Quote: 100xOdds
What is hot stamp?
how is the $5 different?
link to original post
https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/off-topic/general/8928-casino-chip-of-the-day/190/#post922219
See that post for a hot stamp example.
Hot Stamp is a low cost method of marking nondescript chips, by melting the surface in a specific pattern - with a hot stamp. (Like a rubber stamp applies ink, a hot stamp melts a certain pattern into the chip, usually with a foil or other contrasting layer.)
The made to order chip is on the right.
edit: on closer look, that may be some dye transfer method, rather than hot stamp.
Country: Port Vila, Vanuatu
Casino: Grand Casino
Today’s chip of the day is from Grand Casino in Port Vila, Vanuatu. Casinocity.com has their gaming listed as 96 slot machines and 8 table games. The number of tables is correct but I would have said that they have closer to 50 slot machines. The casino was in a small room just to the right of the front door by check in for the hotel. I exchanged Australian dollars to Vatu to play with. The rate was terrible at about 13% vig or something close to that but if I had won or at least not lost I could have exchanged it back at the same rate. Turns out I lost and I lost quickly so there was no need to worry about the exchange rate. They got me for $40 Australian and I got my souvenir. The minimum bet was 200 Vatu which is about $1.65 USD. The table was full when I got there including another chip collector from my cruise ship. I asked him if he was going to venture down the street to the other casino in town that has table games and he said he thought his wife would kill him lol. I offered to grab him a chip and drop off to his room later which made him quite happy.
The chips I kept are 25 and 100 Vatu. (100 = $.823 USD) the 25 chip is grey with 8 white edge inserts. Both chips are smooth, I assume plastic. The centre inlay is white with grey around the edges. The casino name is blue, the location is red and the denom is white. The logo is a blue “G” with either a red wave on it or toothpaste, your call 😉. The 100 chip is identical to the 25 other than being blue. As usual I have no idea why I kept both instead of just the 25 chip.
Country: Port Vila, Vanuatu
Casino: Casino 21
Today’s chip of the day is from Casino 21 in Port Vila, Vanuatu. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post I had another casino to visit after the Grand Casino. I walked about 9 minutes down the road in the blistering heat to find Casino 21.
The casino was bigger than the Grand Casino but smaller overall as it was just the casino and a rooftop bar with no hotel. The casino’s website says they have “over 100 slot machines” and 5 table games. The main room when you walk in has a bar and about 20 machines, then there is a side room with another 30 or so machines, upstairs in the bar they have 4 or 6 machines I don’t remember exactly and finally the table games room off the main area through a door has the rest of the offerings. When I got there I tried to open the table games door but it was locked, an employee told me they didn’t open until 6. As is quite often the issue with cruise ships my boat was leaving at 4:30 so I wouldn’t be able to stay that late. I then asked if it would be possible to buy a chip from them for collecting purposes. The employee kindly said that she would go talk to the manager and ask if that was possible. I hung out in the main room for about 15 minutes before she came back and told me they were almost ready which I took as I was getting a chip. 5-10 minutes later she came back with a man and they unlocked the table games area and asked me to come pick a chip. They laid out all the denoms and asked me what I’d like to buy. The 10,000 Vatu was the only nice chip but that would cost about $90 USD which I wasn’t prepared to do. Sadly all the denoms under the 10,000 were hot stamps and completely worn out to the point of barely being able to read the casino name. I chose the black 100 since I could see the name if I tilted it. Then to my complete amazement she informed me that she was going to take the two chips (one for me and one for the cruise guy from the previous casino) up to the office and exchange them for new ones, I couldn’t believe it! I thanked her many times, paid her for the chips and then she took the chips up to office to make the exchange. The two chips she brought down to me were uncirculated and brand spanking new! I’ve always found people that live on these small islands around the world to be so kind whenever I visit. I’ve had a lot of the same treatment on multiple islands in the Caribbean.
The chip is black with 3 white edge inserts. The centre inlay is black with 12 inlay inserts? Is that what I should call them?!? The hot stamp is gold and has the four suits, the casino name (sort of) and the denom in Vatu. I wasn’t able to figure out the difference in the name. All the signs say Casino 21 but the chips say Club 21. The two options I see here are they just changed the name to Casino 21 and didn’t update the chips or they just changed the name to Club 21 and didn’t update the signs, the first option seems more likely to me.
you are very impressive with your wanderings, I have to say that once in a while
Quote: PokerGrinder
That one looks hot stamped!
But I agree that in principle, the other one was the same idea - a mass produced blank chip had some house specific markings added, rather than having a fully custom chip manufactured to order. Printed vs hot stamped matters little in practice, but may be a basis for artifact collectors to separate and categorize. ;)
edit: an 83 cent chip? BLACK ACTION!
Country: Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Casino: Wrest Point
Today’s chip of the day is from Wrest Point Casino in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. (Not sure if that is the correct way to list a city in Tasmania) Wrest Point Casino has 650 slot machines and 24 table games. Casinocity.com says the casino has poker but it definitely didn’t. The first floor was all slot machines and then the second floor had the table games and the high limit room which was mostly not high limit machines which was odd. I played $25 bj to collect my chip and won $600 before leaving the table. Nice casino, decent views but overall nothing exciting going on. There was a decent live musician which brought out some pretty ladies but otherwise just a boring casino.
I collected a $5 chip because as I said in a previous post casinos down under don’t have $1 chips on their table games so if there is no poker then there are no $1 chips. The chip is red with 4 white edge inserts and the denom listed 4 times in white around the edge of the chip. The centre inlay is white with the casino name twice in blue and the logo in blue. The logo I assume is the building although it’s more round in real life. The denom is black and over top of the logo. There were a few different chips available, they all looked the same except the inlay logo and writing were a different colour. The options were gold, green or blue and I settled on the blue.
Country: Cairns, Australia
Casino: Reef
Today’s chip of the day is from The Reef Casino in Cairns, Australia. The Reef Casino has 530 slot machines and I’d say about 30 table games and poker tables. Casinocity.com says they have 51 tables but I don’t think there is any way that is correct. I visited a couple of times, the first time I played bj at a $20 minimum table and cashed out ahead $100 plus my $5 souvenir. They run poker on Friday and Saturday nights but I wasn’t planning on going back. I did however find myself there to play poker for about two hours before leaving with a few hundred less dollars and a $1 souvenir. The poker game was actually one of the better games I’ve played in my life but it was still unplayable. The dealers were the slowest I’ve ever seen, we were getting about 15 hands a hour which is insane when the dealer is using a shuffler. I’d say an average dealer should deal about 25 hands a hour with a shuffler. To make it worse phones and headphones were not allowed to be used at the table. Because of these two things I didn’t care how good the game was I couldn’t bring myself to keep playing it.
The $1 chip is white with each of the suits 3 times around the edge of the chip in beige. The centre inlay has a gold hot stamp with the casino name, the chip denom and a seahorse in water. The $5 chip is red with 4 yellow edge inserts. The chip has 3 yellow lines followed by a yellow “C” looking thing and then it’s repeated again. The centre inlay is white with the casino name and the chip denom in black. The seahorse is blue on top of gold water.
Took the cable car up the mountain.
By the time i returned to catch the ship, didnt have time to visit the casino. :(
Would it be easy to get a picture of the "other" side of the $5?
Quote: DieterAre the chips still handy?
Would it be easy to get a picture of the "other" side of the $5?
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interesting.. with today's tech (ie: phone camera), why collect chips?
take pic instead.
and it's waaaaaaaay cheaper (ie: free)
Quote: 100xOddsQuote: DieterAre the chips still handy?
Would it be easy to get a picture of the "other" side of the $5?
link to original post
interesting.. with today's tech (ie: phone camera), why collect chips?
take pic instead.
and it's waaaaaaaay cheaper (ie: free)
link to original post
As they say, you can't frame a phone call.
I don’t have the chip with me as I keep the collection in my parents house since I move around so much but the other side is the same I believe. Why do you ask?
As far as taking pictures vs keeping the chip. The whole point of collecting something is that you have it.
Quote: DieterI expect the inlays are identical, but I'm wondering about a mirror reversal on the edge patterns.
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You’re correct. I checked the image posted on the chipguide and theirs is reversed.
Country: Gold Coast, Australia
Casino: Star
Today’s chip of the day is from The Star Casino in Gold Coast, Australia. The Star Casino is on the larger side with 1600 slot machines and 78 table games and poker tables. They hold WPT events at this casino so I assume they have many more poker tables that they can set up when needed to hold those massive entry events. I played poker during my visit to The Star. Game was pretty solid, I was up a few bucks when I coolered a guy for a $1500 pot. I 3 bet the bb pre with AA and he tank called. Flop came A103 all clubs and I bet and was raised for the majority of my stack. I went all in and he called with QJ of clubs. Turn was a brick and the river was the last A to give me the best hand. From there I won a few small pots and cashed out a few hours later with a profit of roughly $1000. The guy who I coolered in the big pot was very tilted and proceeded to punt off about $800 before calling it a night, he probably should have left before punting but that’s poker.
The chip is white with 2 sets of 3 blue edge inserts. There is a pattern on the chip resembling tiger stripes in blue. The centre inlay is black with a blue border and 4 white notches. The casino name, location and logo are white while the denom is gold. The logo looks like mixture of a star and a flower.
Country: Brisbane, Australia
Casino: Treasury
Today’s chip of the day is from the Treasury Casino in Brisbane, Australia. Treasury Casino has 1600 slot machines and 92 table games and poker tables. The casino is in two heritage buildings. The casino plans to close later this year as Star gaming is currently building a new casino a few blocks away, the new casino will be named Star Casino.
When I was playing poker one of the players said that the casino building was sold to the university but Wikipedia says it was sold to a department store. When I was at Treasury Casino I played 5/10 NLH for a few hours, I don’t remember if I won or lost. The game was ok, the table talk was enjoyable as a few of them were giving me recommendations of places to eat and things to do in the area. The casino was on multiple floors with a very open floor plan. Many different rooms but no doors.
The chip is the same style as the Star chips which is not surprising as they are owned by the same company. This chip is white with 2 sets of 3 black edge inserts. The “tiger stripes” are grey around the edge of the chip. The centre inlay is black with a grey border and 4 white notches in it. The casino name and location are grey and the denom is white.
I didn't even look at possible casinos to goto.
If i would have known it was 1600 slots, i would have at least considered leaving the sanctuary early after getting my pic with the Koala.
Anything playable?
Country: Sydney, Australia
Casino: Crown
Today’s chip of the day is from Crown Casino in Sydney, Australia. Crown Casino opened in August, 2022 as the second casino in the city. They don’t have slot machines or poker but they do have electronic table games and 160 table games. I had to apply for a membership before I could visit which I did about 2 months before I visited the casino. It didn’t take much effort, just a few emails back and forth with a host. I heard that if you apply in person there is a “cooling off” period of 24 hours after you get a membership before you can gamble. I didn’t have to follow that since I had applied and got approved online. I did however have to provide ID and sign something when I got to the casino to get my physical card. The casino is big and gorgeous with floor to ceiling windows looking out over the harbour. Table minimums started at $50 and went much much higher than that. I was there during the day on a Monday so they only had about 20 tables open. I played bj and went on a big run winning hand after hand until I lost a few hands and cashed out with a profit of $1000. We had a dealer that was on her first day and couldn’t count to save her life so I kept having to correct her. She tried to take my winning bet 3 different times. I’m sure she’ll get the hang of it but I was surprised to see a dealer so unsure of herself on the floor and not getting more training.
The chip is red with 4 very oddly shaped yellow/red inserts. The casino name, location and two crown logos are around the edge of the chip in white. The centre inlay is white with the logo, casino name and location all in gold and the denom gold with a black border.
Country: Adelaide, Australia
Casino: Sky City
Today’s chip of the day is from Sky City Casino in Adelaide, Australia. Sky City Adelaide has 1000 slot machines across multiple rooms and floors and 99 table games and poker tables. I visited this casino twice, the first time I played bj to get a chip because the wait for poker was way too long. I ended up going back a second day and getting on the poker table which is how I ended up with both a $1 and $5 chip. If j and the $5 chip with me when I played poker I would have cashed it out but I forgot it at the hotel. I lost a few hundred playing poker and broke even playing bj at a $20 minimum table.
The $1 chip is cream coloured with 8 brownish red edge inserts. The casino name, location and the denom twice are listed around the chip in the same colour. The centre inlay is white with the casino name and location in black and the denom in gold with a black border. The $5 chip is red with 4 purple/white edge inserts. The casino name, location and the denom twice are listed in white around the edge of the chip. The centre inlay is white with the casino name and location in black and the denom in gold with a black border.
Cruise Line: Carnival
Ship: Luminosa
Today’s chip of the day is from Carnival Luminosa. I took this cruise from Brisbane on an 11 day cruise with stops in Noumea in New Caledonia, Santo and Port Vila in Vanuatu and Port Denarau and Dravuni Island in Fiji. My favourite ports were Dravuni Island which has a population of 125 people and is basically untouched and Santo which was a little more modern but still a beautiful island that wasn’t overrun by traffic or buildings. The boat was very similar to the previous Carnival ships that I’ve been on and the food was ok not amazing which seems to be the trend on Carnival over the last 18 months. The casino was very solid between them having good machines and since it was an Elite cruise there was the most degenerate group of gamblers I’ve ever seen. They played day and night with no idea that there were other things going on. Overall the perfect storm and although I ran terrible I was able to win enough to cover most of my 44 day trip through New Zealand and Australia.
The chips are interesting. So Carnival used to have different chips for each ship but recently they brought out the generic chips which sucks for collectors. When I was on the Pride I was able to find a Pride chip, on Legend I didn’t find one so I kept the generic chip. On the Spirit I couldn’t find one so I didn’t keep anything from there. Since this was an Australian cruise and they gamble in Aussie dollars I was able to keep a chip that although it’s generic is still different than one I’ve collected previously.
The chip is a blue RHC with an oversized blue centre inlay. The Carnival “phin” not sure what it’s actually called takes up a lot of the inlay. The company name, the location and the denom are all listed in white.
I fly to South Korea next week where I’ll spend 17 days before flying to Japan for 17 days. Japan doesn’t have any casinos but Korea definitely does and I plan on visiting all but one of them. There is one casino on the east side of the island in a ski resort and although I could go from Seoul I really don’t have any interest in making the long trek just for a chip.
City: San Antonio
Casino: The White Rabbit
The White Rabbit poker room is an 8-table social poker club located on the northern most outskirts of San Antonio, Texas. This 100% veteran owned club opened for business on 26 March 2024.
Their chips are ceramic with each having The White Rabbit logo in the center and the denomination around the outside between pairs of colored inserts.
$1 The White Rabbit chip
City: San Antonio
Casino: Brooklyn Square Card Parlor
Brooklyn Square Card Parlor is a 15-table social poker club located right off the Riverwalk in downtown San Antonio, Texas. They opened for business in October 2023. After plenty of good press and positive reviews, by early 2024 there were signs of trouble, presumably starting with the owner. In March, Brooklyn Square rebranded themselves as “Diamante at Brooklyn Square”, hired new staff, and began to heavily advertise. Some sources claimed that it was still the same owner, but “Under New Management”. Still, problems and negative reviews persisted. Here are a few comments:
14 Oct 2023
”$4 for a topo Chico is a bit much. Observed dealer picking his nose. Overhead conversation about potential new hire's breast size. Women's bathroom was not clean. No security offered to walk to car at 2am. Looks like most dealers are on point and the room will be a success.”
21 March 2024
”A joke. This place will never get going. No experience or poker knowledge in the place.”
22 March 2024
”Had friends that worked at this poker house the first time around. The stories you see posted are just a portion of what went on there. See the other review. This is a new logo but the same guy running it. Beware.”
25 March 2024
”Not a safe place to play cards. Will not be back. Not recommended.”
26 March 2024
”Shady room. One player kept bullying the table to get their way even when it was their mistake. Floor doesn’t care about cheating. I think Floor is friends with the cheater. Many players in the room feel shady.”
4 April 2024
“… this place had a crazy shady feel. I wouldn't be surprised if the shill players to fill the tournament were being fed chips as I could visibly see larger stacks but couldn't imagine the money needed to get these stacks. Luckily I was on the relaxed table as the other table had 4 players that literally looked like they just were released from jail and you could easily tell the dealers and other players were letting them run the table. There were 2 armed security, but it in no way made me feel safe. The neighborhood is very dark, and I can't see coming back no matter how much the overlay could be. I read the 30+ reviews, and they are definitely trying to pad them. You see three bad, then five nearly the same all 5 stars.”
Well, onto the chips. I’d seen an earlier design on social media from when they first opened in 2023. This is a different design, but says nothing of the rebranded name “Diamante at Brooklyn Square”. I suspect that’s because the original chips featured the iconic “B” logo of the Brooklyn Dodgers (possible copyright issues). Or perhaps they changed racks because they were one of several rooms using the ubiquitous ChipLabs designs. If their clientele is as shady as reported, maybe someone placed their own order with ChipLab and redeemed fakes at the cage. Whatever the reason, the current chip is impressive. The ceramic chips are colorful and include some nice artwork. The name of the room, location, and denomination are all featured on the inside of a very cool design.
$1 Brooklyn Square Card Parlor
Were they not allowed to have slots? Never heard of a modern casino not *wanting* slots!Quote: PokerGrinderCategory: Oceania
Country: Sydney, Australia
Casino: Crown
Today’s chip of the day is from Crown Casino in Sydney, Australia. Crown Casino opened in August, 2022 as the second casino in the city. They don’t have slot machines or poker but they do have electronic table games and 160 table games.
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Quote: odiousgambitWere they not allowed to have slots? Never heard of a modern casino not *wanting* slots!Quote: PokerGrinderCategory: Oceania
Country: Sydney, Australia
Casino: Crown
Today’s chip of the day is from Crown Casino in Sydney, Australia. Crown Casino opened in August, 2022 as the second casino in the city. They don’t have slot machines or poker but they do have electronic table games and 160 table games.
link to original post
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I’m not sure if it is a matter of not wanting them or not allowed to have them.
Quote: DieterQuote: dwc13Last time I visited Rockford Casino in Fall 2022, there were no live table games so no chips to be had. The permanent facility will be branded Hard Rock Rockford and is currently scheduled to open in late 2023/early 2024.
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(trimmed)
Construction seems to be progressing slowly. I get the feeling that their timeline goal is to be open before the competition (≈15 miles north, at the state line; the competition doesn't seem to have broken ground yet, Hard Rock seems to have a foundation poured and some girders in the air as of yesterday).
I didn't notice much activity or heavy equipment on the site.
Topical inclusion: the Rockford Casino seems to have opened table games, 4 days a week. Video suggests they are using Hard Rock chips, not Rockford Casino chips.
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Just saw a news release that Ho-Chunk Beloit hopes to break ground this fall. (Yeah, I've heard that one before.)
This should be shortly after Hard Rock Rockford is open.
City: San Antonio
Casino: The Big Blind
The Big Blind is a 23-table social poker club located in San Antonio, Texas. They opened for business in January 2024. This is an elegantly appointed poker room which features the only ShuffleMasters in the area. They charge a $5 daily membership fee and a $12 per hour seat rental fee (down from their opening day rate of $13). Included in this hourly fee is access to their full menu.
Be aware that The Big Blind is one of those Texas poker clubs that takes an illegal rake of $4 per pot. This money goes towards various promotions which may or may not be running during your visit.
Because of the various fees and rake, The Big Blind is already struggling. This is evident by their “Grand Opening” promotion scheduled for 8-12 May 2024.
$1 The Big Blind
City: Cripple Creek
Casino: Black Diamond
The Black Diamond casino opened in 1991. The table games (and casino chips) did not last long before being removed. They operated 100 slot machines for a while before closing their doors for good.
Both an unnumbered and numbered version of the $1 chip are shown below. This ChipCo product featured identical artwork.
$1 Black Diamond chip
$1 Black Diamond numbered chip
City: Black Hawk
Casino: Blazing Saddles
The Blazing Saddles casino opened in 1993 and closed in 1995.
$1 Blazing Saddles chip (front)
$1 Blazing Saddles chip (reverse)
City: Central City
Casino: The Famous Bonanza Casino
The Famous Bonanza Casino casino opened in 1992. The table games (and casino chips) did not last long before being removed. They operate 250 slot machines today.
$1 The Famous Bonanza Casino chip
City: Cripple Creek
Casino: The Loose Caboose
The The Loose Caboose casino opened in 1992 and closed in 1996. The Bowl of Gold Resorts, Inc. also operated The Bowl of Gold and Lucky Lola’s casinos in Cripple Creek.
$1 The Loose Caboose chip
City: Cripple Creek
Casino: Lucky Lola’s
The Lucky Lola’s casino opened in 1992 and closed in 1998. The Bowl of Gold Resorts, Inc. also operated The Bowl of Gold and The Loose Caboose casinos in Cripple Creek.
$1 Lucky Lola’s chip
City: Cripple Creek
Casino: The Bowl of Gold
The The Bowl of Gold casino opened in July of 1992 and closed 4 months later. The Bowl of Gold Resorts, Inc. also operated The Loose Caboose and Lucky Lola’s casino in Cripple Creek.
$1 The Bowl of Gold chip
Quote: alpha1243With Doc gone, and no one updating the index, it's going to become prohibitively difficult to see which chips/casinos have already been posted. I'll post another.
link to original post
Ya I’ve thought about that. It’s updated up to this February though so it’s still helpful.
https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/off-topic/off-topic/37144-casino-chip-of-the-day-index/
what happened to Doc?Quote: PokerGrinderQuote: alpha1243With Doc gone, and no one updating the index, it's going to become prohibitively difficult to see which chips/casinos have already been posted. I'll post another.
link to original post
Ya I’ve thought about that. It’s updated up to this February though so it’s still helpful.
https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/off-topic/off-topic/37144-casino-chip-of-the-day-index/
link to original post
Quote: alpha1243State: Colorado
City: Cripple Creek
Casino: The Bowl of Gold
The The Bowl of Gold casino opened in July of 1992 and closed 4 months later. The Bowl of Gold Resorts, Inc. also operated The Loose Caboose and Lucky Lola’s casino in Cripple Creek.
$1 The Bowl of Gold chip
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Casino only opened for 4 months and it was last century?
How the heck do you get these chips?
eBay?
Quote: 100xOddswhat happened to Doc?Quote: PokerGrinderQuote: alpha1243With Doc gone, and no one updating the index, it's going to become prohibitively difficult to see which chips/casinos have already been posted. I'll post another.
link to original post
Ya I’ve thought about that. It’s updated up to this February though so it’s still helpful.
https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/off-topic/off-topic/37144-casino-chip-of-the-day-index/
link to original post
link to original post
I’ve been told by a member here that he’s healthy but he seems to have left the forum. I’m not sure if he’s taking a break or is just tired of it. Either way the thread might die without him.
$1 The Famous Bonanza Casino chip
Quote: 100xOdds
Casino only opened for 4 months and it was last century?
How the heck do you get these chips?
eBay?
link to original post
I've been collecting chips since 1982. I lived in Colorado Springs from 1993 to 1996 and routinely made trips to Cripple Creek. I'm still an active casino chip collector and trade/buy chips all the time to add to my collection.
Quote: alpha1243That casino is commonly just referred to as the Bonanza. I didn't see it listed under the B's and didn't think to look under the F's in the index.
$1 The Famous Bonanza Casino chip
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That’s fair.
Quote: PokerGrinderQuote: 100xOddswhat happened to Doc?Quote: PokerGrinderQuote: alpha1243With Doc gone, and no one updating the index, it's going to become prohibitively difficult to see which chips/casinos have already been posted. I'll post another.
link to original post
Ya I’ve thought about that. It’s updated up to this February though so it’s still helpful.
https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/off-topic/off-topic/37144-casino-chip-of-the-day-index/
link to original post
link to original post
I’ve been told by a member here that he’s healthy but he seems to have left the forum. I’m not sure if he’s taking a break or is just tired of it. Either way the thread might die without him.
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Possibly.
Enthusiasts may still find motivation to keep collecting and posting; surely some houses have updated designs, and a large number of old images are broken.