Casino Chip of the Day

For the record, since a lot of "casinos" from the People's Republic of California are being discussed lately: IMO any casino without craps or where dice do not directly determine the result in craps, is not a real casino :P (ditto any "casino" with real craps but no card games at all)

Not that I think going to such "casinos" in order to collect chips is in any way wrong.

Also for the record, in spanish the correct spelling is "Isabel." I wonder where the "Y" came from...

Quote: Nareed

IMO any casino without craps ... is not a real casino :P

Since I have been focused on craps for the past few years, I have a similar attitude, but I will accept a gaming establishment as being a "real" casino so long as it has some table games. I don't view the slot parlors as being real-to-me casinos.

I will be boarding a cruise ship in ten days. Looking at the deck plans, and focusing on the casino area, I don't see anything that looks like a craps table. Some ships have them, and some don't. If this one doesn't, I'll be disappointed, but it will probably save me a bit of money.

Mentioning my upcoming cruise reminds me that I should probably update you on my plans for this thread during my absence. Before departure, I will complete posting my California chips and will post my Connecticut chips, too, with the last of those being posted on Sunday 10/14, just before I head to my plane. Then, rdw4potus will take the lead on the thread for a while. He will post his Nevada chips representing casinos not yet covered in my collection, and he says he has enough of those to fill in on a daily basis until I return in November, just in time to vote.

Now here's a request to everyone: Keep the pressure on rdw to post a chip every single day and to present some relevant discussion of the casino, the chip, or whatever and not just make a here's-my-chip post. His collection is much larger than mine, and I want him to feel the stresses of having to generate a write-up every day. ;-)

When I get back and rdw has finished posting his Nevada chips, I will return to posting my collection, beginning with my Delaware chips.

For anyone interested in what kind of trip I am taking, here is the itinerary, with links to further info about the ship and ports of call. I don't know whether that link will still work after the ship sails, since it is there to sell bookings. My wife and I will be in stateroom #4176 on the very aft end of the Upper Promenade deck of the ms Noordam. We had a similar stern-facing stateroom on the ms Zuiderdam for a 21-day cruise from Vancouver to Fort Lauderdale back in 2007.

Quote: Nareed

For the record, since a lot of "casinos" from the People's Republic of California are being discussed lately: IMO any casino without craps or where dice do not directly determine the result in craps, is not a real casino :P (ditto any "casino" with real craps but no card games at all)

Not that I think going to such "casinos" in order to collect chips is in any way wrong.

Also for the record, in spanish the correct spelling is "Isabel." I wonder where the "Y" came from...

I understand the way you feel and used to feel the same way. But when it is done properly (the Rincon or Sycuan methods) It plays the same and actually offers an advantage in my mind. In craps, you can generally not see the outcome of the roll unless you are standing on the opposite side of the table as the shooter, e.g. where the dice land. With CA craps, you can see the results of every roll very clearly in the center of the table. The other advantage (to me at least) is that the cards are flipped one at a time and it adds some drama to the game. Say you have a point of 10 and you are also on the 6 and 8. If the first card flipped is a 5, oh boy! You have 3/6 chance of winning something! If the point is 4 and you have a come bet on the 5 and 6, and the first card flipped is a 6, you know you cant win but you might lose. I compare this to the way the baccarat players bend the cards.

Would you like me to post chips from LA's card rooms?

Quote: paisiello

Would you like me to post chips from LA's card rooms?

Yes, but not yet.

In order to make this thread just a little bit organized, I have tried to set things up so that there is one person at a time (beginning with me) taking the lead and identifying which casino's chips are to be posted that day. Then any and everyone else can post their different chips from that same casino.

My initial plan was that I would post my entire collection and then turn things over to another member. As noted above, I have modified that plan because I will be away from the forum for several weeks and don't want to risk having the thread die. I got rdw4potus to agree to post his other Nevada chips while I am gone, and I hope others will post their chips from those casinos, too. Wish I had some myself, and eventually I will.

When I get back home, I will resume posting my collection, and I expect I will reach the end of my supply about next March. Then I plan to turn the thread over to rdw4potus. He will post them in a sequence he likes, perhaps the same way I have. I think he has a bunch of California card room chips in his collection, so when he posts one of those, please post your chips from the same casino/card room. I have just chosen not to collect any of those myself (yet).

It has not even been discussed yet as to who should take the lead after rdw has finished posting his collection, but perhaps you could go next if you like. Then you could decide which casino should be covered each day.

I know that sounds like I'm putting you off for what could be a long time, which I think I am, but if I encourage everyone to just post whatever chip they happen to have handy on any day they like, I think this thread would be a bit of bedlam. There are whole sites specifically for discussing casino chips, and people can join them and start threads there anytime to post their chips. If we are just going to have one thread here at WoV that goes through a bunch of chips while other discussions are going on in parallel, then I hope to keep some structure to this thread, no matter how wild and crazy some of the others become.

Does that make sense?

Quote: Doc

Since I have been focused on craps for the past few years, I have a similar attitude, but I will accept a gaming establishment as being a "real" casino so long as it has some table games. I don't view the slot parlors as being real-to-me casinos.

Back in the day, I used to think a casino wasn't a real casino unless it had table games.

Then I decided that a casino wasn't a real casino unless it had a large amount of table games, with variety (i.e. craps, TCP, etc).

Then I decided that a casino wasn't a real casino unless it had a poker room.

Then I decided that a casino wasn't a real casino unless it also had Tiles...

There aren't a lot of real casinos in my book... ;)

Quote: Doc

... The casino's web site home page identifies the place as "San Diego's Craft Beer Casino." I guess it's good to know and promote your niche. It's really not much of a web site – there is a header menu labeled "Apple Days", which was intriguing enough for me to click it. It just gives an empty page. WTF?

I've never been to this particular casino, but apple orchards are a big industry in the hills east of San Diego. There are quite a few roadside places that pop up in season offering fresh fruit, preserves and baked goods. Delicioso!

Quote: Doc

Mentioning my upcoming cruise...

Have a great time Doc! I am curious about the on board casino when the ship is in the Mediterranean. Is it only open when the ship is in international waters (are there any), or do some countries allow it to be open when the ship is in their ports?

Quote: Tiltpoul

Then I decided that a casino wasn't a real casino unless it also had Tiles...

Tiles aren't real...

Quote: bigfoot66

I understand the way you feel and used to feel the same way. But when it is done properly (the Rincon or Sycuan methods) It plays the same and actually offers an advantage in my mind.

[snip!]

Quote:

The other advantage (to me at least) is that the cards are flipped one at a time and it adds some drama to the game. Say you have a point of 10 and you are also on the 6 and 8. If the first card flipped is a 5, oh boy! You have 3/6 chance of winning something! If the point is 4 and you have a come bet on the 5 and 6, and the first card flipped is a 6, you know you cant win but you might lose. I compare this to the way the baccarat players bend the cards.

So it plays the same, but it doesn't play the same.

Doublethinking is a very bad habit to fall into :)

Quote: Ayecarumba

I am curious about the on board casino when the ship is in the Mediterranean. Is it only open when the ship is in international waters (are there any), or do some countries allow it to be open when the ship is in their ports?

I have never been on a cruise ship that had a casino open in port. Don't think I have even heard of one. I very much suspect that the casinos aboard ships in the Med are open from shortly after clearing the harbor until approaching the next one. That's basically the way it works in the Caribbean, and many of those islands are very close together.

On one cruise coming back into Miami, the casino closed earlier than announced because (supposedly) the captain called down to say we were too close to the US. And that was several hours before we were scheduled to dock.

I have twice sailed out of Vancouver. From there to the open Pacific is a pretty good trek. (Is that word appropriate for travel by water?) I can't remember just how long they waited to open the casino the first night.

Quote: Doc

I will be boarding a cruise ship in ten days. Looking at the deck plans, and focusing on the casino area, I don't see anything that looks like a craps table. Some ships have them, and some don't. If this one doesn't, I'll be disappointed, but it will probably save me a bit of money.

I just did a little net search and found a number of references to craps being played on the Noordam. Either the deck plan is out of date, or it's lacking in accurate detail. (Craps tables do show up on the casino deck plans for some sister ships.)

I suppose this means I will be subject to the vagaries of variance for three weeks, including seven straight full days at sea.

State: California
City: San Jacinto
Casino: Soboba

The Soboba Casino opened in 1996 and is owned by the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians. It is located on their reservation on the outskirts of the little town of San Jacinto, on the west side of the huge Mount San Jacinto, which overlooks Palm Springs on its east side.

According to their web site, the casino offers 27 table games, 14 poker tables, and 2020 slots, plus bingo. They have several restaurants and, for entertainment, the Soboba arena (3500 seats) with the only listed upcoming event being a "gladiator challenge." There seems to be more variety available at their bar known as AC's lounge, which has 3 blackjack tables and promos for everything from Monday night football to senior swing dancing to Latin night to a DJ, with live entertainment on the weekends.

That sounds like plenty for what I remember of San Jacinto, but I have only been there once. That was on that April 2009 swing through the casinos of the area, and I was on my way back from Palm Springs to San Diego.

In planning that swing I had read a little article about conflict between the local sheriff and the tribe regarding the goings on at the casino. The sheriff's crew had tried to arrest some tribal members and wound up shooting and killing three of them at the casino. That, of course, led to conflict between the sheriff's department and the tribe. According to the sheriff, the tribal leaders "instructed reservation security guards to block deputies serving search warrants or conducting other nonemergency business on the reservation." In response, the sheriff asked the federal government to shut down the casino. That was the latest news I had heard about the place before visiting, and I have heard no update since.

The chip shown below is a very plain, white Bud Jones chip, with no markings at all except on the center inlay. I guess that shows off the red, black, gray, and orange graphic at its best.

Soboba is another craphole casino. Lousy paytables, no hotel, and the whole property is a tent.

Quote: bigfoot66

Soboba is another craphole casino. Lousy paytables, no hotel, and the whole property is a tent.

Well, yeah, I guess I forgot to mention that it's not quite the Bellagio.

State: California
City: Palm Springs
Casino: Spa Resort

While there are a number of casinos in the Palm Springs area, the Spa Resort Casino (or Spa Casino, as used in some references -- I'm not sure which is the correct usage when referring specifically to the casino portion) is the one genuinely in Palm Springs. It is owned and operated by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. Yes, as I noted when I posted my chip from the Agua Caliente Casino, both establishments belong to the same tribe, and the two chips I collected as souvenirs each have one casino mentioned on one side and the other casino on the other side. You can compare the two sides of both chips now, by checking the images below and looking back to the earlier post showing the other sides.

Both chips are from Chipco, just as they were when I posted images of the other sides. ;-)

The Spa Resort was established right on the hot water oasis that gives the town and the tribe their names. The original casino was a tent erected in 1995 right next to the Spa. When I first visited in January 2003 and again that spring, the tent had been replaced by a permanent structure, used temporarily as a casino, and by the time I was collecting chips and got back to pick up my souvenir in 2007, they had an even newer facility in operation about a block away. I think that latest facility opened in November 2003.

I don't know the boundaries of the Agua Caliente Band's reservation at all. If the casino and spa are on it, then it must have an interesting contour. The four rectangular city blocks of Palm Springs that touch the perpendicular intersection of East Andreas Road and North Calle El Segundo contain the following properties, clockwise starting from the Northeast quadrant: (1) the Spa Casino, (2) the Hilton Palm Springs, (3) the Spa Resort, and (4) shared by the U.S. Post Office and McCormick's Palm Springs Exotic Car Auction. Are the Hilton, the post office, and the auto auction on the reservation, or are the spa and casino off the reservation, or do the boundaries somehow fit through that intersection of streets to include the diagonal blocks? I have no idea, but I am curious.

I don't remember seeing any sort of card craps on any of my visits to the Spa Casino. On my initial visits, I played both blackjack and 3-card poker and just blackjack on my later visit. I remember I had a pretty good night at 3-card poker in May 2003, but I didn't keep records of my play on any of my visits.

I don't know what it is, but I really like the Spa casino. I don't think I've ever won there, but I still want to go back every time I can (like in 8 days...). My Spa chip has Agua Caliente on the reverse, but my AC chip does NOT have the Spa on the reverse. It's also a much newer and nicer chip. I keep waiting for the Spa to get new chips as well, but maybe they just won't.

State: California
City: Coachella
Casino: Spotlight 29

The Spotlight 29 Casino is owned and (currently) operated by the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians, which explains the 29 in the name. The casino opened in 1995 and from 2002 to 2006 was managed by Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts under the name Trump 29.

The casino is located adjacent to I-10, on the east side of the Palm Springs/Palm Desert/Indio area and on the south side of the Joshua Tree National Park. To the north side of that park is the town of Twenty-Nine Palms and the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, also known as Twenty-Nine Palms.

The tribe has reservation lands on that side of the park, too, and they have tried to establish another casino there to be known as the Nüwü. Unfortunately, they encountered substantial opposition from the neighboring community, which has had the support of their senator. I thought the efforts had ended when an impact statement determined that construction on the chosen site would adversely impact the habitat of the endangered desert tortoise. They then tried to establish an off-reservation casino, in the town of Joshua Tree, but that encountered opposition also. They were still trying to figure out a way to open another casino as late as this year, but I don't know whether there is any way to be successful against that much opposition. If a casino is ever built, I'm skeptical of its chances of success in such a remote location, with other casinos already in place in the more populated areas.

I visited the Spotlight 29 Casino only once, on that day in April 2009 in which I have already admitted to having screwed up in keeping my records and have been correcting them to "what must have been true" as I post in this thread. My current reconstruction is that I left Harrah's Rincon in the morning and stopped at the Pauma, Pala, Spotlight 29 and Augustine casinos before settling in at Palm Springs for their Villagefest street fair. That's the same number of casinos that I hit the previous day. Sorry, no records or basis to reconstruct how my gaming went.

Since I can't report much on my own experiences, I'll just mention a news item I came across -- it seems that the Soboba Casino with it's conflict with the local sheriff is not the only tribal casino that can make the news. Last May, four people were indicted for alleged bribery and money laundering related to construction projects at Spotlight 29. No, it was not the house or even the players who were engaged in the nefarious activities; it was the tribe's lawyer and some folks he recommended. The tribe just served the role of victim. Here is an initial article, but I haven't heard the outcome, if there has been one.

The chip shown below is a filthy blue and white Chipco product, with the CI logo at the 6 o'clock position. The edge of the chip is mostly blue, with two sections of white (aligned with the blue stripes on the face) with a blue text of the denomination "1" without the "$".

Here's my Spotlight 29 chip. I think that's supposed to be a red sun in the middle of the chip, though I'm not sure. A picture of the sun would be fitting, given the casino's location. My trip to Indio/Coachella/Palm Springs was one of two times in my life that I've been billed for damage to a rental car - after a stack of players cards melted onto the dash over the course of the day.

Quote: Nareed

So it plays the same, but it doesn't play the same.

Doublethinking is a very bad habit to fall into :)

This is not doublethink. If I did anything wrong I communicated less than 100% clearly. The game plays basically the same way. To the extent that it plays differently, I find these small differences to be features not bugs.

Quote: rdw4potus

My Spotlight 29 chip

Here's my Spotlight 29 chip. I think that's supposed to be a red sun in the middle of the chip, though I'm not sure. A picture of the sun would be fitting, given the casino's location. My trip to Indio/Coachella/Palm Springs was one of two times in my life that I've been billed for damage to a rental car - after a stack of players cards melted onto the dash over the course of the day.

Oh no! lol! what was the cost there?

Quote: bigfoot66

Quote: rdw4potus

My Spotlight 29 chip

Here's my Spotlight 29 chip. I think that's supposed to be a red sun in the middle of the chip, though I'm not sure. A picture of the sun would be fitting, given the casino's location. My trip to Indio/Coachella/Palm Springs was one of two times in my life that I've been billed for damage to a rental car - after a stack of players cards melted onto the dash over the course of the day.

Oh no! lol! what was the cost there?

About $350, which was better than I feared. The intake guy at the airport was "sure" they'd have to replace the whole dash, but they just billed me for "cleaning." It was one of those cars with a dashtop bin, which is where I'd set the cards. lol.

Quote: rdw4potus

About $350, which was better than I feared. The intake guy at the airport was "sure" they'd have to replace the whole dash, but they just billed me for "cleaning."

$350 for "cleaning" strikes me as excessive.Did it include like weeks out of service?

What was the cost for insurance to cover damage to the car?

Quote: Nareed

$350 for "cleaning" strikes me as excessive.Did it include like weeks out of service?

What was the cost for insurance to cover damage to the car?

I didn't look, but that might have been the same as the smoke-cleaning return-to-service charge. They're usually $200-$400. The insurance has many options, and I don't know which one would have covered this type of damage. Maybe $8-$10/day on the 7 day rental, plus a $150 deductible? That might have been a little cheaper, but not much.

It was a pretty funny sight: the cards were all a little stuck together and bent, with the bottom cards also stuck to the tray on the dash. So I'm at the gas station filling the tank before I return the car, and while the pump is running, I'm using my keys to try to chip the plastic back off of the tray. I was somewhat successful, and I kind of wonder whether they actually did anything at all to "clean" the car. Still, that's better than replacing an $800 dashboard!

Quote: rdw4potus

The insurance has many options, and I don't know which one would have covered this type of damage.

I rented a car in 2006 in Orlando. I recall obnsessing about the insuranc eoptions (I must ahve spent a week looking at car-rental websites and doing spreadsheets). I don't recall which I chose, but I do remember paying for damage to the car.

Given that insurance cost about as much as the nominal rental fee, it seems a shame to return the car in pristine condition :P

Anyway, since then I'd rather vacation where I don't need to rent a car.

Quote: Nareed

Anyway, since then I'd rather vacation where I don't need to rent a car.

That reminds me - Do you know when you'll be available this spring for WovCon /l\ (I'm flexible on the numbering style...it's 3, right?)?

Quote: rdw4potus

That reminds me - Do you know when you'll be available this spring for WovCon /l\ (I'm flexible on the numbering style...it's 3, right?)?

Those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it. The Apple ]I[ used the number ]I[ (I seem to be repeating my history though I do know it... Odd!)

Anyway, I know when I'm tentatively planning to travel to vegas, but I'm not sure I'll want to organize next year's get together. There are some complications.

Quote: Nareed

There are some complications.

Now if we could just include in WoVCon ]I[ a fancy dinner with Nareed, HB, SOOPOO, anyone who failed to pay off their losing wagers, anyone who got suspended as a result of discussions arising out of that other thread ....

Quote: Nareed

Anyway, I know when I'm tentatively planning to travel to vegas, but I'm not sure I'll want to organize next year's get together. There are some complications.

lol! I'd forgotten the inspiration for the naming convention. WovCon ]I[ it is! I think that we decided that I could take a turn at the organization, but I do want to coordinate so that it falls during your trip if possible.

Quote: Doc

Now if we could just include in WoVCon ]I[ a fancy dinner with Nareed, HB, [DELETED], anyone who failed to pay off their losing wagers, anyone who got suspended as a result of discussions arising out of that other thread ....

If this were a Dark Side cartoon, the caption would read: "...and then Doc realized he had disrupted his own thread."

:)

Quote: rdw4potus

lol! I'd forgotten the inspiration for the naming convention. WovCon ]I[ it is!

Kids these days....

BTW, I never actually saw an Apple ]I[ other than in photos.

Quote:

I think that we decided that I could take a turn at the organization, but I do want to coordinate so that it falls during your trip if possible.

No one owns it. Croupier did the first one because it was his idea. I did the second one becasue Croupier wasn't coming and because I just took over. So go right ahead. And if you need help, just ask.

Anyway, the date for my trip depends in part in someone else's trip, so as yet I wouldn't want to say when.

Quote: Nareed

Those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it. The Apple ]I[ used the number ]I[ (I seem to be repeating my history though I do know it... Odd!)

I was not around during the early days of Apple, but poking around on Wikipedia it seems like the "]I[" was not actually used for the 3rd Apple computer, but rather Apple III (source).

Again, I wasn't around, so feel free to correct me old-timers!

Quote: AcesAndEights

Again, I wasn't around, so feel free to correct me old-timers!

I can't help here; my first Apple computer was a Mac-SE about 1988.

Quote: AcesAndEights

I was not around during the early days of Apple, but poking around on Wikipedia it seems like the "]I[" was not actually used for the 3rd Apple computer, but rather Apple III (source).

I vividly remember otherwise. So either they used two different types of numbers, or the Woz and Jobs got it wrong back then :)

Quote: AcesAndEights

Quote: Nareed

Those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it. The Apple ]I[ used the number ]I[ (I seem to be repeating my history though I do know it... Odd!)

I was not around during the early days of Apple, but poking around on Wikipedia it seems like the "]I[" was not actually used for the 3rd Apple computer, but rather Apple III (source).

Again, I wasn't around, so feel free to correct me old-timers!

I'm not even sure they're numerals, based on the available google images. It's more like lll

Regardless, I still think that

WovCon ]I[

Looks beter than

WoVCon lll

And it doens't require italics.

Then it breaks down. I mean WoVCon ]V doesn't even look like a number. And there's no [ in V. But WoVCon V][ looks rather good.

State: California
City: El Cajon
Casino: Sycuan

The Sycuan Casino is owned and operated by the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation. I think at least part of it opened in 1986, but I haven't been able to find a description of the upgrades and expansions. It seems like a nice gaming facility, and five minutes down the road is their affiliated resort with tennis and 54-holes of golf – two 18-hole courses plus a par-3. I think they purchased an existing resort off the reservation as a business adventure, rather than developing one from scratch themselves. Seems like a pretty nice set of properties for a tribe with just 130 members.

The address of the Sycuan Casino is El Cajon, CA, but the casino is about ten miles from the town and quite a way away from most anything other than their resort and golf courses that you pass on the way out there.

According to their web site, the casino offers 40 gaming tables, 2,000 slots, a poker room, bingo, and off-track betting. They offer what they call "Sycuan Craps", with cards determining which number is "rolled" and players rolling dice to determine which cards are used; however, they don't describe the details of which variety of combined dice/cards this is.

Fortunately, in spite of my poor memory of all my casino visits, we have other members here as resources. A couple of weeks ago, bigfoot66 reported that "Sycuan uses the 'two dice, one set of cards on numbered boxes 1-6' method," which is the one I think I have liked the best, because it seems to be exactly like regular craps except with the dice faces rearranged for each shooter.

I don't have the details of my only visit to Sycuan written down. Yes, this was on that same April 2009 trip with the multiple gaps in the recording, and I don't even have Rose Mary Woods to dump the blame on. At least I did have my visit to Sycuan in my notes – it was on the same day that I went to Barona Valley Ranch, twenty winding miles to the north.

While I don't remember details of the casinos, I do remember that the route that my GPS planned for that Sycuan-to-Barona trip didn't work. Out of Harbison Canyon, up Mountain View Road, someone had built a housing development, and the road the GPS preferred for us to take no longer went through. Just now I checked Google Maps, and it appears that there may really be a passable route out the back of that development to Montana Serena and Rios Canyon Roads down to I-8, but it is not completely obvious whether those roads are paved or open. That was just one more adventure arising out of trusting a GPS unit.

The chip shown below is a dark blue RHC Paulson hat and cane chip with three light blue edge inserts. The Center inlay is black, white, and blue, with sunburst (?) bands of graded tones from very pale blue to purple. The Sycuan name always seems to be written in the same script font when applied to the casino, so I suppose it is a logo.

Quote: Doc

The chip shown below is a dark blue RHC Paulson

It looks green to me, almost dark olive drab.

Anyway, "Cajón" means "drawer" as in a desk drawer. Yet It gets used as a name down in meico, too. I think there's a rather large dam known as "El Cajón" somewhere in the country.

But what has this got to do with naming WoVCon ]I[ ;)

I thought Sycuan was a beautiful property. But WOW was it hard to get to. I about threw my GPS out the window as the route got less and less logical. Even from the part of the trip where it was possible to see where the casino was, it was a maze of switchbacks and unintuitive turns to get down the canyon and to the casino. Maybe (hopefully) that's easier coming from the West than it was when I came from the east.

It looks like the chip itself is a slightly more worn, red version of Doc's chip. I looked for a while, but this was the "best" one I could find.

State: California
City: Valley Center
Casino: Valley View

The chip proclaims that Valley View casino is San Diego's favorite, but that doesn't mean it's located there. In reality, it is in Valley Center, CA, more than 40 miles to the north.

The Valley View Casino and Hotel opened in April 2001 and is owned and operated by the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians, who are among the Kumeyaa people. Their reservation lands have gone through some evolution since initially approved in 1870 and now consist of five noncontiguous tracts in the hills of Valley Center.

Their web site claims they have "San Diego's only Certified Loose Slots." I have no idea what that means or who it is that certifies the slots on a tribal casino for their looseness. Doesn't matter whether I understand or not – it's important enough for them to state the claim twice in consecutive paragraphs on the gaming page of their web site. Oh, my mistake. They do explain the meaning: it "means there’s more winning going on at Valley View Casino!" Oh, O.K.

The chip shown below is a light blue RHC Paulson hat and cane chip with an unusual arrangement of edge inserts, particularly for a $1 chip. There are two opposing, triangular red inserts and two opposing triple inserts in red and yellow. I'm not sure, but I think this color pattern for edge inserts is intended to correspond to the logo of the ice cream shop as shown on the center inlay. This is one of several Valley View casino chips that advertise the retail establishments inside the complex.

Here's my Valley View chip. Another beaten up, red version of Doc's chip. I guess it makes some sense that the $5 chips would be more worn than the $1 chips, but this is another chip that I settled for after quite a bit of searching.

Red doesn't go with that blue. And don't get me started on the yellow. But the ice cream shop logo is pretty.

So how many other casinos have a web address ont their chips? I can think of the Four Queens, but none other.

Here's my Valley View $1. I picked it up about a year ago. The base is white, with simple inserts, and it has the same logo on both sides.



It's a nice, little place with a fairly good sized proportion of the floor space walled off (but not completely sealed off) as a non-smoking section. They were really promoting their "lobster buffet". Not surprisingly, it isn't an all you can eat affair.

The casino is a little tough to find. Doc got it right, in that it may claim to be located in it's namesake town, but it is actually quite far away from Valley View proper (and up a mountain road even). I guess the same could be said for Las Vegas' "Monte Carlo"...

Quote: Ayecarumba

Doc got it right, in that it may claim to be located in it's namesake town, but it is actually quite far away from Valley View proper (and up a mountain road even). I guess the same could be said for Las Vegas' "Monte Carlo"...

I suppose "Generic Strip Casino" is not a good name for a generic Strip casino. Bets go with something else even if it makes little sense, like "Monte Carlo."

Quote: Ayecarumba

The casino is a little tough to find. Doc got it right, in that it may claim to be located in it's namesake town, but it is actually quite far away from Valley View proper (and up a mountain road even). I guess the same could be said for Las Vegas' "Monte Carlo"...

Am I remembering right that the casino's property does actually have a view due to it's elevation? Maybe it's a literal statement.

Quote: rdw4potus

Am I remembering right that the casino's property does actually have a view due to it's elevation? Maybe it's a literal statement.

Haha, maybe so. There is quite a nice view from the property due to the location of the building on a somewhat steep hillside.

If "truth is naming" was a requirement of all tribal casinos, would "Casino Morongo" still qualify?

State: California
City: Alpine
Casino: Viejas

When I posted my chip from the Barona casino, I said of the tribe:

Quote: Doc

I'm not sure, but I suspect that very few Native American tribes have sold their reservation and bought a new one.

Well, today our Casino Chip of the Day is from another such tribe.

The Viejas Casino is owned and operated by the Viejas Group of Capitan Grande Band of Missian Indians, also known as the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians. They purchased their reservation in 1932 after having been forced to sell their previous reservation -- as was the Barona Group -- for construction of the El Capitan reservoir. The name Viejas comes from the Spanish name for their land, El Valle de Las Viejas, or "The Valley of the old Women." I don't know whether that is some kind of insult or just an unusual name for an area.

The casino opened in 1991 as a slots and bingo facility. It now offers table games, poker, and off-track betting. I assume the off-track betting provides justification for the reference to "turf club" on the chip shown below. They also have a variety of restaurants, an outlet center, and an open-air entertainment venue. The place is located just off I-8, four or five miles from the town of Alpine and about 30 miles east of San Diego. The only time I visited, something had a section of I-8 blocked, and it seemed we drove an outrageous distance through the night on a detour to get there.

In the spring of 2000, the Viejas tribe bought 49.8% of a cruise ship, the Enchanted Sun, with the balance belonging to Commodore Cruise Lines. The joint venture was known as Coronado Seas. The ship was scheduled for day cruises between San Diego and Rosarito Beach some 18 miles to the south in Baja California. The tribe operated the on-board casino, with Commodore operating the other aspects of the cruise ship. This was the first venture in off-reservation gambling by a California tribe.

Unfortunately, there were problems with the facilities in Rosarito Beach, and the operations were suspended after only two months. That seems like a very short life for a business venture that required passage of special legislation in California to allow operation of the cruise . The legislation allowed them to disable the slot machines while in California waters by turning off the power. In contrast, the previous law required the machines to be locked in a separate room while in state waters, a constraint that could not be met with this ship.

The chip shown below is the 21st and final California chip currently in my collection. It is a dark purple RHC Paulson hat and cane chip with three triplet edge inserts in pink and light blue. I'm not sure whether that is an eagle or some other bird in the Viejas logo. UV light reveals the hidden hat and cane logo on the center insert, and the pink edge inserts fluoresce.

State: Connecticut
City: Ledyard
Casino: Foxwoods

Hmmmm. Not much interest in discussing the final California chip in my collection. Oh well, on to a different state today.

Foxwoods Resort Casino is owned and operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation. At least once (and I think several times) FleaStiff has recounted a tale of how the modern tribe is the creation of lawyers who could see a way to generate a lot of money in Connecticut by bringing descendents back to get federal recognition and develop the tribal historic lands after the last of the local tribe members died. The Pequots are known as "The Fox People," while Mashantucket (I'll leave the puns to someone else) means "much wooded land," which together provide a basis for the name of the resort.

The casino began as a bingo hall in 1986, with the full casino opening in February 1992. Growth has made the facility a complete resort, and not a small one by any measure. They claim to offer 6,300 slots, 350 tables dealing 17 games, plus keno, bingo, hundreds of tables for poker, and a race book. Their support for Asian games is just hinted at by the fact that their web site is available in both English and Chinese.

I have visited Foxwoods just once, in September 2010 on a driving trip in which I was headed to Canada's Maritime Provinces and took the time to stop off in Connecticut on my way north. The Canadian chips from that trip will be showing up in this thread some months from now, maybe early in March.

My gaming that day left me $30 ahead at craps, which I consider a very favorable experience. I would try to describe the casino, but the place was far too immense for me to even wander around all of the major rooms during my brief visit. I'm hoping that someone who has been there more will contribute to this thread. If not, you can read JB's review of the place from just two months ago.

The chip shown below is a white Paulson chip with two of the hat and cane logos separating the repeated name of the casino molded into the outer ring. The MOGH catalog indicates that this chip was issued in 2008. It has three wide edge inserts with shapes I'm not sure just how to describe: rounded triangles? UFOs? I'd guess the colors as maroon, turquoise, and olive. The simple black and white center inlay includes the tribal symbol with both a fox to represent the Pequots and a tree on a hill to represent the Mashantucket land. The little scribble below is supposedly the sign (signature?) of Robin Cassasinnamon, the Pequots' first leader following the 1637 massacre at Mystic Fort. I'll let you research the Pequot War on your own.

UV light reveals a hidden Paulson hat and cane logo and the letters "MPGE". I suppose that could stand for "Mashantucket Pequot Gaming Enterprises," but I'm not at all sure about those last two words. Any guesses from the rest of you? Anyone know for sure? I'm pretty confident that it's not "miles per gallon equivalent", which is what a Google search seems to suggest.

Quote: Doc

I would try to describe the casino, but the place was far too immense for me to even wander around all of the major rooms during my brief visit.

"Immense" is an understatement.

It's nearly 3/4 mile walk from the furthest two points indoors. By comparison, Mohegan Sun, which is also rather large, is only about 4/10 mile for the furthest two points. If you take that walk in Foxwoods, you'll still miss a lot. Do the walk in Mohegan Sun, and you will not miss that much.

I bring up Mohegan Sun because I assume they will be featured tomorrow, and the two casinos are only about 12 miles apart.

For a full discussion of the two casinos, refer to my Mohegan Sun vs Foxwoods comparisons thread.

The four casinos that make up Foxwoods
(Rainmaker, Great Cedar, Grand Pequot, and MGM Grand)
are linked together by pedestrian malls of mostly middle level retail and restaurants.
It takes about 15-20 minutes to walk from the main entrance to the latest casino, the MGM at Foxwoods.
I find the designs to be somewhat uninspired and boxlike.
The bingo hall has to be seen to be believed, I think it seats 3000.
The table minimums are generally higher than at Mohegan Sun which has a great design and is fifteen minutes drive away.

As I am fond to point out, the rivalry between these two people can be traced to the 17th century,
Culminating in the Pequot War (1637)
when the Mohegans conspired with the white European colonists to nearly decimate the Pequot tribe.
One of the first instances of the genocidal tendency of the European settlers.
property map