each pot, up to $15, plus a $2 promotional rake once the pot reached $200! This is not only illegal, but is by far the highest rake I’ve seen charged to play poker at any of the Texas social poker clubs in the state. With The Hangar Poker House only 0.8 miles away in Humble with a $12/hr seat fee, I can’t imagine that 4 Suits Social will remain in business for long. At an 8-handed table, The Hangar is making $96 each hour. Compare that to 4 Suits Social. Even if the dealer only gets out 12 hands per down, the house is making up to $408 each hour – more than 4x as much!!! With that many chips leaving the table each hour, the players will go bust very soon.
City: Humble
Casino: Empire Poker Club Humble
Empire Poker Club Humble is a wordy name for a social poker club, but remember that every poker room in Texas has to have a unique name. As there are Empire Poker Clubs in Houston (called Empire Poker Club Westheimer, as it’s located on Westheimer Road) and Katy (called Empire Poker Club Katy), this third location took on the name Empire Poker Club Humble. They opened in April 2022, and like so many other poker rooms, closed for good less than a year later in January 2023.
The small strip mall location held 7 poker tables and had posted hours of operation from noon to 4am daily. The poker tables themselves at all of their locations were unique in that the felt had lines separating each of the players so everyone knew where to position their chairs and where to put their chips. Along with the betting line, this created individual boxes on the felt for each of the 10 player.
The chips were unremarkable. Every property used the same generic plastic chips adorned with the same Empire Poker Club logo which was affixed to the inlay on a paper sticker. Only the location distinguished the chips from one property to the other. These paper inlays were easily torn, peeled, and worn so much that some of the more heavily used $5 chips had no inlay remaining whatsoever.
The poker room reopened in February 2023 under the name 4 Suits Social. In August I called and spoke to Lillian, their general manager, to inquire about the fees. She said that they did not charge any membership or hourly fees, but that they took a 10% rake from each pot, up to $15, plus a $2 promotional rake once the pot reached $200! This is not only illegal, but is by far the highest rake I’ve seen charged to play poker at any of the Texas social poker clubs in the state. With The Hangar Poker House only 0.8 miles away in Humble with a $12/hr seat fee, I can’t imagine that 4 Suits Social will remain in business for long. At an 8-handed table, The Hangar is making $96 each hour. Compare that to 4 Suits Social. Even if the dealer only gets out 12 hands per down, the house is making up to $408 each hour – more than 4x as much!!! With that many chips leaving the table each hour, the players will go bust very soon.
Interested in trading/buying/selling casino chips?
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September 8th, 2023 at 4:50:46 PM
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Unfortunately ran into a repeat. Casino Poland in Warsaw uses the same chips as Casino Poland in Krakow.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
September 8th, 2023 at 5:37:25 PM
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Quote: PokerGrinderUnfortunately ran into a repeat. Casino Poland in Warsaw uses the same chips as Casino Poland in Krakow.
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Sadly apparently so does Casino Warsaw, oh well.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
September 8th, 2023 at 6:30:50 PM
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Quote: alpha1243State: Texas
City: Humble
Casino: Empire Poker Club Humble
Empire Poker Club Humble is a wordy name for a social poker club, but remember that every poker room in Texas has to have a unique name. As there are Empire Poker Clubs in Houston (called Empire Poker Club Westheimer, as it’s located on Westheimer Road) and Katy (called Empire Poker Club Katy), this third location took on the name Empire Poker Club Humble. They opened in April 2022, and like so many other poker rooms, closed for good less than a year later in January 2023.
The small strip mall location held 7 poker tables and had posted hours of operation from noon to 4am daily. The poker tables themselves at all of their locations were unique in that the felt had lines separating each of the players so everyone knew where to position their chairs and where to put their chips. Along with the betting line, this created individual boxes on the felt for each of the 10 player.
The chips were unremarkable. Every property used the same generic plastic chips adorned with the same Empire Poker Club logo which was affixed to the inlay on a paper sticker. Only the location distinguished the chips from one property to the other. These paper inlays were easily torn, peeled, and worn so much that some of the more heavily used $5 chips had no inlay remaining whatsoever.
The poker room reopened in February 2023 under the name 4 Suits Social. In August I called and spoke to Lillian, their general manager, to inquire about the fees. She said that they did not charge any membership or hourly fees, but that they took a 10% rake from each pot, up to $15, plus a $2 promotional rake once the pot reached $200! This is not only illegal, but is by far the highest rake I’ve seen charged to play poker at any of the Texas social poker clubs in the state. With The Hangar Poker House only 0.8 miles away in Humble with a $12/hr seat fee, I can’t imagine that 4 Suits Social will remain in business for long. At an 8-handed table, The Hangar is making $96 each hour. Compare that to 4 Suits Social. Even if the dealer only gets out 12 hands per down, the house is making up to $408 each hour – more than 4x as much!!! With that many chips leaving the table each hour, the players will go bust very soon.
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The small rooms can’t survive on time rake so they try raking which kills the games along with being illegal. These small clubs never last.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
September 9th, 2023 at 6:21:15 AM
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So, after reading alpha1243's CCotD post for the Empire Poker Club in Humble, TX, I revised (in an effort to provide some uniformity in the index) the listing of the chip that PG posted here to say "Empire Poker Cllub (Katy)", even though that isn't the way he named it in the header of his CCotD post.
On the other hand, the establishment in Houston, for which PG posted a chip here has a very different chip design. How should that one be indexed?
On the other hand, the establishment in Houston, for which PG posted a chip here has a very different chip design. How should that one be indexed?
September 9th, 2023 at 6:38:00 AM
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My empire chip that looks different is the Westheimer location. I was there before the chip change I guess which is why my chip is different. I think Alpha mentioned he has the Westheimer Empire chip that looks like the others.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
September 9th, 2023 at 8:27:51 AM
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Quote: DocSo, after reading alpha1243's CCotD post for the Empire Poker Club in Humble, TX, I revised (in an effort to provide some uniformity in the index) the listing of the chip that PG posted here to say "Empire Poker Cllub (Katy)", even though that isn't the way he named it in the header of his CCotD post.
On the other hand, the establishment in Houston, for which PG posted a chip here has a very different chip design. How should that one be indexed?
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That's the original Empire chip from their Houston property. The current chip is below:
They all have the save design. The Empire location in Houston is on Westheimer Road and officially calls "Empire Poker Club Westheimer".
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September 9th, 2023 at 8:28:48 AM
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State: Texas
City: Watauga
Casino: Governors Lounge
Governors Lounge opened in November 2021 and operated for only 11 months until closing in September 2022. As the first and only legal poker social club in town they hit the ground running, but only a couple of months after dealing their first hand they were joined by the Watauga Social Lounge. They had 10 tables in their strip mall location.
Poker did not have a long run in Watauga. After closing in September the remaining poker room, Watauga Social Lounge, was raided by police during Day 2 of their largest tournament the following month. Staff were arrested, over $200k in cash was seized along with gambling equipment, and the 49 players were fined $360 each (the Tarrant County DA later dropped these fines). The poker room was suspected of ”engaging in specified unlawful activities”. They never reopened.
Unfazed by any of this was Wild Card Poker Club which purchased Governors Lounge and opened for business the following month in October 2022. A couple of weeks later the Tarrant County DA closed them down too. It’s not know if Wild Card Poker Club created its own chip set or was using the set from its previous owners, but they did create a custom logo and sold a variety of hats, shirts, and mugs in their online merchandise store.
At least Governors Lounge created a nice poker chip set. This 2-sided ceramic chip features versions of their logo on either side.
City: Watauga
Casino: Governors Lounge
Governors Lounge opened in November 2021 and operated for only 11 months until closing in September 2022. As the first and only legal poker social club in town they hit the ground running, but only a couple of months after dealing their first hand they were joined by the Watauga Social Lounge. They had 10 tables in their strip mall location.
Poker did not have a long run in Watauga. After closing in September the remaining poker room, Watauga Social Lounge, was raided by police during Day 2 of their largest tournament the following month. Staff were arrested, over $200k in cash was seized along with gambling equipment, and the 49 players were fined $360 each (the Tarrant County DA later dropped these fines). The poker room was suspected of ”engaging in specified unlawful activities”. They never reopened.
Unfazed by any of this was Wild Card Poker Club which purchased Governors Lounge and opened for business the following month in October 2022. A couple of weeks later the Tarrant County DA closed them down too. It’s not know if Wild Card Poker Club created its own chip set or was using the set from its previous owners, but they did create a custom logo and sold a variety of hats, shirts, and mugs in their online merchandise store.
At least Governors Lounge created a nice poker chip set. This 2-sided ceramic chip features versions of their logo on either side.
Interested in trading/buying/selling casino chips?
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September 9th, 2023 at 10:13:25 AM
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I really like that chip. I got to Watauga Social before the shut down but I missed Governors.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
September 10th, 2023 at 7:54:29 AM
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State: Texas
City: Houston
Casino: Lions Poker Palace
Lions Poker Palace opened in 2018 and was one of the first poker rooms to open in the Houston area. When last I checked on the location in June of 2021 it was permanently closed with their website taken down and phone number disconnected.
What Lions Poker Palace did right was to produce some nice chips. If you look closely you can see the four stylized manufacturer logos from GameOn engraved around the yellow circle. They made the effort to design a distinctive lion head logo, with smaller silhouettes around the outer edge of the chip between the denominations. They were also one of the first to include the location on their chips, making it easily identifiable for chip collectors.
City: Houston
Casino: Lions Poker Palace
Lions Poker Palace opened in 2018 and was one of the first poker rooms to open in the Houston area. When last I checked on the location in June of 2021 it was permanently closed with their website taken down and phone number disconnected.
What Lions Poker Palace did right was to produce some nice chips. If you look closely you can see the four stylized manufacturer logos from GameOn engraved around the yellow circle. They made the effort to design a distinctive lion head logo, with smaller silhouettes around the outer edge of the chip between the denominations. They were also one of the first to include the location on their chips, making it easily identifiable for chip collectors.
Interested in trading/buying/selling casino chips?
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September 11th, 2023 at 4:42:09 AM
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State: Texas
City: Katy
Casino: Poker Starr’s
Poker Starr’s opened on the previous site of Freerolls Poker Club in Katy, Texas. This 8-table poker room operated for only a few months until closing its doors in 2022 when it became Ace City Poker Club. Ace City used this same Poker Starr’s chip rack until they closed their doors a few short months later.
These ceramic chips had a lot of wear, but they at least have a pleasing design. The name, while it may appear to be a misprint, was named after one of the room’s owners, Ms. Starr. The apostrophe is missing on the chip, as it was on the sign at the entrance to the poker room in its strip mall location, but it’s seen on several of the club’s online listings, such as Poker Atlas and Facebook.
City: Katy
Casino: Poker Starr’s
Poker Starr’s opened on the previous site of Freerolls Poker Club in Katy, Texas. This 8-table poker room operated for only a few months until closing its doors in 2022 when it became Ace City Poker Club. Ace City used this same Poker Starr’s chip rack until they closed their doors a few short months later.
These ceramic chips had a lot of wear, but they at least have a pleasing design. The name, while it may appear to be a misprint, was named after one of the room’s owners, Ms. Starr. The apostrophe is missing on the chip, as it was on the sign at the entrance to the poker room in its strip mall location, but it’s seen on several of the club’s online listings, such as Poker Atlas and Facebook.
Interested in trading/buying/selling casino chips?
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September 11th, 2023 at 4:57:39 AM
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The mirroring on the lower (nether?) 'Katy-Houston' seems quite unusual.
May the cards fall in your favor.
September 11th, 2023 at 7:29:12 AM
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Quote: DieterThe mirroring on the lower (nether?) 'Katy-Houston' seems quite unusual.
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Wtf is that lol. So odd
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
September 12th, 2023 at 11:50:43 AM
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Quote: PokerGrinderQuote: DieterThe mirroring on the lower (nether?) 'Katy-Houston' seems quite unusual.
link to original post
Wtf is that lol. So odd
link to original post
Oh you, acting like I don't notice minute details everywhere...
May the cards fall in your favor.
September 12th, 2023 at 11:58:56 AM
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State: Texas
City: Houston
Casino: Post Oak Poker Club
Post Oak was one of the early pioneers of legal Texas poker social clubs. They opened for business in Houston in August of 2017 with a 15-table poker room. After a 2-year investigation, the Harris County DA’s office and the Houston Police Department raided Post Oak, along with Prime Social, in May of 2019. The lawsuits claim that both clubs were open seven days a week for the purpose of illegal gambling. The owners were accused of “owning and maintaining a nuisance at the poker rooms by promoting gambling, laundering money and engaging in organized criminal activity,” according to Harris County DA.
" As part of the investigation, HPD undercover officers went to the clubs and posed as customers. They were asked to pay a membership fee, a door fee and a fee to play at a poker table inside the clubs.
The lawsuit alleges that officers saw large numbers of patrons inside playing at the poker tables. The officers bought poker chips to bet on a poker game and were able to turn in their chips and collect cash winnings from employees at the clubs."
The owners of Post Oak vowed to fight the lawsuit. In June of 2019 the DA drop the felony money laundering charges and the cases were handed over to the FBI. Post Oak never recovered and would not reopen, while Prime Social would not only reopen, but is still a thriving legal poker room in Houston.
The Post Oak chips are some of the most sought after Texas poker chips as they were trailblazers; leading the way for dozens of other Texas social poker clubs to open in their wake. The chip was fairly sophisticated for its day with a modern inlay, similar to that used at Borgata and other large casinos and poker rooms across the country. They fell a bit short by not including ”Houston, TX” on the chip, but collectors know that this is a Texas chip without having to read it on the chip itself.
City: Houston
Casino: Post Oak Poker Club
Post Oak was one of the early pioneers of legal Texas poker social clubs. They opened for business in Houston in August of 2017 with a 15-table poker room. After a 2-year investigation, the Harris County DA’s office and the Houston Police Department raided Post Oak, along with Prime Social, in May of 2019. The lawsuits claim that both clubs were open seven days a week for the purpose of illegal gambling. The owners were accused of “owning and maintaining a nuisance at the poker rooms by promoting gambling, laundering money and engaging in organized criminal activity,” according to Harris County DA.
" As part of the investigation, HPD undercover officers went to the clubs and posed as customers. They were asked to pay a membership fee, a door fee and a fee to play at a poker table inside the clubs.
The lawsuit alleges that officers saw large numbers of patrons inside playing at the poker tables. The officers bought poker chips to bet on a poker game and were able to turn in their chips and collect cash winnings from employees at the clubs."
The owners of Post Oak vowed to fight the lawsuit. In June of 2019 the DA drop the felony money laundering charges and the cases were handed over to the FBI. Post Oak never recovered and would not reopen, while Prime Social would not only reopen, but is still a thriving legal poker room in Houston.
The Post Oak chips are some of the most sought after Texas poker chips as they were trailblazers; leading the way for dozens of other Texas social poker clubs to open in their wake. The chip was fairly sophisticated for its day with a modern inlay, similar to that used at Borgata and other large casinos and poker rooms across the country. They fell a bit short by not including ”Houston, TX” on the chip, but collectors know that this is a Texas chip without having to read it on the chip itself.
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September 12th, 2023 at 2:10:14 PM
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Quote: DieterQuote: PokerGrinderQuote: DieterThe mirroring on the lower (nether?) 'Katy-Houston' seems quite unusual.
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Wtf is that lol. So odd
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Oh you, acting like I don't notice minute details everywhere...
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No I’m saying that I would never have noticed that and wondering why they did that lol.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
September 12th, 2023 at 2:13:30 PM
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Quote: alpha1243State: Texas
City: Houston
Casino: Post Oak Poker Club
Post Oak was one of the early pioneers of legal Texas poker social clubs. They opened for business in Houston in August of 2017 with a 15-table poker room. After a 2-year investigation, the Harris County DA’s office and the Houston Police Department raided Post Oak, along with Prime Social, in May of 2019. The lawsuits claim that both clubs were open seven days a week for the purpose of illegal gambling. The owners were accused of “owning and maintaining a nuisance at the poker rooms by promoting gambling, laundering money and engaging in organized criminal activity,” according to Harris County DA.
" As part of the investigation, HPD undercover officers went to the clubs and posed as customers. They were asked to pay a membership fee, a door fee and a fee to play at a poker table inside the clubs.
The lawsuit alleges that officers saw large numbers of patrons inside playing at the poker tables. The officers bought poker chips to bet on a poker game and were able to turn in their chips and collect cash winnings from employees at the clubs."
The owners of Post Oak vowed to fight the lawsuit. In June of 2019 the DA drop the felony money laundering charges and the cases were handed over to the FBI. Post Oak never recovered and would not reopen, while Prime Social would not only reopen, but is still a thriving legal poker room in Houston.
The Post Oak chips are some of the most sought after Texas poker chips as they were trailblazers; leading the way for dozens of other Texas social poker clubs to open in their wake. The chip was fairly sophisticated for its day with a modern inlay, similar to that used at Borgata and other large casinos and poker rooms across the country. They fell a bit short by not including ”Houston, TX” on the chip, but collectors know that this is a Texas chip without having to read it on the chip itself.
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These look like the Monte Carlo home poker set you can buy online.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
September 12th, 2023 at 8:54:35 PM
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Well, it seems that there has been a major step taken to help resolve some of the problems of broken thread links resulting from the new forum format. Hopefully, at least for the moment, the broken links are all fixed. The Wizard made a post here telling how Miro has mostly taken care of this.
September 13th, 2023 at 4:08:25 AM
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Quote: DocWell, it seems that there has been a major step taken to help resolve some of the problems of broken thread links resulting from the new forum format. Hopefully, at least for the moment, the broken links are all fixed. The Wizard made a post here telling how Miro has mostly taken care of this.
link to original post
I am so pleased that they were able to fix this issue. I thought that we might be losing the thread index.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
September 13th, 2023 at 6:21:03 AM
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So you’re saying I have to prepare 100+ chip of the days when I get home? 😂
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
September 13th, 2023 at 6:51:28 AM
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Quote: PokerGrinderSo you’re saying I have to prepare 100+ chip of the days when I get home? 😂
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Well not right away.
Just over the 3 months or so following your return.
May the cards fall in your favor.
September 13th, 2023 at 7:25:41 AM
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State: Texas
City: Houston
Casino: Royal Poker Club
Royal Poker Club opened for business in Houston on South Gessner Road in November of 2018 with a 10-table poker room. By the end of the following year they would be closed. A concentration of newly opened social poker rooms in that area of town proved to be too much.
All that remains are their nicely designed poker chips. Above the denomination in the center is their crowned lion logo with the words Royal Poker Club written above. Around the outer ring is a crown alternating with another of their logos – an intertwined R and P for Royal Poker.
City: Houston
Casino: Royal Poker Club
Royal Poker Club opened for business in Houston on South Gessner Road in November of 2018 with a 10-table poker room. By the end of the following year they would be closed. A concentration of newly opened social poker rooms in that area of town proved to be too much.
All that remains are their nicely designed poker chips. Above the denomination in the center is their crowned lion logo with the words Royal Poker Club written above. Around the outer ring is a crown alternating with another of their logos – an intertwined R and P for Royal Poker.
Interested in trading/buying/selling casino chips?
Join me on the Casino Chip Collecting group on Facebook.
September 13th, 2023 at 8:26:40 AM
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Quote: PokerGrinderState: Texas
City: San Antonio
Casino: Royal
Today’s chip of the day is from Royal Card House in San Antonio, Texas.
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This casino's proper name is The Royal Card House of San Antonio. If that's too long for the Index, I'd suggest shortening it to The Royal Card House until we run across some other Texas poker room using that name.
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September 13th, 2023 at 8:39:10 AM
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I was in the process of creating/editing this post before I saw the post immediately above:
In the hope of avoiding possible confusion, I have revised the CCotD index thread listing for the chip that PokerGrinder shared with us here. I now index the place as "Royal Card House" instead of just "Royal". PG had used the full name in his post but only the single word in his post header. I will leave it to him to edit that header if he chooses. The chips from Royal Card House and Royal Poker Club have different logos to go with different names, so I assume they were not affiliated.
In the hope of avoiding possible confusion, I have revised the CCotD index thread listing for the chip that PokerGrinder shared with us here. I now index the place as "Royal Card House" instead of just "Royal". PG had used the full name in his post but only the single word in his post header. I will leave it to him to edit that header if he chooses. The chips from Royal Card House and Royal Poker Club have different logos to go with different names, so I assume they were not affiliated.
September 13th, 2023 at 8:45:29 AM
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I see that you added (Houston) under the Royal Poker Club listing. Why not add (San Antonio) under that for Royal Card House? The clubs are in no way affiliated with one another.
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September 13th, 2023 at 8:47:28 AM
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These names can be challenging when trying to incorporate them into an abbreviated Index. Just wait until you read tomorrow's CCotD.
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September 13th, 2023 at 9:24:01 AM
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With this flurry of recent chip posts, Texas is rapidly climbing in its status of number of establishments within one category covered by the CCotD thread. As of today, the leading contenders are:
Two states, one country, and one continent still ahead of the Lone Star State.
| Nevada | 251 |
|---|---|
| California | 140 |
| Canada | 116 |
| Asia | 98 |
| Texas | 97 |
| Europe | 96 |
| Washington | 56 |
| Mississippi | 50 |
| Oklahoma | 50 |
| Caribbean Islands | 49 |
Two states, one country, and one continent still ahead of the Lone Star State.
September 13th, 2023 at 9:25:20 AM
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Quote: DocI was in the process of creating/editing this post before I saw the post immediately above:
In the hope of avoiding possible confusion, I have revised the CCotD index thread listing for the chip that PokerGrinder shared with us here. I now index the place as "Royal Card House" instead of just "Royal". PG had used the full name in his post but only the single word in his post header. I will leave it to him to edit that header if he chooses. The chips from Royal Card House and Royal Poker Club have different logos to go with different names, so I assume they were not affiliated.
link to original post
I have fixed the header.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
September 13th, 2023 at 9:26:17 AM
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Quote: DocWith this flurry of recent chip posts, Texas is rapidly climbing in its status of number of establishments within one category covered by the CCotD thread. As of today, the leading contenders are:
Nevada 251 California 140 Canada 116 Asia 98 Texas 97 Europe 96 Washington 56 Mississippi 50 Oklahoma 50 Caribbean Islands 49
Two states, one country, and one continent still ahead of the Lone Star State.
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I have a bunch of California chips to add when it’s my turn.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
September 14th, 2023 at 6:55:46 AM
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State: Texas
City: Irving
Casino: TCH Social Las Colinas
This is the 6th of the Texas Card House chain of branded social poker rooms. They opened for business in May of 2023 with a 26-table poker room. Rather than name themselves “Texas Card House Las Colinas” they broke from their previous naming convention and went with “TCH Social Las Colinas”. At this point they figured that everyone has run across a Texas Card House property somewhere and poker players simply refer to them as “TCH”.
The location, Las Colinas refers to the mixed-use planned community located within Irving, TX, itself part of the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex.
This ceramic chip creatively carries on the tradition of using their logo of “4 suits in a circle” somewhere within the chip’s design. Every TCH room does this differently, which is a nice touch. For this TCH property we see the logo split in two and shown on the top and bottom of the design as well as a smaller version of it pictured in front of the club’s name.
City: Irving
Casino: TCH Social Las Colinas
This is the 6th of the Texas Card House chain of branded social poker rooms. They opened for business in May of 2023 with a 26-table poker room. Rather than name themselves “Texas Card House Las Colinas” they broke from their previous naming convention and went with “TCH Social Las Colinas”. At this point they figured that everyone has run across a Texas Card House property somewhere and poker players simply refer to them as “TCH”.
The location, Las Colinas refers to the mixed-use planned community located within Irving, TX, itself part of the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex.
This ceramic chip creatively carries on the tradition of using their logo of “4 suits in a circle” somewhere within the chip’s design. Every TCH room does this differently, which is a nice touch. For this TCH property we see the logo split in two and shown on the top and bottom of the design as well as a smaller version of it pictured in front of the club’s name.
Interested in trading/buying/selling casino chips?
Join me on the Casino Chip Collecting group on Facebook.
September 16th, 2023 at 7:05:48 AM
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State: Texas
City: El Paso
Casino: Speaking Rock Casino
Sometime around 2000 I made a business trip to Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. I flew in to El Paso, Texas, then made the drive into New Mexico. I was, and still am, an avid casino chip collector. I didn’t think that Texas had any casinos back then, but here was Speaking Rock. I drove over there one night and picked up this chip. It was so long ago that I have no memories of the place, but know that it looked just like any Las Vegas or Atlantic City casino with slot machines and table games.
By 2017 they were renamed Speaking Rock Entertainment Center and only offered slot machines. A few years later they lost their gaming license and are now just a performance and events venue that hosts concerts, chili cook-offs, and the like.
This is a plastic chip with a decorative inlay featuring an Indian in feathered costume with the denomination above and SPEAKING ROCK CASINO below.
As I became introduced to the online community of casino chip collectors, I later obtained this older $1 chip. It’s a cheap generic chip with a metallic stamp on either side. This was from their original chip set. I’m not sure what their tie in was or what Seven Circle Resorts even was.
City: El Paso
Casino: Speaking Rock Casino
Sometime around 2000 I made a business trip to Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. I flew in to El Paso, Texas, then made the drive into New Mexico. I was, and still am, an avid casino chip collector. I didn’t think that Texas had any casinos back then, but here was Speaking Rock. I drove over there one night and picked up this chip. It was so long ago that I have no memories of the place, but know that it looked just like any Las Vegas or Atlantic City casino with slot machines and table games.
By 2017 they were renamed Speaking Rock Entertainment Center and only offered slot machines. A few years later they lost their gaming license and are now just a performance and events venue that hosts concerts, chili cook-offs, and the like.
This is a plastic chip with a decorative inlay featuring an Indian in feathered costume with the denomination above and SPEAKING ROCK CASINO below.
As I became introduced to the online community of casino chip collectors, I later obtained this older $1 chip. It’s a cheap generic chip with a metallic stamp on either side. This was from their original chip set. I’m not sure what their tie in was or what Seven Circle Resorts even was.
Interested in trading/buying/selling casino chips?
Join me on the Casino Chip Collecting group on Facebook.
September 16th, 2023 at 11:52:50 AM
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I had no idea there was ever a casino in El Paso. Do you know if they had table games until 2017 because it was never on my radar.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
September 16th, 2023 at 1:19:44 PM
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Quote: PokerGrinderI had no idea there was ever a casino in El Paso. Do you know if they had table games until 2017 because it was never on my radar.
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I have no idea in which year they removed the table games. I was only there that once. I would have probably played blackjack. I didn't think Texas had any casinos either until I saw it with my own eyes.
Interested in trading/buying/selling casino chips?
Join me on the Casino Chip Collecting group on Facebook.
September 16th, 2023 at 1:56:37 PM
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I’ve been to the one on the Mexico border kickapoo lucky eagle that has class 2 slots and poker, no table games.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
September 16th, 2023 at 2:40:23 PM
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This (former) Speaking Rock Casino, with its slots and table games, sounds quite a bit like the tribal casinos that operate in a number of states. My degree of senility makes me forgetful sometimes, and I don't recall our having discussed whether Texas allows and has tribal casinos as in other states. What's the story here? I'm just guessing that there are, indeed, tribal lands in the state.
BTW, alpha, your mention of Holloman AFB outside of Alamogordo, NM brought back some memories for me. I don't think I ever spent any time on the AFB, but most of my two years of active-duty time with the army was spent at White Sands Missile Range, just down US70 toward Las Cruces. I went there right after basic training and stayed until separation. For about the first six months, I had a tiny apartment in Las Cruces for my wife and me, until I could qualify for on-base family housing, which we had for the rest of our time in NM. For a guy who until then had spent his whole life living in the southeastern states that border the Atlantic, it was quite a change in environment.
Edit: I have now gone back and read rdw4potus's post here about the Kickapoo Lucky Eagle tribal casino.
BTW, alpha, your mention of Holloman AFB outside of Alamogordo, NM brought back some memories for me. I don't think I ever spent any time on the AFB, but most of my two years of active-duty time with the army was spent at White Sands Missile Range, just down US70 toward Las Cruces. I went there right after basic training and stayed until separation. For about the first six months, I had a tiny apartment in Las Cruces for my wife and me, until I could qualify for on-base family housing, which we had for the rest of our time in NM. For a guy who until then had spent his whole life living in the southeastern states that border the Atlantic, it was quite a change in environment.
Edit: I have now gone back and read rdw4potus's post here about the Kickapoo Lucky Eagle tribal casino.
Last edited by: Doc on Sep 16, 2023
September 16th, 2023 at 6:08:45 PM
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Yes the Kickapoo Lucky Eagle Casino is still there despite continued legal opposition from the state trying to shut them down.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
September 16th, 2023 at 6:42:13 PM
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I've got rdw4potus's post about Kickapoo Lucky Eagle here:
https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/off-topic/general/8928-casino-chip-of-the-day/67/#post255319
(The above link gave me some trouble)
Given that it seems to be a Class II gaming facility, I don't think a compact is necessary, and I don't think the state of Texas gets much say without a compact.
(The detailed Class II / Class III explanation is simultaneously a fascinating read and a wonderful soporific.)
https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/off-topic/general/8928-casino-chip-of-the-day/67/#post255319
(The above link gave me some trouble)
Given that it seems to be a Class II gaming facility, I don't think a compact is necessary, and I don't think the state of Texas gets much say without a compact.
(The detailed Class II / Class III explanation is simultaneously a fascinating read and a wonderful soporific.)
May the cards fall in your favor.
September 16th, 2023 at 8:05:53 PM
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Ooops! You are quite correct, Dieter. I made an error when posting my link to rdw's post. I've fixed it now, even though you had already posted the correct version.
September 17th, 2023 at 8:30:49 AM
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Quote: DieterI've got rdw4potus's post about Kickapoo Lucky Eagle here:
https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/off-topic/general/8928-casino-chip-of-the-day/67/#post255319
(The above link gave me some trouble)
Given that it seems to be a Class II gaming facility, I don't think a compact is necessary, and I don't think the state of Texas gets much say without a compact.
(The detailed Class II / Class III explanation is simultaneously a fascinating read and a wonderful soporific.)
link to original post
You’re correct they don’t get much say. They have tried to shut them down for many many years without any success. They would however constantly do “highway repairs” that stopped people from getting to the casino. The casino apparently eventually got sick of it and built their own road in. I’m not sure where I heard this story (it actually might have been RDW) but that solved the issue of the road being shut down for bs “repairs”.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
September 17th, 2023 at 12:01:14 PM
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State: Texas
City: Texarkana
Casino: Texline Card House
Texline opened in December of 2021 with 6 tables. Since these Texas social poker rooms are “private”, they have to charge a membership fee. Some rooms prefer to call their admission fee a membership fee. So at Texline you can purchase a daily membership for $10, monthly for $25, or yearly for $250. These are all waived for military and first responders. Their seat rental fee is $12/hour with a minimum purchase of 3 hours ($36). Again, military and first responders receive a reduced rate of $10/hour.
Texline manager Chuck Hooks had this to say in an interview with the Texarkana Gazette following their grand opening:
"This is just for fun," he said. "The vast majority of poker players, including the ones who play here, play for fun. And though one has to pay to play here, the rates are modest, easily comparable to golf or other sports where you have to play to engage the venue."
Play for fun?!?!? Playing poker may be fun, but players play for money. I’m sure their new clientele figured this out after several losing sessions.
The room changed ownership in March 2023, but kept the Texline name. The new owners immediately replaced the generic poker chips that had been in use by the previous owners with a new rack of custom ceramic chips. Maybe cutting corners by using generic poker chips was a contributing factor which led to the failure of its original owners. How can a poker room think that someone won’t get the bright idea to buy a 500-chip set of these same generic chips from Amazon for $29 and slowly introduce them into the game???
Their custom $1 chip is pretty distinctive. When viewed in a stack, the edges are white with the denomination in black. When viewed from above the chip looks black with a white inlay. This is a chip you can easily pick out from among your collection of $1 Texas card room chips. Viewing photos from the card house’s Facebook page and you’ll see cash game players with stacks and stacks of $25 green and $100 black chips in front of them. The room even has $500 chips. I don’t think anyone is playing for fun at Texline. It’s about the money.
City: Texarkana
Casino: Texline Card House
Texline opened in December of 2021 with 6 tables. Since these Texas social poker rooms are “private”, they have to charge a membership fee. Some rooms prefer to call their admission fee a membership fee. So at Texline you can purchase a daily membership for $10, monthly for $25, or yearly for $250. These are all waived for military and first responders. Their seat rental fee is $12/hour with a minimum purchase of 3 hours ($36). Again, military and first responders receive a reduced rate of $10/hour.
Texline manager Chuck Hooks had this to say in an interview with the Texarkana Gazette following their grand opening:
"This is just for fun," he said. "The vast majority of poker players, including the ones who play here, play for fun. And though one has to pay to play here, the rates are modest, easily comparable to golf or other sports where you have to play to engage the venue."
Play for fun?!?!? Playing poker may be fun, but players play for money. I’m sure their new clientele figured this out after several losing sessions.
The room changed ownership in March 2023, but kept the Texline name. The new owners immediately replaced the generic poker chips that had been in use by the previous owners with a new rack of custom ceramic chips. Maybe cutting corners by using generic poker chips was a contributing factor which led to the failure of its original owners. How can a poker room think that someone won’t get the bright idea to buy a 500-chip set of these same generic chips from Amazon for $29 and slowly introduce them into the game???
Their custom $1 chip is pretty distinctive. When viewed in a stack, the edges are white with the denomination in black. When viewed from above the chip looks black with a white inlay. This is a chip you can easily pick out from among your collection of $1 Texas card room chips. Viewing photos from the card house’s Facebook page and you’ll see cash game players with stacks and stacks of $25 green and $100 black chips in front of them. The room even has $500 chips. I don’t think anyone is playing for fun at Texline. It’s about the money.
Interested in trading/buying/selling casino chips?
Join me on the Casino Chip Collecting group on Facebook.
September 17th, 2023 at 3:06:47 PM
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Interesting post. I stopped there in January and the lights were all off and the parking lot was empty when I stopped by while they were supposed to be open. Turns out I wouldn’t have been able to collect a chip even if they were open. I plan on getting back there at some point.
You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once. — Amarillo Slim Preston
