Casino Chip of the Day

Category: Cruise ships
Cruise Line: Princess
Ship: Crown Princess

I sailed on the Crown Princess roundtrip from San Francisco from July 31 through August 11 with port calls in Alaska (Ketchikan, Sitka, and Haines) and Victoria, Canada.

Though I've been on several cruises, this was my first one on Princess which is known for being the line featured in the television show "The Love Boat." So I was excited about that, in addition to going on my first trip to Alaska. They give you occasional reminders about their Love Boat connection, such as slogans ("I LOVE this room!") and things like a Love Boat trivia session. Otherwise, it's the usual cruise ship sights and sounds, though with a bit of Alaska pride (even when we were in Canada).

The casino had the usual games, including $10 minimum craps where I won $40 on the first day.

They use a combination of chips like the one pictured and a generic Princess Cruises logo chip that I didn't keep.

Is this the only Labor Day $1 limited edition casino chip out there? As you can see, this house chip was produced to advertise their 1995 Labor Day Tournament. Have a great Labor Day weekend!

Something new from Grand Casino in Hinckley, MN.

Very simple chip but I first reaction when I saw your post on fbook was how much I like it.

State: Nevada
City: Las Vegas
Casino: Auto/Truck Plaza

Sometimes called 76 Auto/Truck Plaza, was an odd location for a ”casino”. They opened for gaming in 1973 and operated until 2011 when it was sold and renamed Alamo Casino.



I can’t tell you much about the old 76 Auto/Truck Plaza, but I was at the Alamo Casino the week it put a black jack table, along with casino chips, in the property. In fact, I was the first to bring these chips to the attention of the casino chip collecting community. The location is what you might envision when thinking of a truck stop along the highway. It’s a crowded convenience store where they pushed aside some shelving units to make room for two black jack tables. When I asked about playing, they had to grab an employee to open the table and sell me some chips. I played a few hands, won maybe $20 or so, and pocketed a stack of $1 chips with a few $5’s to use as traders. I was impressed by the fact that their chips had different artwork on either side.



As one might imagine, operating gaming tables is labor intensive and takes up much more space than slot machines. A few years after that visit they removed the tables and only offer a few slot machines now, just like dozens of other small businesses in the Las Vegas area.

State: Nevada
City: Las Vegas
Casino: Ambassadors

Not much information on Ambassadors other than it looks like they opened in 1978 and closed in 1985 when it became La Mirage. This is their first $1 chip release. The subsequent release was a white gold hot stamp chip.

State: Nevada
City: Las Vegas
Casino: La Mirage

When Ambassadors closed in 1985 it became La Mirage, not to be confused with The Mirage, when it reopened the following year. They operated until 1989 when it changed hands once more and became Anthony’s.

They issued this light blue plastic suited mold chip with a gold hot stamp.

State: Nevada
City: Las Vegas
Casino: Anthony’s

This is the next chip in the history of this property. First opened as Ambassadors in 1978, then becoming La Mirage in 1985, and now Anthony’s in 1989. This would be the final casinos until the property became a Quality Inn in 1993.

Like its predecessor, Anthony’s used the same light blue plastic suited mold chip with a gold hot stamp.

State: Nevada
City: Las Vegas
Casino: Big Al’s Speakeasy

When the Nashville Nevada Club closed in 1977 after 16 years in business, the property remained dormant until 1980 when it was briefly reopened as Big Al’s Speakeasy until closing for good later that same year.

They issued this light blue Paulson chip with a gold hot stamp.

State: Nevada
City: Las Vegas
Casino: Bingo Palace

Bingo Palace opened in 1978 on the spot of the previous casino, known simply as The Casino. They operated for 6 years before becoming what is now Palace Station.

They issued this classis coin-in-center chip on a chocolate-brown base with a dice and suits mold.

State: Nevada
City: Las Vegas
Casino: Carousel

The Carousel opened in 1965 in Downtown Las Vegas on the spot that was previouslySilver Palace. It operated until 1974 when it closed for a couple years before reopening as Sundance West.

They issues 2 different $1 chips during their years in operation. The first is this maroon chips with 3 green inserts and a delightful carousel image on the inlay with multicolor letters arranged in a fanciful manner.



Their second release was this is chip whose mold is known as horse head right. The off-white chip has 3 green inserts and a very harsh inlay with a font popular in those days.

State: Nevada
City: Las Vegas
Casino: Carver House

Carver House opened in 1961 and operated until 1965 when it became Cove Hotel before closing for good the following year.

This striking chip has a pair or maroon and navy inserts on an off-white base, making it favorite of collectors.

State: Texas
City: Watauga
Casino: Wild Card Poker Club

The Wild Card Poker Club opened in October 2022 and was closed down by the county the following month.

This ceramic chip has an orange-gold colored background with a white Greek key style border. The black inlay has the denomination in white with the Wild Card logo in blue which shown a diamond royal flush with a wild card replacing the king all set above the scripted name of the poker club.