Casino Chip of the Day

State: Nevada
City: North Las Vegas
Casino: Poker Palace

According to the Poker Palace web site, the place was established in 1974 as a bar with one blackjack table, eight slot machines, and two pool tables. It has been owned for these almost four decades by the same man, Marvin Coleman, and has expanded from the original 700 sq.ft. to 30,000 sq. ft., seven blackjack tables, 350 slot machines, eight poker tables, a 200-seat bingo room, and a race/sports book. I have some difficulty thinking in terms of a casino with just one table game – how do you manage the dealer rotation and breaks? Another thought -- why would he call his place "Poker Palace" before opening the poker room? BTW, the place is still small enough that there is no Wikipedia page at all.

In acknowledgement of the comment yesterday from rdw4potus that he is about to make his first wager on the ponies, I provide this link to a Las Vegas Sun article reporting a $250,000 fine imposed in 2009 on the Poker Palace regarding the way some employees allowed their sports book to operate as a front for unlicensed bookies. Mr. Coleman was cited for "failing to adequately supervise his employees and his casino."

I take it that a quarter-million-dollar fine on a small casino was enough to convince Mr. Coleman not to let such things occur again, or at least not to let them cause a problem to his wallet or his license. Since 2010, the race and sports book has been licensed as one of the many Leroy's Horse and Sports Place installations of American Wagering, Inc.

The MOGH catalog shows several $1 chips from Poker Palace that used the Paulson hat and cane molds and were issued in the 1970s and 1980s, but when I made my run through North Las Vegas half a dozen years ago, the Poker Palace was only using tokens for the $1 denomination. I don't know that I would bother making a return visit for a real chip even if I knew they were available now.

The photos below show the two sides of the same token. The lighting is significantly different in the two images because I did not realize at first that the two sides are different and did not duplicate my original setup when I shot the second photo. The primary difference between the two sides is that on one the city is listed under the name of the casino while on the other side the city is included in the printing around the perimeter. Both sides show the logo of a crown topped by a diamond royal flush.

On both sides it is possible to see the mint mark stating "NCM". I have found web sites that attribute this mark to both Nevada Coin Mart and Nevada Coin Minting. A search on either name leads me to the web site for tokens.com that uses the name Nevada Coin Minting with an NCM logo and offers to sell customized casino tokens and similar products. I highly suspect this web site is associated with the manufacturer of this Poker Palace token.

Unfortunately, the web site pages show revision dates only up through 1999, which shook my confidence that they are still in operation. Considering the decline in casino token use, their demise would not really be a shock. Separately, though, I found a listing of a physical address on East Sahara Avenue, so I don't really know.




Edit (10/6/17): After all these years, I am trying to replace the tokens in my collection with $1 chips if they are now available (and with $5 chips if the place is still using $1 tokens.) As part of that effort, I now have collected a $5 chip from the Poker Palace casino.

Welcome back Doc! Sorry for the delayed posting, but here is my Plaza collection:




Here is an image of a 25 cent chip from the Plaza. It is actually a flourescent orange with hot stamped gold foil, but my scanner drops out the color...

Quote: Ayecarumba

Here is an image of a 25 cent chip from the Plaza. It is actually a flourescent orange with hot stamped gold foil, but my scanner drops out the color...

Plaza 25 cent no color

Ewww...

What an expensive, cheap looking chip!

It's got the Plaza name, in their own font, molded into the edge (making molds is expensive), but use hot-foil stamping (cheap) for the central imprint? Yuck!


On the other hand, maybe the mold was already produced. It looks like the same mold as was used on John Zimbo's chip:

Quote: Johnzimbo

My Union Plaza Chip

Quote: bigfoot66

The plaza is not a bad option downtown now with its renovations. Though I suggest you stay away from the sushi place, the Hash House is quite good.

What's wrong with the sushi place? The last time I was there (April 2012), it was recently remodeled, and had an interesting, Hawaiian style menu. The food was really, really good and reasonably priced.

Quote: DJTeddyBear

What an expensive, cheap looking chip!

It's got the Plaza name, in their own font, molded into the edge (making molds is expensive), but use hot-foil stamping (cheap) for the central imprint? Yuck!


On the other hand, maybe the mold was already produced. It looks like the same mold as was used on John Zimbo's chip

It certainly does look, "special". I need to pull out the digital camera and actually capture the color to do it justice. It's day-glo orange.

Here's my Poker Palace chip. I really genuinely enjoyed my time at the Poker Palace. It's surely in a sketchy place, and I was apprehensive walking in through the parkinglot. But I found the other players to be friendly and relatively savvy. I had a similar experience at Bighorn. Maybe I just got lucky with my timing, but I have to say that I didn't see much of the reason for the North Las Vegas stigma when I actually visited them - except for the Lucky Club, that place was just CREEPY.

I also like Poker Palace. I have been there twice, and enjoyed it both times. Try the cafe for a meal, or in lieu of that, get a homemade cheeseburger from the snack bar for $1.50. This is the "f" you Wendy's/Burger King/McDouble burger--very good. Also, the only place in the universe that has $1 3:2 blackjack last time I checked.

Quote: teddys

Also, the only place in the universe that has $1 3:2 blackjack last time I checked.

Gotta think that's true, unless there's some local-currency-denominated game somewhere that converts out to being only $1/hand. Still, it's a great & cheap game in a convenient if depressing location.

State: Nevada
City: Primm
Casino: Primm Valley

It seems that covering the Nevada casinos in alphabetical order has me covering the three Primm casinos in reverse chronological order of their construction. We covered Buffalo Bill's way back in March, before I even learned the difference between RHC, SCV, and LCV hat and cane chips from Paulson. Re-reading that part of this thread seems oh-so-last-spring. And we won't likely get to the last-alphabetical-but-first-constructed Primm casino, Whiskey Pete's, until 2013, when today's discussion will probably seem antiquated.

But today is today, and we get to discuss the Primm Valley Resort and Casino. I still have some uncertainty on the history of this place. I read on Wikipedia (ha!) that it was originally constructed by the Primm family as Primadonna Resort and Casino, opening in 1990, and the NGCB list of license holders still lists the place as "The Primadonna Company, LLC, dba Primm Valley Resort & Casino", in spite of several changes in ownership.

On the other hand, the MOGH chip catalog says that Primm Valley opened in 1997 while a casino named Primadonna operated in Jean, NV from 1990 to 1997. I don't know whether to speculate that the "Jean" casino in that catalog was really in State Line (unofficial name before the area became known as Primm) or that there were Primadonna casinos in both Jean and Stateline. The Primadonna chips do say "Jean" right on them, but that doesn't carry much weight, since the Paradise, NV casinos' chips all say "Las Vegas." Since I didn't make it to the area myself until 2003, I have no first-hand info. Anybody care to comment on this? Was the Primadonna Resort and Casino in Jean the same physical establishment as the one in Primm that issued today's Casino Chip of the Day?

Just to add a little to the confusion, there was also a Primadonna casino that operated in Reno from 1955 to 1978.

In any case, the casino that is now known as Primm Valley Resort, located in what is now known as Primm, was purchased by MGM Resorts in 1999 and sold to Herbst Gaming in 2007. Bankruptcy of Herbst led to ownership transfer to Affinity Gaming at the very end of 2010.

The chip shown below is a blue RHC Paulson hat and cane design with four pink edge inserts. The MOGH catalog says this chip was issued in 1997 when the casino opened or changed names or whatever. The center inlay is a bit smaller than the space allowed for it by the mold, and UV light reveals a hidden hat and cane logo rotated 90° from the printing on the inlay. The four edge inserts also fluoresce under UV light.

Does anyone have a Primadonna (Jean) chip to post, and can you tell us whether that is from the same place?

Here is my Primm Valley chip. It is essentially the same as Doc's but the edge spots are a markedly different shade of pink

As I recall, Primm Valley originally opened as the, "Primmadonna" but changed the name in an attempt to put the negative publicity surrounding a child's murder in their women's restroom behind them. Read a LV Sun article regarding the murder here.

[edited to correct location of murder and add link to article]

Yes Doc, the Primadonna was renamed Primm Valley in 1997. And if any oldtimers like me remember, in the 80's there was a little shack of a casino on the Primadonna side of I-15 called Kactus Kate's (that I don't think I ever stopped at) but it was torn down about the time the Primadonna opened. I do have a Primadonna chip but not Primm Valley

Quote: Ayecarumba

As I recall, Primm Valley originally opened as the, "Primmadonna" but changed the name in an attempt to put the negative publicity surrounding a child's murder in their women's restroom behind them. Read a LV Sun article regarding the murder here.

I remember this, and what I most clearly remember was the murdered girl's father giving an interview maybe the same day stating what he wanted from the casino was a six pack of beer and a free room for the night. I was flabbergasted watching this remorseless man make an ass of himself on televison.

State: Nevada
City: Henderson
Casino: Railroad Pass

The Railroad Pass casino is named for the mountain pass in which it is located. The railroad line through the pass is at least temporarily out of service, but the main highway out to Boulder City, the dam, and Arizona runs right through there.

The casino's web site proclaims it to be "The Nation's Longest Running Casino." That seems plausible, since it was licensed in 1931 – any establishments that existed prior to Nevada being the first state in modern times to legalize gambling are not likely to still be operating. I have read a couple of places on line that Railroad Pass holds license #4, with #1 not having really been awarded to anyone and licenses #2 and #3 having expired. The MOGH catalog even has a $25 chip that was used at Railroad Pass in 1933 and a $100 chip from the 1930s. My guess is that only really high rollers were using those chips during the depression, so Railroad Pass might just have been where the action was.

In the 21st century, the place remains as a small establishment located on Boulder Highway, about where Henderson ends and Boulder City begins, except that there is not much of anything else of either of those towns anywhere close by. There is what seems to be a mining operation way out to the southwest and a rather well hidden Cascata Golf Course in the hills above the casino, but that's about it.

With more than 80 years of operation, Railroad Pass Casino has so much history that I have not even tried to trace the ownership. It now belongs to MGM Resorts International, but don't plan to use your MLife card there – the place seems to be just as neglected/denied a stepchild as Circus Circus and has its own players club known as Player's Junction.

The chip shown below is a white SCV Paulson hat and cane design with no edge inserts and gold hot-stamped name, city, and denomination. Yep, the most basic and cheapest of the Paulson chips. Seems like a bit of a come-down from high roller chips of the 1930s. I think this is the chip that the MOGH catalog says was issued in 2006, but there is another listed as issued in 1994 that looks just the same to me, except for the degree of fading/flaking of the hot-stamp imprint. I don't remember just which year I collected this souvenir. It seems likely that it is the 2006 issue because it shows such little wear: the molded texture of the chip surface is clearly visible, and there is almost an excess of the gold stamping rather than a bunch of it flaked/worn off as I have seen on so many such chips. I may have picked this one up when it was brand new.

I have that same chip in my collection.

Quote: Doc

The railroad line through the pass is at least temporarily out of service, but the main highway out to Boulder City, the dam, and Arizona runs right through there.

That must be a new development. This past October, I was attracted to stop there because, while riding out to the Dam, a train going by behind it caught my eye. I thought it would make a good picture, but wasn't fast enough.

The casino itself left me with absolutely no specific recolection. I had to look at my trip log post to dredge up this one paragraph:

There's only about 6 tables in their one pit. I didn't bother to check the BJ tables. The one craps table was $1 minimum, $200 maximum, no 25¢ chips. I quickly learned that it is NOT full double odds. Just double. Of course, the crew would suggest that I could increase my pass line bet if I wanted to increase the odds.

Quote: DJTeddyBear

Quote: Doc

The railroad line through the pass is at least temporarily out of service, but the main highway out to Boulder City, the dam, and Arizona runs right through there.

That must be a new development. This past October, I was attracted to stop there because, while riding out to the Dam, a train going by behind it caught my eye. I thought it would make a good picture, but wasn't fast enough.

Well, I could be wrong. It happened once before back in the '60s when I thought I had made a mistake but hadn't.

In this particular case, I gathered my info from that ever-reliable resource Wikipedia. They have pages on both Railroad Pass and the Railroad Pass Casino that include similar comments. Here is what they say on the page about the pass itself:

Quote: Wiki

In 1998, the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) paved over the at-grade crossing of the railroad tracks on Boulder Highway. The sharp skew angle (64 degrees) at this junction, high speeds on the highway, and little to no rail usage made this dangerous crossing a prime candidate for elimination. However, the historical significance of this rail spur and future potential for use by excursion and/or commuter trains merited its preservation. The initial phase of NDOT's Boulder City Bypass project will result in a new grade separation of the highway by 2015, allowing the rails to be reconnected so trains can once again reach Boulder City via Railroad Pass.

Now that change to be made by 2015 could already be complete, for all I know. I did not get out that highway during my only 2012 visit to Las Vegas. Wiki refers to the "Boulder City Bypass project", and I thought some folks were still fighting that project, though I don't know why. There is the possibility that a Wiki page could be wrong. (I know how surprising that idea may be.)

Here's what I can check out from where I am sitting: The Google Maps satellite view certainly makes it appear that the tracks are continuous from Boulder City out to the Railroad Pass casino but that they stop about 1/4 mile north of there where they formerly crossed the highway. I don't know how old the Google Street View images of that area are, but they definitely show the tracks being paved over. That would suggest that a train going past the casino would need to come to an abrupt stop and could not make it to Henderson.

Quote: Doc

Here's what I can check out from where I am sitting: The Google Maps satellite view certainly makes it appear that the tracks are continuous from Boulder City out to the Railroad Pass casino but that they stop about 1/4 mile north of there where they formerly crossed the highway. I don't know how old the Google Street View images of that area are, but they definitely show the tracks being paved over. That would suggest that a train going past the casino would need to come to an abrupt stop and could not make it to Henderson.

You are correct sir! I checked the satelite view as well. It looks like the tracks end a mere few feet from where the Route 93 sits, and continues on the other side.


But, intrigued and perplexed, I started scanning the track eastward.

Until it gets covered by dirt near the highway, it appears well maintained. Also, there appears to be a well maintained overpass at Route 95. Continuing east, there are other crossings, and more track, that appear to be in good condition.

Continue east, and you see rail cars and a Google Point Of Interest landmark for the Nevada State Railroad Museum. Ding, ding, ding!

What railroad museum would be complete without a ride in an actual train?

Poking around, I see this, on their Ride Info page:

Quote:

TRIP INFORMATION
Our train usually consists of three air-conditioned/heated cars (two coaches and a wheelchair accessible car), an open-air car, and a generator car (to supply power for lights, air-conditioning and heating). The runs depart from the station at Yucca Street and proceeds west approximately 3.0 miles to just behind the Railroad Pass Casino. We use the right of way and track developed by the Union Pacific Railroad in 1931 to supply materials to Boulder City for use in the construction of Hoover Dam. The round trip takes about 45 minutes.

Mystery solved.

Quote: Ayecarumba

What's wrong with the sushi place? The last time I was there (April 2012), it was recently remodeled, and had an interesting, Hawaiian style menu. The food was really, really good and reasonably priced.

I had 2 rolls there, I was not impressed at all with the quality. I dare say it was the worst sushi I have ever tried. I also put $100 in a VP machine at the bar there and ordered a beer. I then ordered another beer, and later another. Before giving me my third beer, the waitress informed me that they did not comp beer in the restaraunt and that Corona was something like $4.75 a beer there. They don't have to comp beers, but I should have been given a heads up. I wouldn't have ordered the beers if I had known...

That said, It is possible that I just caught them on a bad day. But I can't reccomend it based on my meal there.

State: Nevada
City: Las Vegas
Casino: Rampart

The JW Marriott Resort in the Summerlin area of Las Vegas was developed as a destination resort for a reported cost of $400 million. It included the Regent Casino, which began operation in 2000. The "destination resort" business plan did not work there, and the resort quickly went into bankruptcy.

The complex was purchased in late 2001 for just $81 million by Hotspur Resorts, which remarketed it as The Resort at Summerlin, though I think the Marriott name is still used in some contexts. Who the heck is Hotspur Resorts? One article describes it as "owned through a string of off-shore corporations finally up to the Hilfreich Stiftung Foundation in Zurich Switzerland." Hotspur contracted with Cannery Casino Resorts to manage and substantially redesign and renovate the casino. In 2002, the name of the casino was changed to Rampart.

The contract with Cannery expired earlier this year, and Hotspur decided to combine management of the casino and hotel. The NGCB list of license holders indicates that the license has, since April Fool's day this year, been in the name of Hotspur Casinos Nevada, Inc., dba Rampart Casino at the Resort at Summerlin. Is that a complex enough name for you? The General Manager of the new team is Michael Gaughan, Jr., son of Michael Gaughan, Sr. (owner of Southpoint Casino and formerly of Coast Casinos) and grandson of downtown casino magnate Jackie Gaughan. At least I think that's the case – the NGCB document says that the General Manager is Michael Gaughan III, but I don't think casino management has really reached the fourth generation of the family yet.

The Rampart chip shown below is a white Chipco chip with a satin finish that the MOGH catalog indicates was issued in 2002 when the casino re-opened with the new name. The edge of the chip is marked "$1" in six locations.

If anyone happens to have a Regent Casino chip from Summerlin, please post it now, since I have nothing else to present about that edition of the casino.

I think in the original CSI show, Kathryn's father was the current or former owner of the Rampart (before he died, that is).

I do have fond memories of that casino, because that's where I first met the Wizard (thanks, Teddys for the ride!). I also hit four deuces in DW, but while betting dimes...

State: Nevada
City: Las Vegas
Casino: Red Rock

The Red Rock Casino Resort and Spa is located in the Summerlin area of Las Vegas, way out West Charleston Boulevard, next to the Las Vegas Beltway. It is the closest major development to its namesake canyon. Red Rock is a bit of a showcase facility for Station Casinos and houses their corporate offices.

In the planning stages for the new resort, there were disagreements on zoning issues related to the height of the first tower and the initial concept for including condos in the development. These differences were resolved, and construction began in 2004, with the grand opening being held in April 2006.

According to Wikipedia, some scenes from the film "21" were shot at Red Rock, but I didn't pay enough attention to the film to pick up on that. I guess I was too fascinated with the ideas that counting cards always leads to dramatic wins, that the main thing you need to remember is code words for the count, and that cash is customarily stored above false ceilings.

I think I have only visited the Red Rock resort two times, once to pick up my souvenir chip and once in December 2010 when the Wizard treated my wife and me to dinner and waiter trivia there. I have to admit that it is a pretty swanky place, particularly for a locals casino.

Simi-obligatory complaint about Wikipedia: How can a page that is footnoted as "last modified on 20 April 2012" still include the comment, "As of March 1, 2006, construction is underway on a second 450-room hotel tower…"? Is it still not complete these six years later? Several other comments on the page talk about "current" status of things in 2006. If that's the way the page is going to stand, what the heck did they bother to modify in April 2012?

The chip shown below is a gray RHC Paulson hat and cane design with two triangular edge inserts in purple (maroon?) and black. The MOGH catalog says that this chip was issued in 2006 when the casino opened. Though none of the chip clay or edge inserts fluoresce, the UV light reveals both a hidden Paulson hat and cane logo and the repeated name of the casino. As we have seen before each time with the repeated-hidden-words designs, there is an "error" in one of the words. No one has explained that to me yet, so I'm still open to input from any knowledgeable source.

I adopted Red Rock as my local 'home' casino when I moved to Summerlin in 2009. Beautiful, architecturally modern design, great buffet, 100%+ payback on single-line deuces wild in a section by one of the doors for a while, elegant well-run poker room, spacious sportsbook. I picked up this chip off the poker table 3 years after the opening.

Quote: Doc

As we have seen before each time with the repeated-hidden-words designs, there is an "error" in one of the words. No one has explained that to me yet, so I'm still open to input from any knowledgeable source.

At the risk of asking a stupid question, have you tried going directly to the source? Ask someone at Paulson?

Even before I read your post, as soon as I saw the repeating words in the UV photo, I had to look at the enlargement, just to see what the error might say.

In fact, I read the post and composed this response before looking at the enlargement of the regular photo!

No, it doesn't say, "Red Cork".

And, no, I haven't communicated directly with Paulson. Even if it is not some kind of "secret" security measure, I doubt that anyone there would be interested in taking time to explain chips to me. I might have 1,000 other questions.

I've said it is a "security" measure. It was a common ploy found in microprinting on banknotes, where the denomination is repeated with one word mispelled. Lately I haven't seen it much, though, so it may have fallen out of favor.

On the other hand, chips lack other common features of notes, like color-shifting ink, holograms, micro-printing, security strips, etc.

My reasoning for doubting it as a security measure is that if someone has the ability to replicate the chip, including the UV fluorescing logo and repeated words, then surely they are as observant as we are and can see the need to change the spelling on one of the words. How would that one "error" provide any additional security against anyone but a lamebrain?

Quote: Doc

How would that one "error" provide any additional security against anyone but a lamebrain?

The theory is that you put in several such things, and a counterfeiter will stumble on one. Common practice is to publicize some security features, so people will look for certain things, and to keep others secret.

And just becasue something doesn't work doesn't mean it won't be used. Look at, oh, 99.9999% of all government policies.

I'm probably the only person in the world who thinks Red Rock is just a bunch of hype. Yes, it's nice; very nice in fact. However, I played some PGP there and was unimpressed with the service of the dealers I had. Maybe I played at a bad time, but I don't think Red Rock is a great casino. As a resort, it's probably different, but if I were a local in that area, I'd rather play at Rampart or Suncoast even.

Just like Nareed said it is an extra security feature even though it might not seem like a useful one. You'd be surprised at how many extra security features are available on the US passport and other travel documents on top of the publicized ones, and how counterfeiters cannot fully duplicate all the features.

Quote: Ayecarumba

Here is an image of a 25 cent chip from the Plaza. It is actually a flourescent orange with hot stamped gold foil, but my scanner drops out the color...

Plaza 25 cent no color

I took a photo with a camera, but the image still doesn't do the safety orange justice:

Quote: Konbu

Just like Nareed said it is an extra security feature even though it might not seem like a useful one. You'd be surprised at how many extra security features are available on the US passport and other travel documents on top of the publicized ones, and how counterfeiters cannot fully duplicate all the features.

If it's a feature that counterfeiters can't duplicate, it's one thing.

A typo is different.

I mean, if a counterfeiter has the technology to reproduce the UV printing at all, don't you think he'll see the typo and duplicate it?

State: Nevada
City: Las Vegas
Casino: Rio

Lud Corrao formed Corrao Construction in 1970 and built several projects, including the Maxim casino. In 1974, he partnered with Anthony Marnell II to form Marnell Corrao Associates, which became the architectural and construction firm with the greatest experience in casino design and construction in Las Vegas. Projects have included The Mirage, Bellagio, Excalibur, Caesar's Palace, Wynn, and others.

In the late 1980s, a joint venture by Marnell (~20%) and the Marnell Corrao partnership (~80%) undertook not just the design and construction but also the ownership and operation of a new casino. This joint venture was under the corporate name "Marcor", and the casino was The Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino. The hotel casino opened in January 1990 with a Brazilian theme that it maintains today. Wikipedia says that one of the Grand Opening acts was Sergio Mendez '99 -- was he really using "99" by January 1990? In my college years and shortly thereafter, I was a big fan of Sergio Mendez and Brasil '66, and I know that the year designation was changed a number of times. I think it started with either '64 or '65, but I can't find when the various adjustments were made.

In 1999, Marcor sold the Rio to Harrah's, so that the casino is now owned by Caesars Entertainment. When Harrah's acquired Binion's Horseshoe casino downtown, they only held it briefly before selling it, and they kept both the Horseshoe brand name and the World Series of Poker. Since then, the Rio casino has been home to the World Series of Poker Main Event. It has been rumored for several years that the Rio has been for sale, which is why there is little confidence that it is the permanent home to that event.

In 2008, Harrah's attempted to spice up the pool party atmosphere by partnering with Sapphire "gentlemen's" club to provide some scenery at a topless pool. At least by the second season, that led to results that seem as though they should have been anticipated and avoided. The partnership experiment was immediately abandoned.

For the last several years, my wife and I have made either the Rio or Bally's our hotel for Las Vegas visits, mostly because of the attractive rates that we are offered for the rooms but also because we like the convenience of the Bally's location and the size of the Rio rooms. I have stayed in plenty of hotels that ambitiously call their rooms suites, but even the low-end rooms at Rio are huge. At the Rio, my low-roller status usually gets me a room in the Ipanema tower, but for WoVCon][, we wound up on the 32nd floor of the Masquerade Tower. From there, we had a pretty good view out the floor-to-ceiling windows running the full length of the room.

Back in December 2010, I went up to the Rio's rooftop Voodoo restaurant and lounge just to take photos of the strip, which I converted to a panorama image and posted on the forum back here.

The chip shown below is a white RHC Paulson hat and cane design with four gray edge inserts. The two sides have different center inlays, each with festive Rio Carnival themes. The MOGH catalog says this chip was issued in 1997, while the place still belonged to Marcor.

Like yesterday's Casino Chip of the Day, this chip has a complex set of hidden images revealed by UV light. This time, rather than having a hidden Paulson hat and cane logo, the actual name "Paulson" is there at 90° from the other printing. The repeated word this time is "MARCOR", rather than the casino's name. Until I researched the original corporate ownership of the Rio, I thought this must be a word in Spanish or Portuguese whose meaning had eluded me.

Although the vertical name of the chip manufacturer disrupts the pattern of the repeated word, in this case I am not able to pick out an "error" or "security feature" where the spelling is different. Did I miss it? And DJTeddyBear, did you again search (in vain?) for it before reading all of my ramblings above?

Quote: DJTeddyBear

If it's a feature that counterfeiters can't duplicate, it's one thing.

A typo is different.

I mean, if a counterfeiter has the technology to reproduce the UV printing at all, don't you think he'll see the typo and duplicate it?

I think Nareed hit it on the head. It is not that any one security feature is that hard to duplicate. But each additional feature makes it far harder to counterfeit. The counterfeiter has to notice the feature and reproduce it accurately. Easy enough to do that with one feature, but it gets harder and harder to do them all right. I would think that it would be more than twice as hard to reproduce a token with 6 security features than one with 3. In this case, If you are lucky enough to consider the chip might have UV writing, you then have to accurately reproduce it. Then you have to notice the error which is not obvious (it is easy for the eye to skim over a misspelled word if all the right letters are there), accuratelty reporoduce that... It makes counterfeiting a very complicated process.

That said, it is fairly obvious that the word is misspelled and it is not a major deterrent. On the other hand, it costs basically nothing to misspell a word and it may catch someone, and even if it doesn't catch someone, at least it makes the counterfeiters job that much harder.

I happened to run into Doc and the lovely Mrs. Doc at Rio where I also stayed for WoVCon ][. I also had a Masquerade Tower room, though I had to ask for it. I am Diamond, but I guess there was a lot going on while we were there (the San Gennaro festival for one big thing).

Rio is kind of a strange property in the CET family currently. It still TRIES to appeal to the locals, by hosting local events and offering a 50% discount on their wildly overpriced buffets. However, their game selection is so poor it's hard to believe any local would want to devote a significant portion of their gambling budget there. By the other Las Vegas property standards, Rio is probably the best (next to Caesars high limit room), but that's not saying a lot. Shoe games are entirely 3:2 payouts on BJ, but they have a LOT of single deck (which of course, is 6:5).

I played a significant amount of Tiles and PGP there, and I enjoyed most of the dealers I had. Like most CET properties, they try to appeal to the Asian market, but Rio seems to succeed a bit more than most of the others, with a proliferation of Mini-Bacc, Tiles and PGP tables in a concentrated area.

That being said, if CET could sell the property, it would do it without blinking an eye. They bought it when it was red hot, and (then)-Harrah's Entertainment was still growing, with only Harrah's and Rio in Vegas. It doesn't fit in at all with the Vegas property, and the WSOP could easily be moved to Caesars. Problem is CET screwed around with a good thing at Rio, and now nobody dares buy the property.

Think about it: Locals have TONS of options for casinos. Rio has been billed as a locals place in the past, but now it's considered a Strip property. Palms can maintain the balance, largely because it offers some great Video Poker and gives locals a reason to go out, if they want a night away. Gold Coast and Palace Station both have large, loyal Asian gamblers, and Orleans does big convention business. Rio does a lot of those things halfway, but doesn't succeed at any of them.

I won't be surprised when CET finally unloads the place, but I also won't be surprised when it doesn't happen. No casino group would have interest in it, except maybe to bulldoze it and start anew, and that would be a massive undertaking. I don't think the real estate is THAT valuable. This will leave it up to an independent or start-up taking the reins, and who knows what would become of the property.

FWIW according to LVA, The D will have new chips by August 14th.

Quote: Doc

Although the vertical name of the chip manufacturer disrupts the pattern of the repeated word, in this case I am not able to pick out an "error" or "security feature" where the spelling is different. Did I miss it? And DJTeddyBear, did you again search (in vain?) for it before reading all of my ramblings above?

LOL. Yeah, I looked before reading. I couldn't find an error either - unless you count the missing letters within the blank space around the Paulson name. That space does seem excessive.

Is this the first time we've seen the Paulson name spelled out on a chip?

On a somewhat related note, since the Paulson name is spelled out on their craps on/off pucks, why don't the pucks also have the top hat logo?

Quote: bigfoot66

I think Nareed hit it on the head. It is not that any one security feature is that hard to duplicate. But each additional feature makes it far harder to counterfeit. The counterfeiter has to notice the feature and reproduce it accurately....

Understood.

Quote: DJTeddyBear

Is this the first time we've seen the Paulson name spelled out on a chip?

On a somewhat related note, since the Paulson name is spelled out on their craps on/off pucks, why don't the pucks also have the top hat logo?

It is the first time that I have seen the Paulson name spelled out as a hidden image on a chip. I think it is also the first time that I have seen the corporate owner's name repeated in a hidden image rather than the repeated name of the casino.

Have you noticed "Paulson" on a craps puck? At the moment, I can only remember seeing "Paul-Son", which I think is an older version of the name, but that may just reflect my poor memory or the age of the equipment at the places I have paid attention to such things. I don't know how far Paulson really would want to go, pushing their logo to be more visible than that of the casino. Seems as if a subtle use of a logo that will be recognized by those in the know would be fine, while the general tourist doesn't need to ever see/notice a top hat and cane.

Nareed, thanks for the info on the D chips. My collection will just have to wait until I get back out there -- I've got too many other trips already planned, including one this week.

State: Nevada
City: Laughlin
Casino: River Palms

My wife and I are heading out on another trip this week (yes, unemployment can sometimes be nice), so there will be another gap in my daily postings of chips. I expect to be home late next Sunday night and will try to get my next Casino Chip of the Day posted on Monday 7/30.

We had originally planned to visit Biloxi on this trip so that I could pick up a new Margaritaville chip, but plans evolved, and we will not make it to the Gulf coast this time out. If all goes well with our current plans, I anticipate picking up souvenir chips from eight or possibly even nine casinos, and I will get to Margaritaville Biloxi some day.

We are also making plans for an extended trip this fall, and I am thinking about ways to keep this thread alive and active during my absence from the forum then.

But for today, the chip is from the River Palms in Laughlin. This casino was created by independent real estate developer John Midby in 1984, but it was operated by Boyd Gaming. The original name was even Sam's Town Gold River, which certainly sounds like a Boyd property. When the Boyd contract ended in 1991, the name was shortened to just Gold River.

The place went into bankruptcy in 1996, with ownership change to businessman, aircraft manufacturer, and racehorse breeder Allen Paulson in 1997. He renovated the casino in 1998 and reopened it under the name River Palms Resort Casino. Unfortunately, Mr. Paulson died in 2000. Columbia Sussex bought the casino from his estate in 2004, mismanaged most/all of their properties, and in 2010 the River Palms and most of their other casinos wound up with Icahn Enterprise's Tropicana Entertainment, which still owns it.

The Wizard mentioned the River Palms in his article about Laughlin six months ago, where he lamented its decline since the Sam's Town days and said that "the place was almost empty." He said it appeared to being shut down for renovation, except that there was no construction going on, and he reported no blackjack, craps, keno, or other casino games except poker and bingo, and no sports book.

Today, the casino's web site claims that they have blackjack, craps, roulette, three card poker, royal match 21, fortune pai gow poker and a Lucky's sports book in addition to their bingo sessions. Since I haven't been to Laughlin myself in more than two years, I don't know whether these web site claims mean that the place is back up and running or that the web site is sadly out of date. In fact, I don't really recall whether I have been back inside the River Palms since I collected my souvenir chip in 2008. Who has been down there lately and can tell us the status of things?

The chip shown below is a white RHC Paulson hat and cane design with two triangular edge inserts in red and blue. The black center inlay is accented with colorful palm trees. Both edge inserts fluoresce under UV light, but there are no hidden images. The MOGH catalog says that this chip was issued in 1998 when the casino name was changed.

Please post images of your River Palms chips, and if you have any from either Sam's Town Gold River or just plain Gold River, please post those here, too, since that was way before my time on the scene.

Here is my Sam's Town Gold River chip



I know I visited this casino in the late 80's, and maybe after the name changes but don't recall for sure. I also am pretty sure that some of the scenes from Leaving Las Vegas were filmed there, particularly the scene where Nicholas Cage overturns the 21 table.

Thanks, Johnzimbo. I was hoping you would have one of those older chips. There were a lot of casinos that closed before I started collecting chips, and before I even first visited Nevada.

Here's a few of my Rio chips. I picked all of these up at the poker table in the last few years. The last pic of the parking pass is one of the little gifts Rio gave to local Diamond members. Rio had blocked off huge swaths of prime parking area both in the sun and parking garages for those with these pink passes.

Quote: Doc

The place went into bankruptcy in 1996, with ownership change to businessman, aircraft manufacturer, and racehorse breeder Allen Paulson in 1997.

Did you deliberately leave out the connection to the chip company, seeing if one of us would ask?

I mean, you should have either defined the relationship, or made a "no relation" comment.

Therefore, inquiring minds and all...


---


Zippy -

Nice collection of Rio chips, but I gotta think that most of them have unique back sides too...

Quote: DJTeddyBear

Did you deliberately leave out the connection to the chip company, seeing if one of us would ask?

I mean, you should have either defined the relationship, or made a "no relation" comment.

Therefore, inquiring minds and all...

I'm in St. Louis today, picking up some more souvenirs. Really liked River City last night.

Allen Paulson has no relation to the chip manufacturer. Paulson Chips, now part of Gaming Partners Intl. and previously caled Paul-Son, is named for Paul Endy and Son.

Quote: Doc

...and previously called Paul-Son, is named for Paul Endy and Son.

Oh, yeah. I forgot that.



Slinks off into the corner....

Quote: Doc

I'm in St. Louis today, picking up some more souvenirs. Really liked River City last night.

Not to derail the thread, but River City is too nice of a casino for the area. It reminds me a lot of a top-tier Vegas casino, a la Wynn or Bellagio. Lumiere is done in dark browns and kind of feels more like elegant St Louis, but River City in its reds and pop colors is very swanky.

State: Nevada
City: Laughlin
Casino: Riverside

Wow, it seems like a week since I have posted a Casino Chip of the Day, and it's really only been eight days. Got home late last night from our trip to Tunica, St. Louis, and Louisville, having picked up nine new souvenir chips along the way – one in Arkansas, five in Missouri, two in Illinois, and one in West Virginia. Those will be showing up in this thread some months down the way.

For today, we have our second Laughlin casino in a row. The Riverside Resort and Casino is the original Laughlin casino; i.e., the one founded by Don Laughlin himself. After buying the land in 1964, he opened his establishment in 1966 with a restaurant, a few slot machines, a couple of table games, and a single-digit number of hotel rooms. It has grown since then to a resort with more than 1,400 rooms, more than 75,000 sq. ft. of gaming space, its own RV park, an antique car museum, a bowling alley, and a multi-screen theater.

The Riverside is, of course, described in the Wizard's article on Laughlin, including some photos of the car collection. He notes that the Riverside ranks #1 in number of slots and #2 in number of table games in Laughlin, and he points out that the place has the highest number of 3-2 single-deck blackjack tables in all of Clark county.

For all of the nice features of the Riverside, they selected a bare bones chip to use at their tables. The chip shown below is a blue SCV Paulson hat and cane design with no edge inserts and a gold hot-stamped label for the casino name, city, and denomination. The MOGH catalog shows a few similar Riverside $1 chips in several colors with minor variations in the hot stamp and in which H&C logo they used in the mold. The catalog lists this particular chip just as having been issued at some indefinite year in the 1980's.

For a casino that has been around for 45 years, the Riverside really doesn't have very many different chips included in that catalog. Please post images of the Riverside chips that you have so we can see whether any WoV forum member has one that isn't in the catalog.

Welcome back, Doc!

I find it interesting that they specify the cents in the dollar amount.

Because of your remarks about the chip, I wanted to see if the $5 chips were also mere hot-stamps. Nope. They are the better quality chip with several collectable versions listed.

However, the $2.50 chip is grey, not pink, and, while hot-stamped, uses the logo for the stamp.

But most interesting, the MOGH catalog lists a Riverside casino in Davis Dam, Nevada.

Ordinarily, that wouldn't even catch my eye.

However, since it was me that drew the map used in the Laughlin article the Wiz wrote, I knew that the Davis Dam is only a couple miles away, and is a small local tourist attraction.

They indicate that the casino opened and closed in 1977. But I could find no other reference to indicate that Davis Dam is also a town (incorporated or not), or that there was ever a casino in that area.

The MOGH does show one chip for that casino: