Casino Chip of the Day

Quote: Wizard

In this thread I think I'll focus on the actual casino names. ....

Somehow, we skipped over the "names" issue yesterday when discussing Bally's. The answers to these two questions seem so "obvious" that I'm afraid I might be jumping to false conclusions:

(1) Is the casino named for the company that makes the slot machines? If so, did that company own the casino?

(2) Is the company that makes the slot machines the same one that makes/made the pinball machines? Was it always that way?

Quote: Doc

Now that's an idea I hadn't thought of. It would help with what you say, but rdw4potus might have a story he wants to tell about each of his chips. Are you seeing this rdw? What do you think? If you go for this, I could make a "current" post to tell everyone when and where images have been added.

This works for me, if Doc doesn't mind the extra work.

Quote: Doc

Somehow, we skipped over the "names" issue yesterday when discussing Bally's. The answers to these two questions seem so "obvious" that I'm afraid I might be jumping to false conclusions:

(1) Is the casino named for the company that makes the slot machines? If so, did that company own the casino?

(2) Is the company that makes the slot machines the same one that makes/made the pinball machines? Was it always that way?

Yes, the pinball manufacturer evolved into the casino company..you can read a little about the company here:

Bally Technologies

Quote: Doc

(1) Is the casino named for the company that makes the slot machines? If so, did that company own the casino?

in short, yes and yes.

Quote: rdw4potus

This works for me, if Doc doesn't mind the extra work.

No problem -- any extra effort would get lost in the "noise" of organizing my own photo posts.

Just PM me the url for your images or get them to me some other way. I may try to handle them in the way I do my own: small one in the thread with a link to a larger one.

Thanks, both WongBo and pokerface. It's nice to know that obvious answers can occasionally be the correct ones.

Doc, what will you do with the casinos that have changed names (e.g., "Binion's"/"Horseshoe", "Union Plaza" / "Plaza")? Will you post the Binion's chip in the "B's" and the Horseshoe in the "H's" (or maybe this is a bad example if the name is actually "Bininon's Horseshoe").

Quote: Ayecarumba

Doc, what will you do with the casinos that have changed names (e.g., "Binion's"/"Horseshoe", "Union Plaza" / "Plaza")? Will you post the Binion's chip in the "B's" and the Horseshoe in the "H's" (or maybe this is a bad example if the name is actually "Bininon's Horseshoe").

That is exactly my plan, and I have a modest number of chips representing casinos whose names have changed. Today's Casino Chip of the Day is an example: I have posted the Barbary Coast chip image and will soon (early next week) post a Bill's Gambling Hall chip.

As for the first establishment on Fremont street that you used as an example, my older chip has "Binion's" in tiny letters and "Horseshoe" in large letters, so I consider that a Horseshoe (Las Vegas) chip. Thus, in that case, the newer chip -- with Binion's as the full name in large letters -- will be posted first. I do not have a Union Plaza chip, so if you do, please post a photo when I get to my Plaza chip; to me that seems the most appropriate place.

I even have one example where a casino changed name and the two chips will come one right after the other. Can you guess those two?

Quote: Doc

I even have one example where a casino changed name and the two chips will come one right after the other. Can you guess those two?

I will guess South Coast/ South Point

Quote: Johnzimbo

I will guess South Coast/ South Point

Cowabunga! And correctamundo.

Next trivia question, without looking them up, do you know where those two expressions originated? Trivia from different eras.

I'm going to guess that The Bellagio is next but since I may not be able to post tomorrow, (apologies for pre-empting Doc in his thread) here is my chip from The Bellagio which I believe comes from the late 1990s. I don't think I've played a table game there since that time period but I could be wrong.

Quote: s2dbaker

I'm going to guess that The Bellagio is next but ...

Nope. Not yet. Soon.

State: Nevada
City: North Las Vegas
Casino: Barcelona

In spite of s2dbaker's nice-but-off-the-mark try last night at guessing today's Casino Chip of the Day, I'm going to stick to alphabetical order and present a different casino.

One day four or five years ago, I made one of my chip-collecting excursions around North Las Vegas, stopping by Jerry's Nugget, Lucky Club, Cannery, Poker Palace, Silver Nugget, Opera House, Bighorn, and Barcelona. (Yes, "Bar…" comes before "Bel….") I don't recall being particularly impressed with any of those casinos, but I did expand my collection.

I'm not completely certain what became of Barcelona, but I think it was converted as part of Siegel Slots and Suites, one location in a chain of economy apartments owned by the same folks who own the lovely Gold Spike. Once I learned that Siegel Slots didn't have table games, I didn't check into it any further.

While Lucyjr provided an image of a (very well worn) Bally's gaming token, the Barcelona token shown in this post is the first one in this thread from my collection. As noted previously, tokens started out as substitutes for silver dollars in slot machines and came more commonly into use in table games as TITO adoption for slots resulted in a gross surplus of token inventory. My biases are toward considering token use for table games as a sign of a low-class operation. Nothing to contradict that bias in this instance.

This is also the first of my posts that required two images: the two are the opposite sides of the same token. I don't really know how the sides of gaming tokens are designated: Heads and tails? Obverse and reverse? Which is which?

The token claims that the Barcelona is in "Las Vegas, NV", but it also states the address on East Craig Road, and I am reasonably confident that area is in North Las Vegas. I'll leave it to the locals to correct me on that. If I am right, it's another case of the casino playing a little loose with the city name, just as the strip casinos do. Since several other casinos do present their locations as North Las Vegas, that's what I am showing for Barcelona also, in spite of what the token says. Yes, I'm sometimes inconsistent.

The token also provides an opportunity for me to talk a little more about mint marks. Check out the second image – not only does the token have a date (1992) but look closely below the big "1" and just above the words "Gaming Token." You may or may not be able to see anything at all on the small image, but if you click on it and look at the medium image, you'll probably be able to see that there is "something" there, but good luck reading it.

I had to take a magnifying class to the token itself and study that worn blip for a while before I could make out that it is a mint mark of "CT". A bit of research led to the info that this is the mark of Casino Tokens Inc., which was owned from 1977-1993 by one Richard Ziser. According to Mr. Ziser's Linkedin bio, he also campaigned for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate in 2004, losing of course to Harry Reid.

A decade earlier in 1993, Mr. Ziser had sold Casino Tokens Inc. to another token manufacturer, GDC. More about that manufacturer in a future post about a different token.

So, does anyone know whether Barcelona ever used $1 chips, rather than tokens? If so, is there anyone here who has one and can post a photo?

Quote: Doc

So, does anyone know whether Barcelona ever used $1 chips, rather than tokens? If so, is there anyone here who has one and can post a photo?

I have never been to this casino but my book "The Official U.S. Casino Chip Price Guide" says they opened in 1989 and did at some point have $1 chips

Thanks, Johnzimbo. Maybe some member of the forum will have one of those chips. Am I right to assume that in your price guide my Barcelona $1 token is shown as having a value of about 37 cents?

Quote: Doc

Thanks, Johnzimbo. Maybe some member of the forum will have one of those chips. Am I right to assume that in your price guide my Barcelona $1 token is shown as having a value of about 37 cents?

Hehe...they only list chip prices not tokens. I'll give you $.38 for it though

Quote: Doc

Cowabunga! And correctamundo.

Next trivia question, without looking them up, do you know where those two expressions originated? Trivia from different eras.

From the television shows Howdy Doody and Happy Days. As you wished I didn't look them up. Although Fonzie used correctamundo, I'm not sure if that's where it originated. I am sure about Howdy Doody.

Are your tokens from different places the same size and weight?

I always assumed they would be the same as the Eisenhower dollar, so that they could be used interchangably. However, that could open the doors to mass use of tokens from less reputable joints (i.e., no guarantee you will get your money back) ending up in the hoppers at the larger places.

I do know that slots are constructed with a sensor that checks for magenetic materials to catch slugs, but I don't think they are sophisticated enough, nor the practice cost effective, for a smaller joint to customize each of their machines to check for a custom formulation in their tokens. Just a guess.

Quote: Ayecarumba

I always assumed they would be the same as the Eisenhower dollar, so that they could be used interchangably. However, that could open the doors to mass use of tokens from less reputable joints (i.e., no guarantee you will get your money back) ending up in the hoppers at the larger places.

I recall an ep of "Breaking Vegas" about a guy who counterfeited slot tokens. He'd take them to a casino, I think in Atlantic City, put some in the slots, then cash out the unplayed tokens as though he won them. As I recall, he did this in several casinos. the designs were simple enough to make counterfeiting rather easy.

Quote: 1BB

Quote: Doc

Cowabunga! And correctamundo.

Next trivia question, without looking them up, do you know where those two expressions originated? Trivia from different eras.

From the television shows Howdy Doody and Happy Days. As you wished I didn't look them up. Although Fonzie used correctamundo, I'm not sure if that's where it originated. I am sure about Howdy Doody.

I thought Cowabunga originated from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles...but I've never seen an episode of Howdy Doody, other than the intro song coming up on Doc's TV in Back to the Future III. "Great Scott! Howdy Doody time!"

Quote: Ayecarumba

Are your tokens from different places the same size and weight?

I always assumed they would be the same as the Eisenhower dollar, so that they could be used interchangably. However, that could open the doors to mass use of tokens from less reputable joints (i.e., no guarantee you will get your money back) ending up in the hoppers at the larger places.

Yes, my tokens from different casinos at least appear to be the same size. To tell the truth, I don't think I have ever had occasion to stack just my tokens. When I have rearranged my collection, I have had mixed stacks of chips and tokens, and it is quite obvious that the tokens are smaller in diameter than the chips.

I suppose this may be the first time that I have ever measured the diameter of a casino token. I don't have a handy caliper, but measuring with a ruler, I think my tokens are very close to 1 7/16" in diameter. That makes me think they could not work as a direct substitute for a silver dollar in a slot machine, since the silver dollars I have are much closer to 1 1/2" in diameter -- close enough to look similar but not close enough to pass any reasonable safeguards in a machine that is supposed to accept dollar coins but not run-of-the-mill slugs. I don't imagine that the machines would be designed to accept two, but only two, sizes of coins/tokens and treat them both as $1 value.

There shouldn't be much concern for a guarantee you will get your money back. I don't know of any reason to leave a casino with a supply of their tokens (other than a souvenir). Just cash them in for currency at the end of each visit.

Quote: AcesAndEights

I thought Cowabunga originated from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles...but I've never seen an episode of Howdy Doody, other than the intro song coming up on Doc's TV in Back to the Future III. "Great Scott! Howdy Doody time!"

Yep, the Ninja Turtles must have picked up the phrase from Chief Thunderthud on the Howdy Doody Show. As for the theme song, Buffalo Bob (Smith) introduced it by asking the youngsters in the Peanut Gallery (plus all those at home), "Hey, kids, what time is it?" The song starts off, "It's Howdy Doody time...."

I am not aware of correctamundo being a common expression prior to Fonzie.

Oh, and a different "Doc".

Quote: Nareed

As I recall, he did this in several casinos. the designs were simple enough to make counterfeiting rather easy.

He got caught because he got careless. When a
machine he was playing went down, instead of
waiting for the attendant he abandoned his money
and went to another machine. A surveillance guy
happened to catch it and thought it odd behavior
and investigated. He would have got away with it
for much longer if he hadn't went into panic made.

Yeah, the $1 slot tokens are a uniform size.

Back in the day, it was not at all uncommon to be paid off and find a token from a different casino in the tray. Often several for a decent payout.

The $5 token is slightly larger. I used to have one from Showboat, but lost it. Showboat's (and perhaps universally), were made of a yellowish metal. I think bronze. My wife never went higher than $5, partially because she was chicken, and partially because she knew I'd want one of THOSE as a souvenir too...

State: Nevada
City: Las Vegas
Casino: Bellagio

Yes, s2dbaker, this thread finally made it to Bellagio! What does Bellagio mean, anyway – "beautiful Thurs."? We definitely need some input from the Wizard (or someone) regarding the name.

I am fairly sure that I have posted at least one of these two little stories around here before, so if you have already heard them, please just put up with me while I tell them again.

In September 2003, I had a teaching schedule with classes only on Mondays and Wednesdays – I was free of any fixed commitments from 6 P.M Wednesday to 8 A.M. Monday, so my wife and I planned a short trip to Las Vegas. We flew out of Atlanta on Thursday morning and returned on a red-eye flight Sunday night. If you think I might have been in bad shape for my 8:00 class, consider this: we saw our dentist on that red-eye flight, and he, too, had been in the casinos for the weekend. When our flight got in at 5:30 A.M. Monday, he was headed straight to his office to commit torture on his patients' teeth. My wife and I decided we would never again make appointments for Mondays.

(End of story #1, start of #2.)

While we were in Las Vegas those few days, we decided we would try to see the Cirque du Soleil show "O" at the Bellagio. We had never seen a Cirque show, and we did not have tickets. We stopped by the box office a little before the early show and asked whether they had any seats available for either show that evening.

The agent said that the early show was sold out, and they did not expect any tickets to become available. The second show was also sold out, but there was the possibility some few tickets would become available. He did not explain that, but I understood what he meant: they were holding tickets for VIP guests who may or may not want to use them. He said that we should get in a line that would be forming over to one side about two hours later, and we might be able to purchase tickets then.

That meant we had two hours to kill – not really enough time to go somewhere else but too much for me to just stand around there. So I wound up at the crap table, playing $10 minimum when I would have preferred $5 or less.

The session went well, and as the time to rendezvous with my wife approached, I was up more than $600 – an exceptionally good outcome for me. Before cashing in, I showed the chips to my wife so we could share in the joy. I had not colored up, so I had half a dozen $1 chips in my stack. I suggested to my wife that she take some of them home and give them to her friends – a what-did-you-bring-me? trinket. What would serve that role, have at least a little class, and absolutely shout "Las Vegas" better than a genuine Bellagio chip? And the things only cost a buck a piece.

She did take some home as gifts, and I decided to keep one as a souvenir myself. That was the very beginning of my chip-collecting obsession. I did have one previous chip at home, from the first casino I had ever been to some 27 years earlier, but I had not gathered chips in the interim.

To close out story #2, we were able to get tickets to "O" that night, in a VIP area, at $150 each. I like to tell people that, net, the Bellagio paid us something over $300 to watch "O" that night, and even provided me some exciting entertainment at a table while we waited two hours for the show to start.

The image below shows the chip that I kept from that night. I have never stayed at the Bellagio, and I have very rarely gambled there. However, my wife and I visit the place several times on each trip to Las Vegas. We always enjoy the music and show at the Fountains of Bellagio, we always tour the conservatory, and we like the Dale Chihuli sculpture on the ceiling of the check-in lobby. When we are staying off-strip, I often drive to and park in the Bellagio self-park garage as a convenient starting point for our pedestrian wandering around center strip, with chances to check out the Bellagio's own décor at start and finish.

If you have never spent time looking around inside the Bellagio, next opportunity do examine the seasonally-revised displays in the conservatory (straight back from the check-in desk) and then go on down that hallway to check out the Jean-Philippe chocolate shop, with the world's largest chocolate fountain. Here is someone's youtube video. Wish I had a better way to show it.

This chip appears to be the same design as the one that s2dbaker posted night before last, though mine looks a little different. On mine, in the area where the insert overlaps the perimeter ring, it looks like a paler shade of blue; in s2dbaker's photo, his chip looks white there. This time it is not an issue of color shift in my photography, other than possibly the slightly duller tone of the white on the insert – my chip looks pretty much like the image. Three possibilities I can think of: (1) my chip (obtained in 2003) changed color a little as it aged and was handled/abused since s2dbaker got his in the late 90s; (2) there is just that much variation in chip colors, perhaps a quality control issue; and (3) perhaps my chip represents a later production lot, with inserts that the color bled through differently than when s2dbaker's chip was manufactured. If I had to guess, I would go with #1.



Edit 5/27/12: Check this post later in this thread about UV images visible on this and other chips.



Edit 3/28/12: I have just received from rdw4potus the links to some images of his chips from casinos that I have already passed in this thread. Thanks, rdw! I am editing my posts to include his images, such as this one:

My Bellagio chip looks more like s2d's, with a white rather than blue ring. I don't know when my chip was taken out of circulation as my ex bought me a lot of various chips on Ebay about 4 years ago.

Quote: Doc

What does Bellagio mean, anyway – "beautiful Thurs."? We definitely need some input from the Wizard (or someone) regarding the name.

I always assumed it meant beautiful lake, a reference to the fountains out front.
Also, it is named for the famous Bellagio resort on Lake Como in Italy.
But the word for lake is actually LAGO.
However the word AGIO means ease or leisure so maybe it is a reference to that
or a play on words because of the similarity between bella lago and bell' agio.

Quote: WongBo

But the word for lake is actually LAGO.

That will work for the Casino Monte Lago (when we get to that point on the thread). It is/was on a different lake.

Maybe we need a thread for Italian Word of the Day; in this "Chips" thread alone, we have already discussed "lago", "aria", and "aliante". Surely there will be more such stuff to discuss when we get to the Palazzo and Venetian.

Can we also add a piece to the thread where we guess the next chip in alphabetical order... because I think I know it.

Hint: It's the closest casino to my favorite (and most frequented) casino. It will also be the first outside of Nevada.

I think Doc said he is doing all NV casinos first

Quote: bigfoot66

I think Doc said he is doing all NV casinos first

Oh I missed that... well if that's the case, then my guess would be irrelevant. HOWEVER, I'm pretty sure the next alphabetically would be Belterra, in Indiana.

bigfoot66 is correct. If you look back to the very first post of the thread, I said that I have my chips organized alphabetically within state or a non-state category. I also said that because this is the Wizard of Vegas site, I would start with the Nevada casinos.

I try to stay up to date in my revisions of that initial post, giving an index of links to the posts where I have included chip/token images. Check back there any time you want to look at any of the chips we have covered so far.

Yes, Tiltpoul, we will be covering Belterra when I get to the Indiana casinos. If you have chips different from the one I will post, I hope you will share with us then.

It would probably be trivial, once you know the pattern, but if anyone wants to guess the next day's chip, they are welcome to give it a shot. The fact that s2dbaker missed by one day on when Bellagio would show up does not mean it will always be that difficult. The WoV forums main page gives an alphabetical list of Las Vegas area casinos, so the only adjustments while we are in the NV category would likely be for when I have an out-of-town chip (eg., Aquarius or Atlantis) or when my chip is for a casino that is gone (eg., Barbary Coast).

Others have said as much, but I thought Bellagio was Italian for "beautiful lake." There is a region in Italy by the name, known for its lakes. Then again, according to GoogleTranslate (a source I hate to quote, but have no alternative in this case), Italian for beautiful lake is "bellissimo lago." So, that is as far as I can take this discussion.

Quote: Doc

' rel='nofollow' target='_blank'>http://www.4-sqr.com/images/chips/small/NV/Bellagio.jpg]

As I mentioned when the Aria chip came up, the Bellagio chip that I collected looks alot like the Aria's:



Perhaps this was post Scooter Bandit switchout? I regret not noting the date I picked it up.

Quote: Ayecarumba

As I mentioned when the Aria chip came up, the Bellagio chip that I collected looks alot like the Aria's:

Perhaps this was post Scooter Bandit switchout? I regret not noting the date I picked it up.

Well, I doubt that the scooter bandit had much impact on the $1 chips that Bellagio uses. I don't think he could have carried away enough of that denomination for it to be worth their changing out to a new pattern.

Unless you got yours a long time ago, like before s2dbaker got his in the late 90s, then I suspect this is a newer issue, and you are correct that it looks a lot like the Aria design.

Quote: Wizard

Then again, according to GoogleTranslate (a source I hate to quote, but have no alternative in this case), Italian for beautiful lake is "bellissimo lago." So, that is as far as I can take this discussion.

I know only a little Italian. Based on that, and making some assumption on its similarities with Spanish, "Bellissimo lago" means "very beautiful lake." The suffix "issimo" is a superlative. You may have run across it if you ever took piano lessons, as in some sheet music there are directions like "piano," meaning soft and "pianissimo," meaning very soft (referring to the volume of a note). In sheet music they're abbreviated as "p" and "pp."

Wikipedia claims Bellagio is a region in northern Italy, on or near the border with Switzerland and, apparently, not far from Milan and Turin.

Quote: Doc

Well, I doubt that the scooter bandit had much impact on the $1 chips that Bellagio uses. I don't think he could have carried away enough of that denomination for it to be worth their changing out to a new pattern.

Unless you got yours a long time ago, like before s2dbaker got his in the late 90s, then I suspect this is a newer issue, and you are correct that it looks a lot like the Aria design.

I think that it is a newer issue, as I probably picked it up on the same trip that I got one from the Aria.

If the casino had to change out from $25,000 down to $100, I suspect they also changed the reds and the blues as well, just to keep the inset patterns consistent.

I got that newer chip during a visit in October 2009.

Quote: Wizard

Others have said as much, but I thought Bellagio was Italian for "beautiful lake." There is a region in Italy by the name, known for its lakes. Then again, according to GoogleTranslate (a source I hate to quote, but have no alternative in this case), Italian for beautiful lake is "bellissimo lago." So, that is as far as I can take this discussion.

Bellagio is a name of a town in Italy by the Swiss border. I haven't read every post yet but I can't be the only one here who knew that.

BTW, my Bellagio chip and Doc's chip are the same style, different lighting.


Here is a picture of the GRAND HOTEL VILLA SERBELLONI – BELLAGIO:


If I were going to Vegasfy a hotel that looked like the above, I would probably come up with something that looks a lot like The Bellagio.

Quote: dlevinelaw

I got that newer chip during a visit in October 2009.

Well, that was about two months before Aria opened, so it's certainly plausible that they changed the Bellagio chip style in conjunction with preparing for the Aria opening. Maybe MGM changed other chips to that style, too. I don't have any others in my collection that match, but perhaps when this thread reaches the other MGM properties someone will have that style for another casino and will post a photo for us. Check your collections and be ready. :-)

State: Nevada
City: North Las Vegas
Casino: Bighorn

I picked up my Bighorn casino chip on the same foray into North Las Vegas that I described a couple of days ago for getting my Barcelona casino token. When I go on one of those hit-and-run sprees, at each place I typically play briefly, pocket the souvenir chip, and get the heck out without studying the casino in much detail. My general impression of the eight casinos that I visited that day is that none of them were places that I would have any desire to hang around. That said, I must admit that after these four or five years I don't retain any specific memories of Bighorn at all. I just took a look at the place on Google Maps Street view, and even that didn't trigger any memories. The same is probably true for each of the other seven.

Guess that means I don't have any clever stories to tell about the place. Anyone else want to fill in there?

I cannot find a Bighorn casino web site, and it does not have a page in Wikipedia. The CasinoCity.com web site shows no info more recent than 2004, which is a link to an article about the owners of Bighorn having an option to purchase the closed Castaways casino. Nothing else. Even a Google search doesn't bring up anything recent. Has the Bighorn casino closed? Anyone been around that neighborhood lately? I'm not likely to go back looking for it any time soon.

The chip itself is a typically-dirty, top hat and cane Paulson design in a dark gray. Unlike some previous examples, the real color of the chip is very much like it appears in the photo. For a casino to use a $1 chip of this type leaves me with the impression that it is much more upscale than the casinos that use their leftover slot tokens, a good bit higher on the totem pole than those that use the hot stamp chips that look too chintzy to be sold in Kmart, but lower than those casinos that are willing to pony up for a customized mold set with the casino name molded right into the chip.

I understand that my biases are not fully justified, but that's the way chips tend to make me feel about a place. Perhaps I'll have more to say on this topic at the end of the week, when this thread reaches a very-high-end casino that was using tokens at their crap table the first time I played there.






Edit 3/28/12: I have just received from rdw4potus the links to some images of his chips from casinos that I have already passed in this thread. Thanks, rdw! I am editing my posts to include his images, such as this one:

As far as bighorn goes, it's pretty much a hole in the wall type joint and I'm not surprised that you don't remember it. My favorite impression of their casino is actually their players card. The creepy factor of the bighorn on the players card is quite humorous, and I also won on one of the matchplays from the American Casino Guide in the Bighorn (The only reason we were there) so I guess that makes it more memorable for me.

Add that to the fact that it was only about 2 weeks ago, and that could also contribute to why I remember this place :-)

I have been to the bighorn a couple of times. I have fond memories. We always go on an ACG coupon run when I come to Vegas with my buddies. They always want to come and play just one hand but I feel an ethical obligation to play at least 8 or 9 hands when I cash a couopon, and I will usually just play long enough to get a comped drink. I am in Vegas to gamble anyway, why not give business to the people who put out the coupons? In the 2 or 3 times I have been there, the dealers always very very friendly and I always end up staying longer than I had planned. As one of the dealers I was playing with put it, "Yep, this place is a dump, but we have fun here." Thats how I tend to think of it. One more thing that would reccomend the Bighorn is that it is much less dumpy than its sister property, the Longhorn on Boulder Highway.

BTW I am really enjoying this thread Doc, thanks for putting it together.

Quote: duckmankilla

Add that to the fact that it was only about 2 weeks ago, and that could also contribute to why I remember this place :-)

I guess that means the place is still open, in spite of the fact I couldn't find current info on the web. Thanks, duckmankilla.

Completely off topic, I'll mention that my wife and I came across a herd of bighorn sheep as we were driving into Death Valley in 2007. The folks at the visitor center there said that was quite an unusual experience to see them in the wild, so we felt as if it was a special treat for us. I'd post one of my photos, but that might really take thinks off topic. (Is it proper to call a group of sheep a "herd" if no one is herding them? Flock doesn't sound right either.)

I haven't been to this casino but according to my Casino Chip Price Guide it opened in 1997 and was "Previousky Joe's Longhorn Casino"

Quote: bigfoot66

BTW I am really enjoying this thread Doc, thanks for putting it together.

You are most welcome, and thanks to you (and duckmankilla) for adding casino anecdotes when I couldn't come up with one. Yes, the Longhorn will have its due time in this thread, too. My souvenir from there is a token instead of a chip, so if you have a real Longhorn chip, get a photo ready. We won't likely get to that point until sometime past the middle of June -- a couple of trips I have planned will break up the string of daily posts.

Quote: Johnzimbo

I haven't been to this casino but according to my Casino Chip Price Guide it opened in 1997 and was "Previousky Joe's Longhorn Casino"

I suppose that was a minor typo for "Previously" and not a reference to some eastern European named "Previousky Joe". ;-)

I have already stated that I can't find up-to-date info on the Bighorn casino myself, but I'm wondering whether "Joe's Longhorn Casino" suggests that the Longhorn Casino on Boulder Highway may also have had a person's name on it at one time. Or some other variant.

yeah, typo sorry

I keep confusing the Bighorn and Longhorn, but both of them have two unusual blackjack rules I have to footnote in my blackjack survey. One is doubling on any number of cards. The other is unlimited re-splitting, except aces.

Quote: Wizard

I keep confusing the Bighorn and Longhorn, but both of them have two unusual blackjack rules I have to footnote in my blackjack survey. One is doubling on any number of cards. The other is unlimited re-splitting, except aces.

I took a look at your survey. You have Big Horn listed -- spelled as two words; the printing on the insert of my chip makes it look like one word, and since I can't find any useful info on line, I don't really know what is correct. Under "Other Rules" for Big Horn you have it noted as "1. Player may double on any 3 cards, except after splitting. Unlimited re-splitting, except aces may be split to a maximum of 3 hands only." That's slightly different from what you said in your post above.

For Longhorn, you have nothing shown under "Other Rules" but you have the name shown with a superscript ¹. I can't find a footnote on the page. Am I missing it somewhere, or is the superscript to mean "look at note 1 for Other Rules"?