Casino Chip of the Day

Quote: Doc

That is correct, at least in my case. My wife and I used to pick up T-shirts and coffee mugs during our travels, but how many of those can you really use? Once you have thirty or forty, they take up a lot of storage space, unlike my chips, which are always on display and not in the way at all. I have noted before that my chips are under the glass top on my desk. Back last October I posted a photo of the collection as it stood then. I have added just 19 chips since then, so the array is only a little more compact. By the way, that post included a list of all of the chips and was the answer I alluded to earlier in this thread as to how someone might know what my next Casino Chip of the Day might be. That would still work, except for the new chips and for the fact that I now have tribal casinos' chips sorted by states rather than as a group.

I suspect that all of the chips that I accumulate will still be together, unsold, when I kick the bucket. Then, they will likely be dumped in the trash by my wife or kids without anyone going to the effort to see whether they have any value. Personally, considering what I am collecting, I am not sure there would be monetary value beyond the face value, and perhaps even less than that. There certainly wouldn't be sufficient value in a bunch of $1 chips to try to redeem the ones that are still valid, so any financial recovery would require finding someone who wanted to buy the set for their own collection of probably-never-to-be-sold chips.

Hey Doc - you've posted in the thread today, but i don't see a new chip. Are you taking a day off?

Dang.

I had noticed this too, but was keeping quiet to see if Doc would remember on his own....

State: Nevada
City: Las Vegas
Casino: New York - New York

Yes, I remembered, but I have been lazier than usual today. Glad to see that there has been anticipation. While my verbosity may be either unnecessary or even annoying to some, I have been trying to present at least some degree of write-up to go along with each of my image posts. Some days I'm a little slow to get something composed. I'll be interested to see how much of a daily essay others prepare as they take on the lead role in this thread. Oh, and I do expect to be missing some posting days in July as I head out on another trip starting the 9th.

The New York – New York hotel and casino is the third establishment that this thread has covered at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue, and we still haven't gotten to the one that's been there long enough to have an avenue named for it. There are bridges from NY-NY across Tropicana Avenue to the area in front of Excalibur (near the tram station for Luxor and Mandalay Bay) and across Las Vegas Boulevard right into the MGM Grand. The NY-NY has a theme of mid-20th-century New York City, with the skyline, harbor, and Brooklyn Bridge outside, the neighborhoods inside, and the rollercoaster both inside and out. I used to think that was supposed to be some kind of representation of Coney Island, and then I thought it was just supposed to add the sound effects of a subway train. But now I believe they have the coaster cars decorated as checker cabs. What's that all about?

NY-NY opened in 1997 as a joint venture of MGM Grand Inc. and Primadona Resorts, a year before MGM acquired Primadona. They later sold that subsidiary (now known as Primm Valley Resorts) to Herbst Gaming (now Affinity Gaming) while keeping the city-in-another-city casino to themselves, so that it is now a property of MGM Resorts International.

My wife and I have never stayed at the NY-NY, but we have visited the place quite a few times for gaming, dining, and entertainment. We saw Rita Rudner perform there twice before she started moving to other places up the strip, and our favorite of the restaurants there is Gonzalez y Gonzalez – the food is reasonably good, service is prompt, an appetizer there is enough for a meal, and the prices are low – what's not to like?

The chip shown below is a white RHC Paulson hat and cane chip with four edge inserts, two each in dark and light blue. The center inlay shows the Statue of Liberty, though I am not certain whether it is an artist's illustration or maybe a photo of the statue on the east coast – I doubt it is a photo of the one in Las Vegas because of the timing of the chip's release.

The MOGH catalog says that this is the original $1 chip issued in 1997. That catalog indicates that there were four variants to this chip that have different hidden images. My chip has the Paulson LCV logo revealed by UV light, while the only one shown in the MOGH catalog has the SCV logo rotated 90°. After seeing those, I could speculate on the other two hidden images, but I don't have any additional basis. Other $1 chips with different Paulson designs and different center inlays were issued in 2008 and 2012.

Here's my NYNY chip. Something strange happens with the insert. When I add more light, it overexposes in the pic. This is as bright and sharp as I could get away with after dozens of tries. I guess I COULD have taken out an actual camera and put my phone away, but this was as good as the phone would do.

I like NYNY. The games are better than average, the theme is fun, and the location is great. The fiancee was impressed enough to not want to leave, and then she was even more upset when we got to the MonteCarlo and it was less great than advertised.

I've written about my one visit to NY-NY in other posts, but I'll repeat it here.

I was playing blackjack with a older dealer who might have been a cowboy in his younger days.

Whenever I put up a toke bet, he would whoop it up really loud, cowboy style: "Woo hoo! Dealers are in the game."

I was too chicken to ask if he did that because of gratitude for the toke bet, an effort to hustle other players to do the same, or to shame me since it was only a buck.


It was this same dealer that I talked about in an ethics thread at some point.

The dealer was making a payout error in his own favor. I.E. When I had a $1 toke bet and hit a BJ, normal procedures would be to replace the $1 toke with a $2.50 pink, and drop the pink into the toke box, and the $1 white into the rack.

Except this dealer was dropping the pink AND the white into the toke box.

The second time he did that, I pointed it out. It took him a few seconds to connect the dots, but he was very appreciative that I pointed it out.

My next question was whether or not they split tips there. He got a good laugh out of that. Yeah, they split, so the extra penny or two he got from the mistake was certainly not the motive for doing it. It was an honest mistake.

I noticed that he never called the floor over or "fixed" his error by putting the next toke into the rack, but he did correct the mistake for future $1 toke BJs.

This was about 8-10 years ago. Had this happened after we all have come to know and love Dan, I might have asked more questions regarding reporting errors.

One aspect to gambling at NY-NY that I like is that the playing cards have an 'apple' suit replacing the 'hearts'.

Very interesting! I had never heard that, and I think I have only played craps there.

I don't really care for the casino at NYNY, the room feels cavernous, but it is dimly lit. It feels like you are in an airplane hanger.

The "midway's" video game selection is pretty extensive, but getting service for a malfunction on a weeknight took half an hour and repeated jaunts to track down service folks.

Some folks really enjoy the roller coaster, but I thought it was pretty expensive for an experience you can get at just about any modern theme park.

Did/Does the "skyline" along the strip include the "Twin Towers"? I never really thought about it until just now.

Quote: Ayecarumba

Did/Does the "skyline" along the strip include the "Twin Towers"? I never really thought about it until just now.

It never did. It is supposed to represent the NYC skyline of the 1940s.

New York-New York is one of the few casinos that I have been in but never placed a wager in. (Edit: I played the bubble craps there last trip, so I broke that schneid). It just doesn't appeal to me at all. I think the theme is not as well done as other places like Paris or Venetian.

Now that I think about it, I've placed a bet in every casino on the Strip except for Luxor, another casino whose theme I don't care for. Just played at Flamingo for the first time last trip. I've also never placed a bet at Caesars Palace, although I was very close when the Wizard suggested we play tiles there last trip. (We played at Harrah's instead).

State: Nevada
City: Las Vegas
Casino: Orleans

Rather than risk triggering anxiety attacks for some of my friends two days in a row, I will post my Casino Chip of the Day in a more timely manner, even if it requires brevity in my write-up. ;-)

When I first heard of the Orleans hotel and casino, I thought it must be a reference to the city in central France, an hour or two south of Paris. A look only slightly closer suggests that the theme is straight out of the bayou. Why didn't they just call the place the New Orleans casino? I suppose that Orleans, without the "New", is the name of the parish.

The Orleans is primarily a locals casino and is owned by Boyd Gaming. It opened in late 1996 and had a major addition in 1999. There is a large performance arena that was added on the north side of the property in 2003, and a second tower a year later.

The chip shown below has a color that I would call pumpkin, and has the casino name, the city, and two groups of three dots molded into the outer ring. The MOGH catalog calls the color ochre, but I would need to check a dictionary or other reference to be sure what that color should look like. The chip has no edge inserts, and the matching center inlay has the logo of a trumpet-playing gator dressed for a Mardi Gras parade. At least I think that's what the logo implies. Or maybe he's dressed for one of those funeral processions with jazz, whatever they are called.

My first feeling when looking at this chip with its clearly marked date was that it must have been issued for some special occasion in 2003. Not the case. The MOGH catalog shows a series of chips that are identical except for the dates: 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006. I don't know whether they were issued in other years or not. It's almost as if they were putting dates on coins. I have seen dates on casino tokens, and some casinos issue limited quantities of "anniversary" chips, but I am not familiar with places that date their regular chips on an annual basis.

The UV light reveals the hidden LCV Paulson logo, which is the only clear indication I have seen as to the manufacturer.

Quote: DJTeddyBear

Johnzimbo -

I'm suddenly more interested in your Hole card display, as well as the plaque above it.

I don't know about the plaque. But I saw displays of Texas Hold 'em Hole cards for sale at a stand on Fremont St. It's the one where they sell custom poker chips.

Quote: Doc

Rather than risk triggering anxiety attacks for some of my friends two days in a row,...

Just keeping you on your toes. I doubt that you'd abandon this thread before completion, but I'm still waiting for Croupier's 99 days/99 vegas facts thread to get completed....


Very interesting chip. I don't recall having seen a chip before with a full color inlay that didn't include the name or logo. But to then add the date? Very odd.

Doc, I think you forgot an important chip at the end of the M's:

NYNY has a better than average food court.

I saw Zumanity at NYNY when it first opened in 2003 or so. Typical Cirque show with garden variety acts like any other Cirque production (I've seen 8 now), but there were maybe 3 memorable acts. The auditorium had unusual seating, not just chairs, but couches for small groups and love seats for couples.

I had to buy these chips at the cage when they came out; I don't think they were available on the floor.

Here's my Orleans chip. I remember being upset about something in the casino, but then finding a bar with a GREAT jazz band playing and cooling off. Is that a normal occurrence? I'd go back if the music was that good again, probably not if that was a one time shot.

Quote: zippyboy

Doc, I think you forgot an important chip at the end of the M's

I think that one represents a gamble that I wouldn't want to risk.

Here is my 2006 Orleans chip. Same as Doc's except for the date. Unknown if the UV would reveal anything different.

As I recall, the casino looked "tired", as if the carpet and table surfaces needed refreshing. The ochre/pumpkin/burnt gold color scheme was prominent, so the lack of primary colors may have contributed to the "tired" impression I got.

My wife and I saw Gladys Knight perform in the Orlean's showroom. What a great voice. Nothing spectacular about the production, just her singing, and some chit-chat with her brother Bubba... but that voice...

State: Nevada
City: Las Vegas
Casino: O'Sheas

O'Sheas opened in 1989 and closed at the end of April this year as part of the Project Linq construction. A bit like Fitzgeralds downtown, particularly in the pre-D days, O'Sheas traded on a Luck-of-the-Irish theme.

I think I walked past O'Sheas many more times than I actually went in. It probably worked out for the best – I was too old to be in the target demographic, and the casino was a bit too rowdy for my tastes. This may be a false impression, but it struck me as an establishment where customers were supposed to be intoxicated – if you're not, what's wrong with you?

Anyway, the place is closed, while there is at least a rumor that there will be an O'Sheas area either in Flamingo or somewhere in the Linq zone.

The chip shown below is light blue with no edge inserts, and the outer ring has the casino name molded in twice, separated by two four-leafed shamrocks, the primary logo for the casino. Is it proper to call the four-leaf version a shamrock? I don't think so, but I feel certain that O'Sheas would want the Irish connection of "shamrock" but used the lucky four-leaf design for their logo.

The center inlay of the chip is quite simple, with the casino name, the city, and the denomination. The names molded into the ring use a "shamrock" for the apostrophe – a nice touch I think – but the name on the center inlay seems to be styled without an apostrophe at all.

The MOGH catalog shows four $1 O'Sheas chips with the same base chip and almost identical center inlays, but with different years of issue. One issued in 2010 has a small Paulson hat and cane logo above the O'Sheas name and is the only one that can be distinguished in normal light. The other three (issued in 1989, 2004, and not identified) have different hidden images, all the hat and cane but in different sizes and locations. My chip has a hidden image that matches the 2004 issue date, which seems appropriate for the period in which I would have collected it.

Here's my O'Sheas chip. I'm not sad to see this one go. It was roudy, smelled of beer, and had bad games to boot. I suppose that CZR could probably find a way to make the Linq even worse somehow.
edit: this is another one that I just couldn't bring into focus. I think the camera was looking for sharp lines to use as a focal point, but the chip itself is blurry so this is what I got.

Quote: rdw4potus

this is another one that I just couldn't bring into focus. I think the camera was looking for sharp lines to use as a focal point, but the chip itself is blurry so this is what I got.

Thanks for posting the image. As for it not being in focus, is it possible that you have the camera too close to the chip for it to focus? Most cameras can't focus really close up, like you need to fill the frame with a chip. I had to buy a set of close-up lenses to add to my camera to get the images that I post. My cell phone's camera will focus a lot closer than my Nikon will (without the close-up lenses), but trying to fill the frame with a chip gets me right at the limit of the cell phone camera's autofocus range.

State: Nevada
City: Pahrump
Casino: Pahrump Nugget

My wife and I visited the Pahrump Nugget only once, on Easter Sunday in 2007. We were on our way from Las Vegas out to spend the day at Death Valley National Park and stopped off for brief visits at two casinos, the Pahrump Nugget and the smaller Terrible's Town just across the side street.

The Pahrump Nugget offers another opportunity to delve into casino ownership. Naturally, I have neither the resources nor the dedication to dig up the full story, so I'll just relate the few things I found.

According to this Wiki page, the Nugget has belonged since 2006 to Golden Gaming, which though a transaction just this past March became the largest slot route operator in Nevada and owner of the neighboring Terrible's Town. Those acquisitions in March from Affinity Gaming also involved the transfer from Golden to Affinity of three casinos in Black Hawk, CO. It sounds a bit as if Golden Gaming was consolidating their holdings geographically, though there could be much more to the story.

I don't know whether it is significant or not, but the NGCB list of casino licenses indicates that in March there was some kind of structural change in the ownership of the Pahrump Nugget, involving some jumble of Golden Pahrump Nugget LLC, Golden Gaming LLC, 77 Golden Gaming LLC, Sartini Gaming Inc., and a Sartini Family Trust. I couldn't follow what all it meant, but it looks as if both before and after the change (?) everything really belonged to Blake L. Sartini and his wife Delise F. Sartini.

Somehow though, I am left with the feeling that there was something very important in those dealings that didn't come through to a casual observer like me. I just thought it was amusing that the "F" initial in Delise Sartini's name stands for "Fertitta". Yes, she is the sister of the Fertitta brothers who own Station Casinos. She and her husband were part owners of Station Casinos at one time, but I do not know whether they still hold shares after the bankruptcy proceedings and the return of control to her brothers.

Just as a side note, showing how confusing and contradictory I find Wikipedia pages to be, that page I cited above on Golden Gaming has the following statement: "Golden Gaming, Inc. was formed in October 2001 as a result of Blake Sartini's acquisition of Southwest Gaming Services, a company he founded before selling to Station Casinos." Now read that quoted sentence three or four times and try to tell me what it says.

Of much more relevance to this thread, the chip shown below is a Chipco chip issued in 2001 when the Pahrump Nugget Hotel and Gambling Hall first opened. The graphic includes the establishment's logo of a gold-panning prospector/miner. Disregarding limited editions, the Nugget's $1, $5, and $25 chips look quite similar except for the background colors (traditional), the denomination marks, and five stars added to the $5 chip and five triangles (which look a bit like edge inserts) added to the $25 chip.

Here's my Pahrump Nugget chip. I collected it in October of 2010. I thought I was doing a good thing grouping Pahrump, Primm, Jean, and Laughlin together on one west and south trip. But there's really no way to drive from Pahrump to Primm without returning to Vegas. Then I did drive from Primm to Laughlin without returning to Vegas. It's a pretty rough road, mostly in CA, that runs from Primm(ish) to Searchlight. I kind of wish that I'd have returned to Vegas again and just driven down 95.

I thought that Pahrump Nugget was a surprisingly nice casino. I'd spent the previous day in North Las Vegas, so maybe my standards were low, but it was much larger and better than I'd expected for an out-of-town casino.

edit: the picture is in focus - the chip itself is that blurry. I spent some time finding the least blurred one. Now, seeing Doc's $1 chip, I kind of want to go back and try again - success is a possibility!

State: Nevada
City: Las Vegas
Casino: Palace Station

So now the thread has reached the casino where Station Casinos began, where the Wizard has pointed folks for a game of tiles, and where OJ committed his armed robbery.

In 1976, Frank Fertitta, Jr. and associates opened the casino using a very descriptive name, The Casino. A year later, they added bingo to its list of games and changed the name to Bingo Palace. Then in 1984, with an expansion and remodeling on a railroad theme, the name was changed again to Palace Station. Fertitta soon bought out his partners, and began his expansion of what became Station Casinos. In spite of challenges that included bankruptcy, the casino group is still under control of the late Frank Jr.'s sons.

The initial casino was not expected by many to be a successful venture because of its out of the way location – west of the Strip, beyond the railroad tracks and even beyond I-15. Its surprising success led to the growth of the whole "locals" casino business.

Nevertheless, I still have this perception that its location is a bit remote, in spite of the reality that it is as close to Las Vegas Boulevard as the Rio and much closer than is the Hard Rock. Perhaps this perception is based on the fact that it is west of that portion of the Strip that has become so desolate with the closing of casino hotels. Anyway, my view of it as remote has resulted in my only having visited Palace Station once, or possibly twice. I have never stayed there or gone to any kind of entertainment there, and I do not recall having eaten in any of the restaurants. If you want reliable info about the place, then you don't want my fuzzy recollections, so check out the review that Teddys prepared about a year ago.

The chip shown below is white with two edge inserts in gray and turquoise. The name of the casino, the city, and two decorative scrolls are molded into the textured surface, and the center inlay is a bit oversized, overlapping the molded words. UV light reveals the Paulson hat and cane logo that we have seen on quite a few chips recently in this thread.

The MOGH catalog says that this chip was issued in 2001, and there are a variety of other $1 chips from both Bud Jones and Paulson that have been used over the years. Please post whatever chips you have from this casino, including any you might have from when it was called Bingo Palace or The Casino. Could we be so lucky that someone has one of those?

Quote: Doc

Nevertheless, I still have this perception that its location is a bit remote, in spite of the reality that it is as close to Las Vegas Boulevard as the Rio and much closer than is the Hard Rock.

I went twice during my last trip. First to get a Station Casinos card, and later to play craps and hit the kiosk for the daily drawing promo. It's easy enough to reach by bus, which you board at Sahara Blvd very near the corner with the Strip, and it stops right in front of Palace Station.

Here's my Palace Station chip. I've only been to the casino one time, when I collected the chip in October of 2010. I was pretty unimpressed with the cleanliness of the casino, and the amount of vagrants pleasant. But, the game selection is excellent and Stations promotions can be pretty strong - at least relative to strip properties.

I have to give a shout out to any casino offering Tiles (except in AC), and Palace Station is no exception.

If you like your Tiles cheap and dealers stoic, this is the place for you. Given that it was a locals property, I would have thought the dealers would be more friendly, but I found the dealers to be rather stuffy here. I like to have some fun playing Tiles, and while I know Asians tend to take the game very seriously, I don't think there's anything wrong with having some fun. By comparison, MGM Grand, which I normally associate with poor dealers, have a GREAT Tiles crew.

Regardless, the property is pretty laid back and definitely appeals to the Asian gaming crew. It's also easier access to the highway there than at the Rio.

State: Nevada
City: Las Vegas
Casino: Palazzo

The Palazzo opened just in time for New Year's Eve 2007, though the MOGH catalog says that the earliest chips (like the one shown below) were issued in 2008. Close enough, I suppose.

The Palazzo is supposedly the largest building in the U.S. in terms of floor space, and the 6th largest in the world, even considering that there is still an unfinished St. Regis condominium tower, sometimes referred to the Stump Regis.

My wife and I have never stayed at the Palazzo, but we have visited there quite a few times for a little gaming, some entertainment, and a little bit of strolling and viewing the sights. My wife likes the Parasol Up bar just off the casino floor as a peaceful spot to relax and have a glass of wine. In January 2010, we attended a very nice performance of Jersey Boys there, but I think that show has now moved down the street.

One piece of entertainment that I missed out on at Palazzo was the living garden, described in this article and shown in this video. Performers appeared as statues that came alive in the fountains and became fountains themselves. I had heard that they danced out of the fountain to other locations, but the article doesn't mention that nor does the video show it. The article does say that they were followed by performers appearing as fruit bearing vines. It sounded interesting enough that I wanted to watch, but the whole thing had been ended by the next time I made it to Las Vegas. I just have to settle for some rather elaborate seasonal decorations that they always seem to have.

I have heard tales that the underground parking garage at Palazzo is at severe risk of flooding if the sump pumps were to lose power. I have heard the same thing about parking areas at Cosmopolitan, but I don't know whether any of these tales are true or whether such disasters have ever occurred in reality. I have parked in the Palazzo garage several times, but we most often visit the place after parking in the elevated structure at the Venetian and walking through to the adjoining establishment.

The chip shown below is a white RHC Paulson hat and cane design with four edge inserts, two red and two olive (?). The center inlay is quite a bit oversized and covers more than half of each top hat on the rim. It has what appears to be a photo of the building, but I suppose it could be an artists rendering. The only reason I question this is that I don't know when the building attained this finished appearance and what the lead time is on getting chips manufactured, since this chip apparently was in use when the casino first opened.

UV light reveals the hidden Paulson hat and cane logo plus the fact that the two red edge inserts fluoresce.

Isn't "Parasol Up" in the Wynn across the street?

Quote: Ayecarumba

Isn't "Parasol Up" in the Wynn across the street?

Whoops! Brain glitch.

I saw this photo from the Wiki page about Palazzo, and it made me think of Parasol Up and Down.



Well, my wife does like the place, even if it happens to be at Wynn. Sorry about that, and thanks for catching it.

The times I have wandered through the complex, I could not tell where the Venetian stops and the Palazzo starts. I was there several weeks ago, and they had a guy in heavy whiteface make up and white costume, designed to look like a marble statue of a Renaissance era gentleman. He was posed on a stand located in the middle of a walkway along the "canal". When I first passed him, I did not notice him at all, since I was pre-occupied by the lighting changes on the ceiling. However, on a later pass, I had a chance to observe him change poses. I think he wanted to be in a better position to see, in case anyone grabbed the tips folks were leaving at his feet. He looked like a heavier, older gentleman, and wasn't very good at holding a pose rock solid, like others I have seen, but it was fun to see the shocked expressions on the little kids when he would move.

I've never parked there, but would not be surprised if the sump system was hugely over engineered. I remember watching the news and seeing cars floating in the flooded garage at Caesars back in the 70's (in fact it was on this very day back in 1975), so I am hopeful the building codes would now include contingencies for these kinds of events.

Given that the Wynn/Encore is a simialr concept (ie two high end hotel/casinos next to each other), I wonder

1) Who copied whom

2) Why hasn't the Venetian/Palazzo gottena single word nickname liek the Wynncore did?

To remedy number 2, I proppose calling them "The Panitian." I like that a lot better than "The Venazzo," which comes up now and then in casual conversation.

Quote: Ayecarumba

The times I have wandered through the complex, I could not tell where the Venetian stops and the Palazzo starts.

Before Palazzo opened, if you walked along the Venetian Grand Canal past St. Mark's Square to right at the very end of the canal, that's where they had the line where people waited for gondola rides. They have relocated the line now, but back then the building ended at that point. Now that former dead end opens into the upper level of Palazzo, and the buildings seem very much continuous. I'm sure I have walked between them on the lower level, but right now I cannot recall what the transition looks like there.

Quote: Nareed

Given that the Wynn/Encore is a simialr concept (ie two high end hotel/casinos next to each other) ....

Another similarity is that both Wynn/Encore and Venetian/Palazzo operate under single casino licenses. At least Palazzo opened with its own chips, unlike Encore, which uses the chip with a "W" on it.

Quote: Doc

Another similarity is that both Wynn/Encore and Venetian/Palazzo operate under single casino licenses. At least Palazzo opened with its own chips, unlike Encore, which uses the chip with a "W" on it.

And both have ridiculously high "minimums" for flea players like me :) Even so, I give the Venetian kudos for taking my player card without comment, even though I was playing at most $20 a hand (of course in a carnival game).

BTW, the last time I walked through the complex, I had a hard time keeping up with a marathon runner. In prior visits,w here I could stroll and look around, it never once occurred to me to wonder where one ends and the other begins.

Perhaps those of you who are not familiar with the decor around the Wynn's Parasol Up and Parasol Down can see how the Palazzo image posted at the top of this page triggered my brain to think of the Wynn scene shown below, which I stole from someone's photobucket album.

I like the umbrella's in the Palazzo picture much better, even if it is a temporary installation. The Wynn parasol's are whimsical, but have a pretty high "creep" factor for me. I guess I may have been traumatized by the film "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang".

Here are my Palazzo chips. Nice to see that they went ahead and got creative with the Grand Opening chip...

State: Nevada
City: Las Vegas
Casino: Palms

The Palms Casino Resort is located on West Flamingo road, a little past Rio and the Gold Coast and on the other side of the street. It opened in 2001 and has been noted for its Fantasy Tower, which has some pretty nice, unusual, and expensive villas and suites. I think photos have been posted here somewhere showing the Barbie suite and a basketball suite, plus a suite with windows into a shower room with a dance pole. Most anything to keep the guests happy. I can't find the posts with the photos right now, so you'll have to search for them yourself.

The Palms was developed by George Maloof, Jr., owner (part owner?) of the Sacramento Kings, whose father was owner of the Houston Rockets. The son still operates the casino, but he has lost major ownership. I think that like the chip shown below the sign out front may still say "Palms – a Maloof Casino Resort", but I haven't looked at it recently.

I don't know the whole story, but I have read that the financial problems arose from bad timing – Maloof planned and built a condominium tower right as the market headed south; construction expenses were committed, but the revenue stream did not form. In the end, the financial difficulties resulted in 98% of the ownership being transferred to creditors a couple of years ago.

For half a dozen years or so, there was a Playboy Club at the Palms, but it recently closed with rumors that it will re-open elsewhere, perhaps on the Strip. There was also a Playboy casino area at the club, but I could never get an answer (didn't try very hard) as to whether they had Playboy chips, so I never tried to visit there.

I guess I have to retract a statement I made less than a week ago when I posted the Orleans chip and noted that they issued dated chips each year. I said then that I didn't think I had seen such chips from other casinos, and now I realize that the Palms has done essentially the same thing. The MOGH catalog shows $1 chips with dates from 2002 through 2009, though they have other differences in their designs and some came from different manufacturers. I don't know whether they have issued dated chips these last few years.

This particular Palms chip – note that the two images are opposite sides of the same chip – is from Bourgogne et Grasset, though after that became a division of Gaming Partners International. The BG logo is clearly visible on the right side of the first image.

Please post your Palms chips, including Palms Playboy chips if you have any, and if you know where those suite photos are located around here, give us some links, please.

The one time I visited the Palms was this past October. During G2E, TCS John Huxley hosted their own gaming show at the Ghost Bar. I attended to talk to them about Poker For Roulette.

While there, I took the opportunity to play 7-14-21, which had some heavy discussion here, including comments that the Palms had it and that they might have been the only casino in town with it.

So after the show, I played it for a while, losing about $80.

While playing, I noted that all the $5 chips were commemorative chips, and many different designs passed thru my fingers as I played. There were so many designs that I had trouble picking one, so I ended up with no souvenir chip. When I went to the cage to cash out, they had a large framed display of all the chips, with stickers indicating which were no longer available.

With so many $5 chips, I'm eager to see what RDW has in his collection.

I have a $1 and $5 chip from the palms. I also remember the $5 chips have playboy models, race car drivers, triple crown horses, & other celebs. They make an unusually high amount of commemorative chips. My $5 chip has Nicole Richie on it. Im pretty sure i didnt choose it becuase she was on it but it probably just happened to be the one i slipped into my pocket.

I hardly ever go to the palms but I have fond memories there as my 3 buddies and I once played blackjack together there for about 4 hours. that was the first time I ever colored up to a purple chip!

Quote: Beardgoat

They make an unusually high amount of commemorative chips.

So does the Four Queens, though there they seem to preffer holidays as a theme.

One time during a lull in craps I was arranging my reds in groups of five (the better to keep track of how much moeny I have on the rail), and I noticed no two were alike.

This suggests both casinos make some money, on purpose, catering to collectors.

Ha I noted in one of the gambling superstition threads that for me, i have to group my nickels in 5's so I know how much I always have

Quote: Beardgoat

Ha I noted in one of the gambling superstition threads that for me, i have to group my nickels in 5's so I know how much I always have

I like to know how much I have to see whether it's worth it to keep playing. If I've won a great deal, too, I want to secure the winnings.

At VP I'll often cash out, say 1.5X my buy in, then buy in for the same amount I did originally and keep playing. That way I keep the winnings.

It keeps me busy while I lose money ;)

Quote: DJTeddyBear

The one time I visited the Palms was this past October. During G2E, TCS John Huxley hosted their own gaming show at the Ghost Bar. I attended to talk to them about Poker For Roulette.

Teddy, I edited the line quoted, because I think there was a typo: you had "TCX" instead of "TCS" John Huxley. I know almost nothing about that company other than what I have found on their web site, and I haven't looked into it enough to know what the TCS refers to. They seem to be suppliers of equipment for casinos.

On the other hand, I am interested in more info about them as a part of planning on down the line for this thread. I have a couple of chips with John Huxley logos on them, and I have found a couple of press releases about their having supplied chips for some new casinos. Other references indicate that they sell/distribute chips manufactured by others. I don't know whether they do/did manufacture chips themselves. Do you? It surprises me a little that a chip manufactured by someone else would have a JH logo, particularly because the logos I have seen are only revealed by UV light.

Does anyone know about that company manufacturing chips vs. reselling?

I was travelling for a couple days...here is my Palace Station chip (one of the few $5 chips in my collection

Quote: Doc

Teddy, I edited the line quoted, because I think there was a typo: you had "TCX" instead of "TCS" John Huxley.

Oops. I edited my post too. Thanks. I don't know why, but I make that particular typo often - although I usually catch myself.

Quote: Doc

...On the other hand, I am interested in more info about them as a part of planning on down the line for this thread. I have a couple of chips with John Huxley logos on them, and I have found a couple of press releases about their having supplied chips for some new casinos. Other references indicate that they sell/distribute chips manufactured by others. I don't know whether they do/did manufacture chips themselves. Do you? It surprises me a little that a chip manufactured by someone else would have a JH logo, particularly because the logos I have seen are only revealed by UV light.

Does anyone know about that company manufacturing chips vs. reselling?

I really know nothing about their history or corporate structure. In fact, prior to a year or so ago, all I knew about them is that they make casino roulette wheels. And the only reason I knew that is because if you look at the "crown" of the roulette wheel, you'll see their name on most wheels.

On the other hand, it's not uncommon for one company to sell another company's products, even when that other company would be happy to sell it directly to the end customer. Hell, you've seen some of that in the history of Paulson and Bud Jones, etc.

Here's my Palms chip. It's one of a very few commemorative chips in my collection. I'm not sure if "normal" Palms chips even exist. I've been to Palms twice. Once to use the LVA 50% off coupon and collect my chip, and once to look for a non-commemorative chip. I probably won't return. It's very nice, but I just don't find it all that compelling.

State: Nevada
City: Las Vegas
Casino: Paris

The Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino was announced by Bally Entertainment, which was subsequently purchased by Hilton Hotels before construction started in 1997, with Paris opening in 1999. Hilton did a spin off of Park Place Entertainment, which purchased Caesars World and subsequently became Caesars Entertainment, Harrah's Entertainment, and again Caesars Entertainment.

Rather than providing my usual gripes about conflicting info on the Wikipedia page about Paris Las Vegas, I'll just note that even though at the bottom of that page it says, "This page was last modified on 26 June 2012 at 18:48", the info provided still talks about things that are "planned" or "expected" in 2011. If someone was doing revisions less than two weeks ago, couldn't they update that info or at least change the tense of the verbs?

On our most recent visit to Las Vegas for WoVCon][, my wife and I took the ride for our first time to the top of the Paris Las Vegas's half-scale edition of the Eiffel Tower. I took some photos and prepared a panorama that I posted here, along with gripes about how difficult they make it to take photos from up there. I still haven't printed that panorama to hang on my wall, because I have been thinking about trying it again in a manner that might show the Bellagio fountains better. I have an idea of how to do that without distortion, but I have to try it to see whether I can make it work.

Anyway, yes, Paris is part of the "Evil Empire" and is intimately connected to Bally's Casino Hotel. They share a parking deck, and at the time I collected my souvenir chips from the two casinos, they were using the identical chip, even though the two casinos operate under separate licenses. I don't really understand that. When I posted my Bally's chip, I said:

Quote: Doc

This side of the chip emphasizes Bally's and has an illustration of a showgirl from their long-running "Jubilee", but it also has the script "Paris" logo at the bottom. The other side of the chip emphasizes Paris and includes an illustration of the Eiffel Tower but also says "Bally's." I have two identical chips of this type and display them with opposite faces up.
…
The Paris sample is roughly 75 chips in the future on this thread, so you will get to see that side of it posted here in a few months.

Well, the thread has now made that progress of 75 chips or so, and here is the other side of the chip. This is a Chipco chip and does not include any hidden images that I can find. I know that Paris has used a variety of other chips that don't mention Bally's, so please post lots of those images here for all to see.

Quote: Doc

On our most recent visit to Las Vegas for WoVCon][, my wife and I took the ride for our first time to the top of the Paris Las Vegas's half-scale edition of the Eiffel Tower.

Is it half scale, or half as tall? I found the viewing area to be too small and too crowded. And, as you note, not a good palce to take pictures.

But it looks my chip is different from yours. So as soon as I get home tonight, after my workout and shower, I can take a photo and upload it after I make dinner (tranlsation, I may have it by saturday <w>)