Casino Chip of the Day

When the table died they closed the table, had the dealer take all the chips out of the rack counted each individual one, sent them back to the cage. Then a few minutes later the new chips were brought in as a regular fill. This was done on a Tuesday from 10pm-6am. There are no players after 3am usually.

Quote: NicksGamingStuff

When the table died they closed the table, had the dealer take all the chips out of the rack counted each individual one, sent them back to the cage. Then a few minutes later the new chips were brought in as a regular fill. This was done on a Tuesday from 10pm-6am. There are no players after 3am usually.

Thanks Nick, or should we call you "little bird"? hehe.

Well, I made it to Laughlin, so I have a little update on the Tropicana. The chips and all the building signage still say Tropicana Express, and the employee I spoke with said, "They're too cheap around here to change anything; we still have some signs that say Ramada."

He said they are still fighting with the Tropicana Las Vegas about use of the Tropicana name, although I thought the law suits had been resolved. He did check with someone for me, and they do not currently have any plans for changing the chips.

Sooo...the last 9 days haven't exactly gone as planned. Maybe I'll blog about it later. For now, here are the chips that I think I missed in this thread.

I hope that comment does not imply a serious problem over the past 9 days. I'm still accessing the site with my phone, and I haven't checked for a blog entry.

I made it out to Texas Station today to try for a $1 chip that actually says "Station" on it, but they did not have one at either the table I played or the cage. They did have a $5 chip like that at the table, just FYI rdw, but only one person would admit to having ever seen a $1 chip of that type. She claimed that was the "old" kind, though that doesn't make much sense to me and doesn't match what I remember from the MOGH catalog, though I have't checked there again.

Since it doesn't seem I will be adding that to my collection, I suppose it would be fine/best for anyone to post their Texas (Station) Gambling Hall chips now while I'm not home and posting chips daily.

Quote: Doc

I hope that comment does not imply a serious problem over the past 9 days. I'm still accessing the site with my phone, and I haven't checked for a blog entry.

I made it out to Texas Station today to try for a $1 chip that actually says "Station" on it, but they did not have one at either the table I played or the cage. They did have a $5 chip like that at the table, just FYI rdw, but only one person would admit to having ever seen a $1 chip of that type. She claimed that was the "old" kind, though that doesn't make much sense to me and doesn't match what I remember from the MOGH catalog, though I have't checked there again.

Since it doesn't seem I will be adding that to my collection, I suppose it would be fine/best for anyone to post their Texas (Station) Gambling Hall chips now while I'm not home and posting chips daily.

How was AZ? Did you get your chips there?

Sounds like I've got Texas Station, Arizona Charlie's Boulder, and the D to pick up when I'm in Vegas next month. I'm also going to Reno, so I should be able to clean up that area as well. Scary as it is, I think that after that trip I'll have NV closed out for as long as all the names stay the same.

I picked up two chips in California and one in Arizona, which was all I expected on this trip.

As for the $5 Texas "Station" chip I saw, it was one of very, very few, so you might have to ask them to search for one for you. Back during WoVCon][, when Nareed and I stopped by Arizona Charlie's Boulder, I had to ask the cashier to search for chips with that name. My brain wasn't working quite right: I picked up an extr and gave it to you later because you said you hadn't been able to get one; only later did it even occur to me tht your collection is $5 chips, and that $1 wouldn't fit in properly.

State: Nevada
City: Las Vegas
Casino: Venetian

Well, I'm back from my travels and ready to start posting chips again. Today's Casino Chip of the Day is from the Venetian, the heavily-themed casino hotel from Sands Corporation – isn't there someone around this site that is affiliated with that company?

The Venetian opened in 1999, replacing the Sands Hotel and Casino, which had been closed and imploded in 1996. The Wizard published a review of the Venetian in January 2011. Was it a favorable enough review to lead to employment opportunities? I'll let you judge for yourself.

My wife and I just returned from Las Vegas, and our last evening in town we had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants there: the Venetian's Canaletto Las Vegas restaurant on St. Mark's Square near one end of the Grand Canal and nicely positioned to allow diners to enjoy the singers and musicians performing on the small stage in the square. I'm not sure why, but that restaurant was not even mentioned among the Venetian restaurants in the Wizard's review.

The chip shown below is a white RHC Paulson chip with four edge inserts, two in red and two in a light olive. The MOGH catalog says this chip was issued in 1999 when the casino opened. The oversized center inlay is green with a photo that took me a little while to identify. It is the statue atop the structure in front of the Venetian, between Las Vegas Boulevard and the lake with the outdoor gondola rides. Yes, the Venetian is a place where you not only may ride a gondola on a lake outside, but you can also ride one on an indoor Grand Canal that is located, of all places, on the second floor. Anyway, the location of the statue shown on the chip may be seen just above and left of center in this photo found via the web. That is, unless the chip shows the original statue.

Many/most/almost all of the designs of the Venetian are taken from originals in Venice. I believe the structure in front of the Venetian is a copy of the old Customs House in Venice, where ships' tolls were paid, much as tolls are paid today in Las Vegas for gondola rides. The Customs House and the original statue atop it are shown in this photo, found in Wikipedia Commons. I have to go to such sources to identify buildings and statues, since I have a miniscule art education. Actually, it's not even that much.

The file with that photo describes the statue as: "Two bronze Atlases hold a statue of Fortune riding a golden ball." The Wizard pointed out in his review of the Venetian that the sign on its Rialto Bridge copy does not match the wording of the original, and that was discussed in this thread. With that in mind, I have no idea how true are the copies of the Customs House and its statue.

I, of course, don't really know whether the picture on the chip shows the statue at the Venetian or the one in Venice. Looking at the images of other chips in the MOGH catalog, I think the original $5 and $25 chips show the real campanile tower and the real Doge's Palace in Venice, not images of the Venetian's replicas.

There is currently an entertainment spectacle being offered in front of the Venetian that I had not seen before – have I just overlooked it? I am not sure just when it began nor how long it will continue, though there was some suggestion that it is just a summer event. It is called Carnevale and includes a variety of wildly-garbed carnival paraders who interact with the crowd plus a projected light show called "Light of Venice", which is performed four times each evening. Several animated light shows are offered -- we saw two, and I don't know whether all four shows of the evening are different. The lights are projected from an area near the top of the customs house replica and onto the entire face of the clock tower, located toward the Palazzo from the lake and shown in the very center of the first photo linked above. I think the combination of the costumed performers and the light show makes for a free entertainment opportunity that is well worth the price and the experience. Catch it before it is gone.

Back to the topic of today's chip, the name of the casino and city on the center inlay are in a shadow font, with the shadows toward the center of the chip. (Have you ever noticed that casino names on chips are almost always in all caps? Or at least in fonts where the lower-case characters are identical to the upper-case characters but a point or two smaller?) UV light reveals a hidden Paulson hat and cane logo.

When posting most of the Casino Chips of the Day, I have invited members to post not only their own chips from the same casino but also chips from earlier casinos on the same site. This time, though, I think it would be better not to post images of any chips from the Sands and instead to pay that establishment the respect and deference of a day of its own in this thread. Since I do not have a chip from there, that day will just have to wait a while for someone else to introduce the place.

Quote: Doc

I'm not sure why, but that restaurant was not even mentioned among the Venetian restaurants in the Wizard's review.

Maybe because there are too many restaurants to have included them all?

Quote: Doc

... indoor Grand Canal that is located, of all places, on the second floor.

I never thought of it, but that IS damn funny.



I have a chip with the same art as your's, but the color is different. Probably just the lighting. I also have one with a different design (or is that the back side? I forget and don't have it handy...), as well as a $1 Blue Man souvenir chip. You don't see too many $1 souvenir chips....
On a side note, I saw Blue Man Group Off-Broadway in NYC, before they were famous. Fantastic show. I've meant to see them again, but haven't gotten around to it.

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Yes, the oddity of a second floor canal (or maybe it's actually third floor) slips by a lot of folks. I did notice it on my first visit, but not until I started back down -- the delay was long enough that it shocked me when I realized that I had ridden up a very long escalator to reach the canal. I think it is overlooked because you cannot see the canal from any of the elevators or from the top of any of the escalators, though you can see one of the bridges from the top of the escalators at the far end of St. Mark's Square. Most visitors have walked along in front of shops or restaurants for a way before they encounter the canal, so it doesn't look so out of place.

Your first two chips are definitely different chips and not the two sides. One is an RHC Paulson, and the other is an LCV Paulson.

My wife and I have never been to see the Blue Man Group. We discussed it on this trip, but we just never felt enough interest. Maybe we just don't get it.

State: Nevada
City: Mesquite
Casino: Virgin River

The Virgin River Hotel and Casino is one of three casinos in Mesquite that I visited the same day in April 2010, and it is the one where my wife and I chose to have lunch. I don't remember why. At least it suggests that we found the environment worth spending a little time in. I also remember that I liked the CasaBlanca, but we were probably there too early for lunch.

The Virgin River first opened in 1990, and I have very little information about it. The hotel-casino's own web site reports that they have a family-friendly environment, country music in their lounge, a bowling alley, and an arcade. There is no Wikipedia page for the place and only a brief mention on the Wiki page for Mesquite.

There was an ownership change last year, though I don't know all the history leading up to that or whether there had been earlier changes.
Previously, the license was issued under the name B & BB Inc., owned by Black Gaming. They filed bankruptcy, and ownership was restructured.
The license was revised in August 2011 to say that NGA Voteco is the sole voting member of NGA Holdco, which owns 100% of NGA Blocker, which owns 100% of NGA Aquisitionco, which owns 40% of Mesquite Gaming, with all of the other owners of Mesquite Gaming (25% or less each) being individuals or family trusts with the Gaughan name. Yep, that 60% belongs to elements of the same family with extensive history in the Las Vegas casinos. Mesquite Gaming owns 100% of C & HRV, LLC, which is the official name of the present license holder, dba Virgin River Hotel and Casino. All of those entities are listed on the license as effective 8/5/2011. Do businesses in all fields have ownerships this complex, or is the casino business different in this aspect?

The Sports Book is licensed to "Gaughan South," which I think is a pretty clever name, provided you pronounce the family name correctly.

The chip shown below is very dark blue with no edge inserts and gold hot-stamped center info. This chip is the Sun design from Blue Chip Company, and I think it is about the third chip posted in this thread with that design, with one of the others being from another Mesquite casino. Later this week when I start my catch-up activity on Nevada casinos that I skipped first time around, I will have at least one more with the Sun mold. The MOGH catalog says that this chip was issued in 2005, and that previously the Virgin River casino had used Paulson hat and cane chips. No newer chips are shown that might be associated with last year's ownership adjustments.

The image looks almost black on my monitor. It must be difficult for security to remotely count these dark colored cheques, especially without edge spots.

Here are my Venetian and Virgin River chips. I like the Venetian. I've never won there (I even struck out on the free play that came with my club card), but I appreciate that they have fair games at lower-than-expected limits. And the 2nd floor canal is a pretty cool spectacle, too.

The people at Virgin River teased me pretty mercilessly when they learned that I'd driven to Mesquite just to collect chips. I don't know why, but I then told them that I'd been in Primm, Pahrump, and Laughlin earlier that day. That didn't help things - go figure!

On a mostly unrelated note, I think my schedule has normalized now for at least the next couple weeks. So, I should be able to stop lagging behind so badly in this thread.

Quote: rdw4potus

I think my schedule has normalized now for at least the next couple weeks. So, I should be able to stop lagging behind so badly in this thread.

I understand the issue; I have been home from Las Vegas since Friday A.M. and I'm still having trouble getting organized. I haven't even started on my write-up for today's Casino Chip of the Day, but last night I did work on getting some more chip images edited and loaded to my web site to take care of the next few weeks.

As for your schedule being normalized for the next couple of weeks, rdw4potus, do you still anticipate being able to take the lead on this thread while I am out of the country for a few weeks in Oct-Nov? I know (I mean I really, really know) how posting a chip and write-up on a daily basis can conflict with all those other hum-drum things one is supposed to be working on. Glad I don't have a real job as a writer with a daily deadline.

Quote: Doc

I understand the issue; I have been home from Las Vegas since Friday A.M. and I'm still having trouble getting organized. I haven't even started on my write-up for today's Casino Chip of the Day, but last night I did work on getting some more chip images edited and loaded to my web site to take care of the next few weeks.

As for your schedule being normalized for the next couple of weeks, rdw4potus, do you still anticipate being able to take the lead on this thread while I am out of the country for a few weeks in Oct-Nov? I know (I mean I really, really know) how posting a chip and write-up on a daily basis can conflict with all those other hum-drum things one is supposed to be working on. Glad I don't have a real job as a writer with a daily deadline.

I think we're good to go. I don't remember when you're leaving on your boondoggle, but I'm returning from Vegas on 10/18 - so if you leave before then, the thread may be on hiatus for a day or two until I'm able to pick it up.

Well, I'm in Vegas 9/30 thru 10/6 for G2E. I'm sure I'll pick up a few chips during that trip, so I'll post them and keep the thread alive during those few days....

I'm scheduled to fly out on Sunday 10/14, so I suspect my last post will be no later than 10/13. As I look at my collection, I expect to complete posting my Nevada chips, plus my few chips from Arizona, Arkansas, and California by then. I might even run out for those states a couple of days earlier, though I don't know that I would be able to get the Connecticut chips posted before I leave. I think it would be cleanest if I take my long break between states rather than right in the middle of one, though I don't really know why I feel that way. I'll figure that out a few weeks from now.

We will get home on 11/5, and I may or may not have my head settled enough to post on 11/6.

Quote: Doc

I'm scheduled to fly out on Sunday 10/14, so I suspect my last post will be no later than 10/13. As I look at my collection, I expect to complete posting my Nevada chips, plus my few chips from Arizona, Arkansas, and California by then. I might even run out for those states a couple of days earlier, though I don't know that I would be able to get the Connecticut chips posted before I leave. I think it would be cleanest if I take my long break between states rather than right in the middle of one, though I don't really know why I feel that way. I'll figure that out a few weeks from now.

We will get home on 11/5, and I may or may not have my head settled enough to post on 11/6.

I'd hate to see you leave in the middle of NV or CA, and I understand the issue there. I'm less sure that CT and AR should carry that same weight:-)

I haven't really given this much thought (yet), but do you think it makes more sense for me to move forward to Delaware, Florida, Illinois, and Indiana while you're gone, or should I circle back to California & Arizona and fill in my chips from the places you haven't made it to yet? I've never been to the Colorado casinos, and my trip out there fell through this summer - twice! - so I can't contribute anything from CO yet.

State: Nevada
City: Las Vegas
Casino: Western

The now-defunct Western Hotel and casino is described on its Wikipedia page as "the lowest rung of Jackie Gaughan's low-roller casino empire."

I have some uncertainty on the history of the place. That Wiki page says that Gaughan and Mel Exber opened the Western in 1970 with the world's largest bingo parlor. The MOGH chip catalog says that the casino opened in 1965, although it does not include any chips issued earlier than 1971. The LV Revealed "Las Vegas Timeline" says that Gaughan purchased the Western in 1965, without mentioning when it originally opened, and notes that the hotel opened 1/1/71.

Anyone know anything more about that? All those dates precede my first visit to Las Vegas.

When Gaughan sold the place in 2004, a couple of articles here from Casino City Times and here from the LA Times had some entertaining quotes about just how bad the place was. I won't bother repeating them here, but you might want to take a look.

That sale was to Barrick Gaming, which had Tamares Group as a "silent" partner. A year later, Barrick sold their share to Tamares, which continued the operation for another half dozen years. Last November, they announced that the Western would close in January, "Due to decreased demand at this location."

I visited the Western casino only once, one afternoon in September 2009, when I won $5 and a souvenir chip playing blackjack, just before heading over to the Gold Spike with a similar objective but less successful outcome.

The chip shown below is a dark blue Paulson design with wide pink and green edge inserts. The MOGH catalog says that this chip was issued in 2008. I have to admit that it's a bit nicer chip than I would have expected from the Western. I had not realized until seeing the MOGH listing that the chip has the SCV hat and cane on one side and the LCV hat and cane on the other. I had to pull my camera out today for an additional photo for this post. That catalog says there was another chip version issued the same year that had the SCV design on both sides. UV light reveals a hidden LCV Paulson logo on each side of my chip, and the green edge insert fluoresces blue.

Quote: rdw4potus

I haven't really given this much thought (yet), but do you think it makes more sense for me to move forward to Delaware, Florida, Illinois, and Indiana while you're gone, or should I circle back to California & Arizona and fill in my chips from the places you haven't made it to yet? I've never been to the Colorado casinos, and my trip out there fell through this summer - twice! - so I can't contribute anything from CO yet.

Since I do have at least some of the chips from DE, FL, IL, and IN, I think it would fit better with my scheme so far to let those states wait until I return. I think the period of my overseas absence would be a great time for you to post all of your chips from casinos that I have already skipped over in NV, AZ, AR, and CA. I'm not sure, but I suspect you have more than enough to last the 20-some days I will be away. Do you happen to have any chips from casinos in Alabama or Alaska? ;-) I don't know whether there even are any.

Quote: Doc

Since I do have at least some of the chips from DE, FL, IL, and IN, I think it would fit better with my scheme so far to let those states wait until I return. I think the period of my overseas absence would be a great time for you to post all of your chips from casinos that I have already skipped over in NV, AZ, AR, and CA. I'm not sure, but I suspect you have more than enough to last the 20-some days I will be away. Do you happen to have any chips from casinos in Alabama or Alaska? ;-) I don't know whether there even are any.

Alaska has no casinos, and Alabama has a couple large(ish) slots-only facilities that may-or-may-not be legal and may-or-may-not remain open.

I'll be happy to run through the NV casinos that are in my collection but not yours. That may take 20 days (I've been to Jackpot & Wendover), but if it doesn't, I can start in on the remaining AZ chips as well.

I'm not entirely sure yet, but right now I'm maybe 95% sure that I'll have every available chip in Nevada after my trip ends on the 18th. I need to hit a couple places in Northern Nevada that may-or-may-not be open in the off-season (I'll be there the 12th & 13th). If that works out and I get to the D and Texas Station and Arizona Charlie's Boulder, then I'll have it (until something gets sold)

Here's my Western chip. I think I've told this story before, but it took me about 5 minutes to figure out how to enter the Western. I do realize that the doors are right there facing the street. But they looked so plain and uninviting, I just assumed that they were emergency exits or something. So, I walked around looking for some sort of grander entrance. It wasn't until I saw someone come out the doors that I finally hung my head and walked in.

Quote: rdw4potus

Here's my Western chip.

So, does your chip have the same hat and cane on both sides? The MOGH catalog shows one version with the LCV logo and one with the SCV, but it is not explicit on whether there is a $5 chip (like the $1 chip that I posted) that has LCV on one side and SCV on the other. Do you have your chip handy to check it? It's easy to miss such a thing, as I did with my chip until today.

Quote: Doc

So, does your chip have the same hat and cane on both sides? The MOGH catalog shows one version with the LCV logo and one with the SCV, but it is not explicit on whether there is a $5 chip (like the $1 chip that I posted) that has LCV on one side and SCV on the other. Do you have your chip handy to check it? It's easy to miss such a thing, as I did with my chip until today.

My collection is still in storage. Only 11 days until my possessions and I are in the same state again (permanently). I'll look at my Western chip when I unpack the collection. I'm interested to see if I can find my Sahara chip as well. I don't have a picture of that chip, which makes me worry that it might be missing. I don't know what I'd do then. I'm not sure if it's fair game to buy a chip online to replace a chip I lost. I'm pretty sure I'd force myself to return to the casino to get another one if the casino were still open.

State: Nevada
City: Primm
Casino: Whiskey Pete's

When I presented the chip for Buffalo Bill's Casino in Primm, I commented that it appeared to be named for Buffalo Bill Cody rather than for anyone local to the area. Today, we have a chip from the one gaming facility in Primm – Whiskey Pete''s Hotel Casino – that does appear to be named for a local, even though he had nothing to do with the casino.

According to Wikipedia, which I think may be accurate in this instance, or at least have the local lore presented accurately:

Quote: Wiki

The area originally was owned by a gas station owner named Pete MacIntyre. Pete is believed to have had a difficult time making ends meet selling gas and have resorted to bootlegging. Primm history remembers him as "Whiskey Pete."

When Whiskey Pete died in 1933, legend has it that he wanted to be buried standing up with a bottle of bootleg in his hands so he could watch over the area. Whiskey Pete's unmarked grave was accidentally exhumed while workers were building a connecting bridge from Whiskey Pete's to Buffalo Bill's (on the other side of I-15). The body was moved and is now said to be buried in one of the caves where Pete cooked up his moonshine.

All of the Primm casinos were originally developed by the Primm family. Whiskey Pete's license was issued for startup October 1, 1977, which is the year that Wiki says it opened, but the MOGH chip catalog claims it didn't open until 1978. I can't explain that further. The three casinos were sold to MGM, then to Herbst, and after that company's bankruptcy went to Affinity Gaming, effective 12/31/10.

The chip shown below is a dark blue RHC Paulson hat and cane design with either four edge inserts or two double inserts, depending upon your preferences on such counting. They are tan and olive. The center inlay includes a caricature of a cowboy/miner/whatever toting a bag of money and a jug marked "XXX", appropriate for the moonshine. UV light reveals the hidden Paulson logo in the center. The MOGH catalog says that this chip was issued in 1999, and several of the earlier chips shown there list the location of the casino not as Primm but as either Jean or Clark County. Perhaps that is because the name of the community was not set as Primm until 1996.

I'm curious why Whiskey Pete's is on the "outbound" side of the I-15 (the highway that connects Las Vegas and Southern California). It was the first casino one would encounter when driving in from Los Angeles, but Las Vegas bound drivers would have to cross the highway to get to it.

On the other hand, for a long time, it was the last casino one would encounter before entering California. Sort of a, "last chance for gas... and a chance to recoup your losses".

Is there more profit in squeezing the last dollar from the homeward bound, than catching the fat cats on their way into Vegas?

I wonder how Whiskey Pete would feel about the success of the current gas station in Primm? (Is it still Primm if it's on the CA side of the border?) At least on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, that's got to be one of the busier gas stations around.

Quote: rdw4potus

I wonder how Whiskey Pete would feel about the success of the current gas station in Primm? (Is it still Primm if it's on the CA side of the border?) At least on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, that's got to be one of the busier gas stations around.

Couldn't a gas station on the Nevada side of the line be very competitive? Isn't the Nevada tax rate (or at least the total fuel rate) a lot lower than in California?

Quote: Doc

Couldn't a gas station on the Nevada side of the line be very competitive? Isn't the Nevada tax rate (or at least the total fuel rate) a lot lower than in California?

Well, sure. But there's no lottery in NV:-)

Quote: rdw4potus

Well, sure. But there's no lottery in NV:-)

Ooops! My bad. I had this delusion that you were talking about a gas station that was in business to sell gasoline.

I guess I would take it that Pete MacIntyre couldn't make enough money selling gas, so he sold moonshine, while today's gas station can only stay in business by selling lottery tickets. For which vice does society show a higher approval, gambling or boozing?

Quote: Doc

Ooops! My bad. I had this delusion that you were talking about a gas station that was in business to sell gasoline.

I guess I would take it that Pete MacIntyre couldn't make enough money selling gas, so he sold moonshine, while today's gas station can only stay in business by selling lottery tickets. For which vice does society show a higher approval, gambling or boozing?

Ooooh, that's a good question! I'll go with gambling. Even churches that rail against alcohol have game nights!

I'm always sort of in awe of the gas station/convenience store industry. Used to be that there was one place to go to buy gas, and another place to go to buy snacks/groceries. Then they were pretty well combined there for a while. Now it seems like they're separating again - or at least that there's a resurgence of convenience stores that do not sell fuel. As I recall, the gas station in Primm has a surprisingly large convenience store. I suppose they do a good snack business between the casino goers, Interstate drivers, and lotto players.

I don't think the store that sells the lotto tickets on the California side of the border even pretends to sell gas. I would assume it is fairly expensive to get "California Blend" trucked to you, especially when the Whiskey Pete station on the Nevada side has a dozen pairs of pumps, and is equipped for Big Rigs, and RV's.

Yeah that lotto store in Primm was pretty depressing. People in line to buy lotto tickets, probably 6 scratcher vending machines, and a counter to scratch tickets... That's it folks.

Regarding the border lotto store: I note that it is located on the Northbound side of I-15, which is the side with traffic heading into Nevada. If 99.9995% of your customers are coming from Nevada, wouldn't it make more sense to put the store on the Whiskey Pete's side of the highway?

Unless you are trying to capture the, "Leaving California" crowd..??

Quote: Ayecarumba

Regarding the border lotto store: I note that it is located on the Northbound side of I-15, which is the side with traffic heading into Nevada. If 99.9995% of your customers are coming from Nevada, wouldn't it make more sense to put the store on the Whiskey Pete's side of the highway?

Unless you are trying to capture the, "Leaving California" crowd..??

I didn't realize at first that the lotto store was the "gas station" that rdw4potus was referring to. The first time that I saw that place, in 2003, it was not a lotto store. It was more of a "Welcome to Nevada/Las Vegas" store and offered discount tickets, room reservations, and the like to people arriving from California. It was not until the lines there were shown on national news the day of one of the monster jackpot drawings that I realized that it had been converted to a new purpose.

My Whiskey Pete's chip is one of the first ones I added to my collection, in the early 80's. It was a pretty small casino back then, as I recall they had maybe 4-6 21 tables and about 30 slots. I've probably stopped there 20 times through the years, as a last stop on the drive back to California, but I don't recall ever having much luck there. My price guide lists it as second issue (current issue os the 5th) and it is worth $20 in average condition.

Yes, Johnzimbo! That's one of the "Clark County, Nevada" chips I was referring to in my post, from before Primm became Primm.

I love the 70's font. It's "Groovy".

State: Nevada
City: Las Vegas
Casino: Wild Wild West

The Wild Wild West Gambling Hall and Hotel belongs to Station Casinos and is one of their properties operated under the Wild Fire brand. It is the only Wild Fire casino that has table games.

The place started out as a King 8 Hotel in 1974 and received a casino license and name change in July 1998. The property location, on Tropicana Avenue just a block west of I-15, has been viewed as having potential for a major off-strip casino – it is as close to the strip as the Rio and closer than the Hard Rock. Prior to Station Casinos' financial difficulties and bankruptcy, they accumulated a large tract of surrounding land, and there were plans for a major redevelopment to be called Viva. That surrounding land is still used primarily as a truck parking and re-fueling facility.

When I moved from Georgia to North Carolina in early 2008, the moving van driver noticed my chip collection (a bit smaller then) and commented that Wild Wild West was his favorite casino in Las Vegas. I stifled my laugh and assumed that the hotel was where he stayed during layovers in Sin City, with his rig parked nearby, and that the Wild Wild West was probably the only Las Vegas casino he had ever been in.

The casino was rather dumpy on my only visit, and my impression was that the hotel was on about the same level. The hotel became a Days Inn in 2009, and supposedly there has been significant remodeling performed. I have not bothered to check it out myself.

The chip shown below is a white RHC Paulson hat and cane design with four edge inserts, two red and two purple. The mostly-gray center inlay is oversized, covering almost the entirety of the hat and cane logos. The three Ws in the name are in a distinctly different font than the rest of the name, and UV light reveals the hidden Paulson hat and cane logo. Just as with the Western Hotel Casino chip a couple of days ago, this Wild Wild West chip is a higher quality casino currency than I would have expected from this establishment.

My "Wild Wild" guess is that, other than chip collectors, very few people on this forum have ever played at Wild Wild West. Am I right?

I've only been to the Wild Wild West once. I went after the hotel became a Days Inn, which was confusing because the casino is a very small part of the building. I drove by twice before realizing that the casino was part of the hotel. While I didn't stay at the hotel, I got the impression that the casino was mostly entertainment for the hotel's guests. Kind of like the Westin or the Clarion, but with a Days Inn as the hotel. Both the facade of the hotel and the casino floor seemed dated when I visited, but maybe the hotel rooms themselves had been updated.

Quote: Doc

... the Wild Wild West was probably the only Las Vegas casino he (the trucker) had ever been in.

Probably because it was the only casino on/near the strip to have a truck stop.

Quote: Doc

The three Ws in the name are in a distinctly different font than the rest of the name...

No they're not. They are a tad larger, but the same font. There are several items where they are similar:

Shown in blue: The angled strokes with square top matches the "S".
Shown in yellow: The angled edges at the bottom match several other angled edges seen.

Admin note: removed image www.djteddybear.com/images/wild_wild_west_font.JPG
I gotta check when I get home, but I think I own this font.

Quote: Doc

My "Wild Wild" guess is that, other than chip collectors, very few people on this forum have ever played at Wild Wild West. Am I right?

I have a small collection, but have never set foot in the place. I always assumed it was on Boulder Highway, or way North Las Vegas. I haven't really thought about it before, but the I-15 is sort of a de facto "border" for me, and it takes something special (like Gladys Knight at the Orleans) to get me on the west side of it. Since it is so close to the Strip, I will put it on my list of places to visit.

deleted

Haven't been to the WWW but did stop in one time when it was the King 8. It definitely catered to truck drivers...I remember lots of beer and cigarette smoke, and nothing else. Don't think I stayed more than 5 minutes and don't think I gambled as I never snagged a chip from there.

Although those of you that have been there have been giving it low marks, I believe it qualifies for inclusion on the official WoV maps that I made.

As you may recall, I used the WoV hotel listing as my guide and included any hotel that had table games. For whatever reason (overlooked?), WWW isn't on that list.

Although the WWW and Days Inn are somewhat seperate entities, the official Wild Wild West website looks like most other casino hotel websites, with hotel reservation pages as part of the website, it includes logos for WWW and DI, and prominently links to other casinos in the company portfolio (Station Casinos), as well as their player's card (Boarding Pass).

FYI: Ellis Island squeaked thru on a technicality, at least partially influenced by it's popularity among tourists. It is connected to a hotel, and the casino's website has a link to the hotel's website. The hotel's website uses both logos.

Yeah, I think WWW deserves to be on the WoV map.

Quote: Johnzimbo

Haven't been to the WWW but did stop in one time when it was the King 8. ... Don't think I stayed more than 5 minutes and don't think I gambled as I never snagged a chip from there.

Guess I had an inaccuracy/omission in my original post on Wild Wild West. In my limited search for history to include in my write-up with the chip, I could find that it opened as a King 8 Hotel in 1974 and received a casino license as Wild Wild West in 1998. I could not find (then) any documentation or reference to whether the King 8 Hotel had a casino at all.

After reading your comment, I checked a little further and saw that the MOGH catalog lists the King 8 casino on Tropicana as opening in 1974 and closing in 1988. They have some of the King 8 chips shown there. They even show a .999 Fine Silver Strike token, which seems a little odd for such a place. I overlooked all this before because the MOGH catalog doesn't report on the Wild Wild West casino listing that it was preceded by the King 8 casino. I don't know what was going on there in the decade from 1988 to 1998.

On the very off chance that anyone has any King 8 chips, I invite you to post them now. I suspect that if anyone did have any, like Johnzimbo they would have recognized the opportunity without my having said it.

Quote: DJTeddyBear

Yeah, I think WWW deserves to be on the WoV map.

Go for it; you show all of the other Station's properties with hotels, don't you? You even have the defunct Western with a big X through it, and I don't really know that I would rate Wild Wild West worse than the Western, if ratings matter in what should be included on a map. This place is probably comparable to the Gold Spike, which you have on the map.

Quote: DJTeddyBear

Although those of you that have been there have been giving it low marks, I believe it qualifies for inclusion on the official WoV maps that I made.

As you may recall, I used the WoV hotel listing as my guide and included any hotel that had table games. For whatever reason (overlooked?), WWW isn't on that list.

Although the WWW and Days Inn are somewhat seperate entities, the official Wild Wild West website looks like most other casino hotel websites, with hotel reservation pages as part of the website, it includes logos for WWW and DI, and prominently links to other casinos in the company portfolio (Station Casinos), as well as their player's card (Boarding Pass).

FYI: Ellis Island squeaked thru on a technicality, at least partially influenced by it's popularity among tourists. It is connected to a hotel, and the casino's website has a link to the hotel's website. The hotel's website uses both logos.

Yeah, I think WWW deserves to be on the WoV map.

The Wizard has decided that Wild West West not be included in his "offical" hotel list. Ellis Island also isn't included. I think he is looking for "all-inclusive" completely integrated resorts. I pitched him a review of Lucky Club, whose hotel is no longer a Ramada but just the "Lucky Club hotel," and he rejected it.

On the other hand, slot-only casinos like Skyline are included on the "official list." Not that I would every bother pitching a review of that place...

State: Nevada
City: Las Vegas
Casino: Wynn/Encore

When Curtis Howe Springer created the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa in 1944, not far from Baker, California, he made up the name of the area, claiming it to be the last word in the English Language. I mention that because most any finite alphabetical list must have a "last" entry, and the Wynn Las Vegas is the alphabetically last of the Nevada casinos represented in my chip collection. The MOGH catalog does show three Nevada casinos that would come later, all of which closed in 1990 or earlier.

I have listed the Wynn and Encore together (sometimes referred to as Wynncore) because the two neighboring establishments operate under a single gaming license and use the same chips. The Wynn opened in April 2005, with Encore following in December 2008.

Perhaps someone can explain to me what it means for the casino license to have addenda noting "Approval to operate (some number of) international gaming salons." The Wynn license shows approval of three such salons on its opening date, four additional salons seven months later, three more in 2006, and eight more concurrent with the opening of Encore. Perhaps a low-roller, non-player of Asian games (such as me) isn't supposed to understand such things. Does the term "international gaming salon" mean a private room not accessible to John Q. Public?

I don't know why it has taken so long for me to think of this, but perhaps when I have been describing casinos associated with all of these chips, it would have been useful to include links where people could download a map of the property layout. It might make it easier to describe some things, such as the fact that the Wynn Theater is located in between the Encore Theater and the Encore casino. Seems an odd configuration to me. Such a map might have also been useful in discussing the Wizard's recent suggestion that the Wynn has the best parking garage in Las Vegas. I guess that linking to a property map is probably more appropriate for a full review article and not just my random critiques, plus I don't know how many casino layout maps I could find on line.

Both the Wynn and Encore are substantial steps up from the places represented by the last few chips I have posted. My wife and I enjoy just walking the loop around the Encore casino and through the Wynn casino. Sometimes I have the feeling that some burly character is going to show up to escort us out because I do not ooze enough class to be in their place. Wynn Resorts has partnered for promotions with the Monte-Carlo Casinos in Monaco – I wonder whether I will have that same out-of-place feeling when I get the chance to visit the Grand Casino next month.

When I posted my chip from Palazzo, I had a brain glitch and claimed that the Parasol Up bar was located there. Ayecarumba pointed out my error, and I responded by posting the Wiki photo that had led to my error. Nevertheless, my wife really does enjoy the ambiance of Parasol Up, just off the casino floor at the Wynn, and adjacent to some of the lovely conservatory displays. We stopped by there again just last week for some mental adjustments.

My wife and I have never stayed at either Wynn or Encore, of course, but we did go to see Le Reve in 2006 and enjoyed it. I don't think we have attended any other shows in either establishment, though a Garth Brooks concert would probably be a lot of fun.

Each time my wife and I walk through the Wynn casino, we both laugh about an experience I had going through there one time. As I walked toward the crossing of aisles in the very center of the casino, I saw a buxom young lady approaching at 90° in intense conversation with a young man that I took to be her boyfriend/husband. She was focused right on his face as they walked/talked, and as they made the turn toward me, she collided slightly with me. The collision was such that my upper left arm sunk a full two or three inches into her left boob before elasticity separated us. The young lady did not seem to notice that there had been any contact at all, which left me wondering just how much live tissue was involved in her part of the collision.

The chip shown below is dark blue with four white edge inserts that have that appearance DJTB says makes them look as if they are painted on. The Wynn name and the city are molded three times into the perimeter ring of the chip, and the white center inlay has a matching blue logo that I think might be a highly-stylized "W." Or not. It also looks a bit like a ship's hull or a wine goblet. Whatever.

UV light reveals both a hidden Paulson hat and cane and the repeated Wynn name covering the center inlay. Yes, there is the expected "typo", but this time it is not two letters in swapped positions, as we have seen so many times before with this hidden image.

I am still hopeful that some day the Encore will issue their own chips.

Tomorrow I will break with the alphabetical sequence and start to fill in some of the Nevada gaps.

Quote: Doc

Perhaps someone can explain to me what it means for the casino license to have addenda noting "Approval to operate (some number of) international gaming salons." The Wynn license shows approval of three such salons on its opening date, four additional salons seven months later, three more in 2006, and eight more concurrent with the opening of Encore. Perhaps a low-roller, non-player of Asian games (such as me) isn't supposed to understand such things. Does the term "international gaming salon" mean a private room not accessible to John Q. Public?

All gaming areas of casinos in Nevada were supposed to be open to the public. This was originally meant to guarantee access to Gaming Control Agents. However, with the popularity of private rooms amongst "Ultra High Stakes" players, the rules were modified to allow private, restricted access gaming areas as long as Gaming Control had immediate and unfettered access to the surveilance cameras each of these salons are required to have. Just a guess, but could this set up be what the note on license is referring to?

Quote: Doc

Both the Wynn and Encore are substantial steps up from the places represented by the last few chips I have posted. My wife and I enjoy just walking the loop around the Encore casino and through the Wynn casino. Sometimes I have the feeling that some burly character is going to show up to escort us out because I do not ooze enough class to be in their place. Wynn Resorts has partnered for promotions with the Monte-Carlo Casinos in Monaco – I wonder whether I will have that same out-of-place feeling when I get the chance to visit the Grand Casino next month.

The Wynn promotions have been all over the place. I noted a sign on the "Red Card" player promotion desk listing card numbers of those who have one a cash prize. When I inquired about details, the older woman behind the desk (isn't it always an older woman working the player card desk?) informed me that the posting was in reference to a promotion being run for "locals". Also, when they first opened, I recall reading that the Wynn had one of the largest number of penny slot machines in Las Vegas. I don't know if this is still true.

Quote: Doc

Each time my wife and I walk through the Wynn casino, we both laugh about an experience I had going through there one time. As I walked toward the crossing of aisles in the very center of the casino, I saw a buxom young lady approaching at 90° in intense conversation with a young man that I took to be her boyfriend/husband. She was focused right on his face as they walked/talked, and as they made the turn toward me, she collided slightly with me. The collision was such that my upper left arm sunk a full two or three inches into her left boob before elasticity separated us. The young lady did not seem to notice that there had been any contact at all, which left me wondering just how much live tissue was involved in her part of the collision.

Airbags save lives.

Quote: Doc

The chip shown below is dark blue with four white edge inserts that have that appearance DJTB says makes them look as if they are painted on. The Wynn name and the city are molded three times into the perimeter ring of the chip, and the white center inlay has a matching blue logo that I think might be a highly-stylized "W." Or not. It also looks a bit like a ship's hull or a wine goblet. Whatever.

My guess is a "W" sylized in a rosebud.

Some folks love the smell of the floral display in the main entrance's atrium, but I am not too fond of it. Maybe if it smelled like grilled beef...