Casino Chip of the Day

State: Kansas
City: Horton
Casino: Golden Eagle

Today's chip comes from the Golden Eagle casino in Horton, KS. The casino opened in May of 1996, and features 720 machines and 16 table games on it's 45,000 sqft gaming floor. I started posting pictures of the casinos last week, because the OLG casinos had interesting themes. I thought it might be fun to continue that practice and posted a stylized image of the Boot Hill facility yesterday. I think that the internet has failed me today.

Here's an image of the Golden Eagle casino in Horton, KS:



And, here's a picture of the Golden Eage casino in Kenora, ON:



I'm pretty sure only one of those can possibly be accurate, but the same website lists both images. I visited very briefly and very late in the evening, and I honestly have no recollection of what the building looked like. So, this plan has hit a little snag. I do remember that I played BJ at the casino, and I was a little surprised/upset to find $10 minimums instead of $5 minimums. The casino is in the middle of nowhere. I guess it's sort-of close to Kansas City, but there are several full-service casinos there so it's not like the city folks need to drive out to Golden Eagle to play.

My Golden Eagle chip is made by Chipco. The MOGH shows that this chip comes in both a linen finish and a satin finish. This chip is highly textured, and I think that means that this is the linen variety.

Quote: rdw4potus

I honestly have no recollection of what the building looked like.

I think the solution could be simple: just drop by the Golden Eagle Casino in Kenora the next time you are driving from Sault Ste. Marie to Winnipeg and check out what that building looks like. Maybe even pick up a chip while you are there.

;-)

Google Maps does not have good images of either facility, but the views they do show make it seem much more plausible that the photos you posted are of the Kansas casino.


Edit 7/31/14: I finally got to visit the Golden Eagle casino in Kansas, and I can confirm that it is the one in rdw4potus's photo. I posted my souvenir chip from this casino, along with a bunch of others, in this post.

Quote: Doc

I think the solution could be simple: just drop by the Golden Eagle Casino in Kenora the next time you are driving from Sault Ste. Marie to Winnipeg and check out what that building looks like. Maybe even pick up a chip while you are there.

;-)

Google Maps does not have good images of either facility, but the views they do show make it seem much more plausible that the photos you posted are of the Kansas casino.

Well hell. I really might be on that road at some point, if I go to both Thunder Bay and Winnipeg to get chips. I'll upload a pic of that casino sometime in the next couple years:)

State: Kansas
City: Kansas City
Casino: Hollywood

Today's chip of the day comes from the Hollywood casino in Kansas City, Kansas. This casino is located at the Kansas Speedway, and has 2000 machines and 64 tables on it's 100,000 sqft gaming floor. The Hollywood casino opened in February of 2012. I visited the casino in December of 2012, as a part of a trip to KS and OK. I spent much more time than I'd anticipated at Hollywood, and I really enjoyed the casino. It has a very well laid out casino floor, with a good variety of games and good sight lines. I played UTH for a few hours, then found a +EV slot and milked that for a while. I wound up pushing my flight and grabbing a room at a hotel by the casino for the night. Since that trip, I've received several more-than-fair offers from the property. Never enough to justify a return trip, but much more than other Hollywoods have ever offered me. I wonder if that's because of the competition in the KC market (not that this applies to this Philly-based customer, exactly), or because this was a new casino, or because of some other factor.

Unlike yesterday's casino, there's no question about what this casino looks like - which is odd, since there really are several Hollywood casinos. Here's a picture of this casino:



My chip from Hollywood is a Paulson RHC. There's a rim around the inlay, which appears to have both gold and white sections. I can't tell what that is supposed to be. It's almost like the center of the inlay is set on top of another image.

One nice thing about Hollywood at Kansas Speedway is that they have an outdoor mall within a mile from it. It includes things like Yard House, Dave n Busters, Great Wolf Lodge (Hotel with water slides), and many other mid-range shopping stores/restaurants. They also host Sporting Kansas City for Major League Soccer. Basically similar stores to what I expect the Linq to host when it's completed. I don't think I would dare go to the casino on any NASCAR day though.

The casino is nice looking as well, nothing completely jaw dropping though. It will rival Ameristar KC for "Best in Town" though. Also one annoying thing I noticed that many "penny slots" had a minimum bet of 2c per credit (similar to Harrah's Joliet from my experience).

Quote: rdw4potus

There's a rim around the inlay, which appears to have both gold and white sections. I can't tell what that is supposed to be. It's almost like the center of the inlay is set on top of another image.

That looks like a wood-grain pattern to me. It is just like the one on the Hollywood Charles Town $1 chip I posted. (You really need to get back to West Virginia and complete your set of their chips so we can see what the $5 ones look like.)

I think that rim is what Paulson calls a "customized outer ring" as one of their "security options." Matsui offers a similar thing that they call a "glitter ring."


Edit 7/31/14: I finally got to visit the Hollywood casino. I posted my souvenir chip from this casino, along with a bunch of others, in this post.

Quote: Doc

That looks like a wood-grain pattern to me. It is just like the one on the Hollywood Charles Town $1 chip I posted. (You really need to get back to West Virginia and complete your set of their chips so we can see what the $5 ones look like.)

I think that rim is what Paulson calls a "customized outer ring" as one of their "security options." Matsui offers a similar thing that they call a "glitter ring."

Is Matsui's glitter ring similar to what is on the Hacienda chips? I think we attributed those to Bud Jones at the time, but in retrospect I think that was mostly because the MOGH did. Now that we know the MOGH is less than 100% accurate...

I did post a Charles Town chip. I think you're right. The ring does look like a wood grain.

edit: corrected links. I think that's (by far) the hardest part of working from a tablet/phone - it's a real pain to manage multiple tabs and accurately utilize the cut/paste/clipboard features.

Quote: rdw4potus

I did post a Charles Town chip. I think you're right. The ring does look like a wood grain.

Bad link. That one goes to the photo of the Hollywood Casino.

Yes, the Matsui glitter ring is like the one on the Hacienda chip (and the almost-identical Club Fortune chip), but I am convinced that those really are from Bud Jones. Here is the post where I finally showed the UV image of the Hacienda chip, including a BJ logo. It's much more visible in the second image I posted in the 6/4/12 edit to that post. The Club Fortune UV image here also shows the BJ logo.

State: Kansas
City: Mulvane
Casino: Kansas Star

Today's chip of the day comes from the Kansas Star casino in Mulvane, Kansas. This Boyd-run facility is in the Wichita area in south central Kansas. It opened in November of 2011, and casinocity says that it's 50,000 sqft gamin floor has 1,400 machines and 37 table games. My understanding is that the casino is currently operating in what will eventually be the arena area of the property, and I'm not sure if those numbers are for the temporary casino space, or if they're for the permanent casino location.

I first heard about this project when I was playing cards at Harrah's North Kansas City a couple years ago. One of the other players at the table was headed to Wichita to work on the construction crew, and several players and staff were incredulous that this project actually existed. The common theme was that, while Wichita is a big city that didn't have a local casino, there are several large casinos nearby in Oklahoma so why would they build a casino here? Obviously, this casino was built and is real. I can't say it was all that busy when I visited, and I can say that almost all table games are better at any of the nearby OK casinos. I don't know if KS publishes revenue numbers, but it wouldn't surprise me to learn that this is a Revel-like situation.

I visited the Kansas Star on the same loop of OK and KS that brought me to the Hollywood. I thought it was difficult to get around in the casino in the arena area. Signs were too low, aisles didn't go through, etc. It was probably the most confusing rectangular casino I've ever been in. I complained about that in my report from that trip, which is when I learned that that space was temporary.

Here are two pictures from the Kansas Star facility. The property is quite large. When I visited, the parking area and entrances were not well signed. But, construction was still underway in several areas of the complex as well. I suppose it's hard to put up signs when paths and open entrances are always changing.



My chip from Kansas Star is a house mold. Neither of these pictures really captures the color of the chip. It's pretty unique. If peach and magenta had a baby, it'd be this color. The MOGH shows a brick-red paulson RHC that was issued in December of 2011, and this house mold that was issued in November of 2012. I feel like there must be a story there about the reissuance/replacement, but I can't find anything about it online. The original chips don't appear to mention the Boyd presence at the property, so maybe the house mold chips were commissioned to include the Boyd logo?



edit: Here are the MOGH's images of the same chip. Their pics look pink, mine look like a super-saturated orangy-red. The actual color is about half-way inbetween.

I think the IP in Biloxi is the only other casino where I have seen that Boyd logo on a chip. Is my feeble memory overlooking some other places/chips?

State: Kansas
City: Mayetta
Casino: Prairie Band

Today's chip of the day comes from the Prairie Band casino in Mayetta, KS. This casino opened in 1998 and operated from then until 2007 as a Harrah's property. Since 2007, the property has been operated independently. I did not visit this property while it was still a Harrah's. If anyone has a chip from that era, this would be an appropriate time to post it. The casino's 35,000 sqft gaming floor has 1,100 machines and 30 table games.

I visited this casino on the same "business" trip that brought me to Boot Hill. I visited Prairie Band on a Friday evening. It was very full, and the limits were very high, but people weren't really playing. That was pretty odd. The crowd skewed extremely young and frat-ish. I believe this is the closest casino to Manhattan, and it's also quite close to Lawrence. Despite all the people milling about, nobody was playing. All the tables were at $15 minimums. I asked for the minimum to be lowered to $5, and was rebuffed. So I played 1 shoe at the $15 level. I did not lose for the entire shoe. Sure, there were some pushes and some chops on split hands, but no net-losses at all. I cashed out +$260 at the end of the shoe, much to the chagrin of the floorman who denied my request to play for less money, and pocketed my chip.

Here's a picture of this casino. It's pretty upscale, especially compared to Golden Eagle and the other tribal casinos in the area.



My chip from Prairie Band is a Paulson RHC. The casino is themed as a lodge, and the chip features the casino's fire logo which supports the lodge theme. It's a pretty well-done theme, and I think it's also a well formatted chip.

State: Kansas
City: Powhattan
Casino: Sac & Fox

Today's chip of the day comes from the Sac & Fox casino in Powhattan, KS. The Sac & Fox opened in 1997, and is home to 760 machines and fourteen tables. Casino City also lists the gaming floor as being 106,000 sqft. That seems tremendously huge relatively to the number of seats, and also doesn't match my recollection of the property. 500Nations lists the floor at just under 30,000 sqft. That more closely matches my perception of the size, and also fits better with the number of gaming stations.

I visited the Sac & Fox about 30 minutes before I visited Prairie Band last year. The Sac & Fox is the future (perhaps now current?) home of Mulligan Poker's latest field trial. I think the game will do well there. Sac & Fox is a fun little place, with a tight-knit and fun group of regulars. Based on my experience, it's like Cheers in casino form. More importantly for Mike, the regulars were itching for new games when I visited. They even complained about having to go "all the way" to KC to play PGP and Texas Shootout. Speaking as a guy who's gone from Minneapolis to KC to play Shootout, I appreciated but didn't really sympathize with the sentiments expressed by this group of people who live within 100 miles of Kansas City. But, at any rate, I think they'll appreciate a new poker game to play in town.

Sac & Fox is maybe the most unassuming casino I've ever visited. It's pretty much just...there. No fanfare, no bravado. Just, well, look at the picture.



My chip from the Sac & Fox is a Chipco product. Like most plastic chips, it shows some wear around the rim. I had to look pretty hard to find this chip. Most had wear that was much more widespread on the face.

Quote: rdw4potus

My chip from the Sac & Fox is a Chipco product. Like most plastic chips, it shows some wear around the rim.

This may be a bit nitpicky, and it was established quite some time ago that I am no authority on chips myself. However, the Chipco chips are called "ceramic" chips. I've never really understood how the terms "ceramic" and "clay" evolved to describe two chip designs that seem so different.The B&G, Bud Jones, Matsui, Gemaco, and probably a number of others are "plastic injection molded" chips, commonly just called "plastic."


Edit 7/31/14: I finally got to visit the Sac & Fox and Prairie Band casinos. I posted my souvenir chips from these casinos, along with a bunch of others, in this post.

Quote: Doc

This may be a bit nitpicky, and it was established quite some time ago that I am no authority on chips myself. However, the Chipco chips are called "ceramic" chips. I've never really understood how the terms "ceramic" and "clay" evolved to describe two chip designs that seem so different.The B&G, Bud Jones, Matsui, Gemaco, and probably a number of others are "plastic injection molded" chips, commonly just called "plastic."

Nitpicky nitpicker! You pick nits, sir! :-)

My turn: Is the core of the chip ceramic? The outer portion, which appears to be applied over some other material, is much softer than most ceramics. I just assumed that outer portion was plastic, and I still suspect that it is.

I wonder what the pricing differences are between these chips? Assuming that appearance/legibility matters, I'd assume that the TCO on a Chipco product would make them much more expensive over time than vitrually any other chip. Clay will show edge wear, plastic injection chips may chip and pit, but these chips don't make it more than a few weeks before the wear around the rim starts to show. Why buy them? And, imagine what their salesperson could do repping a high-quality product!

State: Florida
City: Coconut Creek
Casino: Seminole Casino

Today's chip of the day comes from the Seminole Casino in Coconut Creek, FL. The casino opened in 1979, and has been significantly updated and expanded in recent years. The 100,000sqft gaming floor has 2,400 machines, 64 table games, and a 30 table poker room.

I have been to Seminole Coconut Creek twice. My first visit was right after the table games were added. I believe that was in 2010, though the MOGH lists the vintage of my chip as 2009. I was in FL for the wedding of a college friend, and extended for a day to visit casinos in the Fort Lauderdale area. I visited the casino again last May when I was in Fort Lauderdale for business. It's a fun casino. Lots of energy without being over the top, and elegant and unassuming at the same time. I'm pretty sure this would be my home casino if I moved to the southeast Florida area. Oh, and it looks like this:



My chip from the Seminole Coconut Creek is a Paulson RHC. It's another one of those Paulson chips where the graphic covers part of the hat and cane.

I think that text labeling of "FIVE DOLLARS" at the top of the chip is different from any I have seen before. The "$5" is normal, and we have seen the "5" printed on the edge of a few chips, but this is different, I think. Have you seen this other places?



Edit 11/27/13: I finally made it to the Seminole Coconut Creek Casino. Here are the images of my $1 souvenir chip.

Quote: Doc

I think that text labeling of "FIVE DOLLARS" at the top of the chip is different from any I have seen before. The "$5" is normal, and we have seen the "5" printed on the edge of a few chips, but this is different, I think. Have you seen this other places?

Below the rim of the chip, no. It also looks more uneven than I would deem "acceptable".

Quote: tringlomane

It also looks more uneven than I would deem "acceptable".

It is printed on the oversized center inlay, which rdw pointed out as overlapping the outer ring of the chip. In order for the text not to look uneven, the inlay might have to be almost perfectly centered on the chip. On the second image of the chip, the city/state at the bottom of the chip should exhibit the same kind of unevenness, but that one looks quite well aligned with the curve of the chip. I suspect that part of the issue (at least with the image on the right) is the lighting in the photo -- right in the middle of the "FIVE DOLLARS" you cannot see the edge of the center depression of the chip beneath the inlay, and I think that makes the text look uneven.

State: Florida
City: Hollywood
Casino: Seminole Casino

Today's chip comes from the Seminole Casino in Hollywood. This is one of two Seminole properties in Hollywood, and is sometimes called Seminole Indian Bingo or Seminole Classic Casino. The property opened in 1979. Unlike the Coconut Creek casino from yesterday, I'd wager that pretty much nothing has changed at this property since the early '80s. I guess they added tables in 2009, but other than that it's pretty dated. Casino City lists the casino's gaming floor at 50,000 sqft with 1,150 machines and 32 tables.

I've been to this casino twice. Once when I collected the chip 3 years ago, and once last year when I was back in town for business. It's an interesting place. Basically, it's a smaller option for people who don't want to deal with the size and bustle of Coconut Creek and tomorrow's casino. It's the Joker's Wild of South Florida casinos: smokey, small, and filled with old people and relatively good and cheap games.

Here's a picture of this casino. It's not at all pretty on the outside, though the copious palm trees at least block some of the view.



Today's chip is a Paulson RHC that is very similar to yesterday's chip. There's a different logo, but the format is the same right down to the spelled out "five dollars" on the chip's face.

Quote: rdw4potus

Today's chip comes from the Seminole Casino in Hollywood.

I hadn't realized how complicated it was going to be to maintain a bit of organization in the "Florida" category in the index for this thread! How about a little creativity in casino names? This is as bad as (worse than?) having four casinos named "Harrah's" in the same state.



Edit 11/27/13: I finally made it to the Seminole Hollywood Casino. Here are the images of my $1 souvenir chip.

State: Florida
City: Hollywood
Casino: Seminole Hard Rock

Today's chip of the day comes from the Seminole Hard Rock casino in Hollywood, FL. Yesterday's casino, the Seminole Casino in Hollywood, is so close to the Hard Rock that I think it may actually be in the shadow of this larger casino at times. The Hard Rock opened in 2004, and it's 135,000sqft gaming floor has 2,500 slots and 135 table games.

I've been to the Hard Rock two and a half times. Like the other FL casinos, I visited once several years ago and again last May. I also visited for a meal only last May. The Hard Rock is a very interesting place, because only about 50% of it's area is dedicated to gaming. There are many restaurants and bars in the casino hotel area, and there's also an outdoor mall area that has several other restaurants and shops. It was at the outside mall area that I stopped for the meal that constituted my half-visit last year. This property reminds me of Planet Hollywood in Vegas. Hard Rock has slightly better food and the mall is outside, but the style, crowd, and atmosphere are similar.

I couldn't find a picture online that had any detail of the outdoor mall area, but here's a couple macro shots of the casino hotel from the opposite side:


(sweet Jesus, those are long URLs...)


My chip from the Hard Rock is a Paulson RHC. The front of the chip features a spelled-out "five dollars" that makes my head spin. My mind desperately wants that to be from 11:00 to 1:00, instead of from 12:30 to 2:30. Looking at the MOGH's page for this casino, it appears that other chip sets do have that spelled and centered at the top of the chip.

Quote: rdw4potus

(sweet Jesus, those are long URLs...)

Nah, those aren't URLs. That's the ASCII coding for the entire .tiff file.

;-)



Edit 11/27/13: I finally made it to the Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood Casino. Here are the images of my $1 souvenir chip.

State: Missouri
City: Kansas City
Casino: Amerstar

Today's chip comes from the Ameristar casino in Kansas City. The Ameristar opened in 2001. According to CasinoCity, the casino has a 140,000sqft gaming floor with 2,638 machines and 72 table games. There is a very impressive assortment of games at Ameristar. KC seems to be a market that supports new and different games. Ameristar has BJ, Craps, Roulette, 3 card poker, double-down stud, Let it ride, mini baccarat, flop poker, pai gow poker (including EZ PGP), texas shootout, Mississippi Stud, and Ultimate Texas Hold'em. I'm writing this post from my room at Harrah's AC. It occurs to me that Ameristar KC may well have a wider array of games than all of the Atlantic City casinos combined.

I collected my chip on the same trip that brought me to Prairie Band and Sac & Fox in Kansas. I played Texas Shootout when I collected my chip. I believe that was the first time I'd played the game, which is now one of my favorites. I wish it could break through whatever geographical barrier is holding it back - every table I've ever seen has been open and full.

Here's a picture of Ameristar KC:


My chip from the Ameristar KC is a Paulson RHC. Unlike the last few chips I've posted the inlay on this chip actually fits within the center section of the face of the chip. I just think that looks much better than the chips where the image partially covers the hat & cane pattern.





In the category of other information, Harrah's AC has new chips. They've dropped the "Marina" from the name and the metal from the chips.

Quote: rdw4potus

Today's chip comes from the Ameristar casino in Kansas City.

Ooops! More adjustments for the directory. I hadn't realized that there are multiple Ameristar casinos in Missouri, so when I posted my chip from the Ameristar in St. Charles, I didn't specify the city in the directory. I had anticipated the need for that when I posted a Harrah's chip.

Quote: rdw4potus

In the category of other information, Harrah's AC has new chips. They've dropped the "Marina" from the name and the metal from the chips.

Yep, I've already got that place on my list of chips to get. I didn't get to Harrah's on my last visit to AC last July. I don't know whether they had them at any tables when I last visited that Harrah's in August 2011, but I didn't see any with a new name on them. When did they drop "Marina" from the name? I don't even remember when I added it to my list.


Edit 7/31/14: I finally got to visit the Ameristar in Kansas City. I posted my souvenir chip from this casino, along with a bunch of others, in this post.

Quote: Doc

Yep, I've already got that place on my list of chips to get. I didn't get to Harrah's on my last visit to AC last July. I don't know whether they had them at any tables when I last visited that Harrah's in August 2011, but I didn't see any with a new name on them. When did they drop "Marina" from the name? I don't even remember when I added it to my list.

It's weird right now. The $1, $5, and $100 chips are from the new, non-Marina set. The $2.50, $25, and $500 chips are from the metal Marina series. I didn't pay attention to the $1000 chips on the PGP table. They're jumbo chips, and I dont think they have metal centers, but I don't know about the naming.

In terms of when the new chips began to circulate, I last played the tables at Harrah's in August. At that time, the $5 chips were still metal. So, sometime between then and now the chips were changed.

State: Missouri
City: Kansas City
Casino: Argosy Casino

Today's chip of the day comes from the Argosy casino in Riverside, MO. The chip lists a location of Kansas City, MO. But I don't see how that's accurate. The casino is north of North Kansas City, which makes me think that the the MOGH and CasinoCity are correct when they list the property as being in Riverside. At any rate, the Argosy opened in 1994, has 62,000 sqft of gaming space, and has 1,725 machines and 33 tables.

I visited Argosy on my way north out of town, right after visiting Ameristar. The trip went sideways pretty quickly, but the wheels had not come off yet by the time I got to Argosy. I spent a little more time at Argosy than I'd intended, which is perhaps where things started to go awry. Argosy is a little smaller than Ameristar, and with a slightly smaller (but still impressive) assortment of games. There are 33 tables, and 11 different games represented.

Argosy is a surprisingly pretty property. For a smallish and old casino, it was much more well-presented than I'd expected. This picture puts the property in the best possible light, but it's not much of an exaggeration of the level of quality:



The MOGH lists my chip as being a Bud Jones product. I don't see a BJ on the chip, but I also don't know what else it could be. This chip has a rather odd and annoying feature. It's as thought the chip has a constant static charge. Both images show white fibers that were left behind by the cloth that I used to clean and dry the chip. The fuzz is/was attracted to this chip. I haven't yet come across another chip that attracts debris this strongly.

Quote: rdw4potus

I played Texas Shootout when I collected my chip. I believe that was the first time I'd played the game, which is now one of my favorites. I wish it could break through whatever geographical barrier is holding it back - every table I've ever seen has been open and full.

Yeah, Texas Shootout got a decent hold in Missouri for awhile, as I did see it in St. Louis casinos for a few years. I never played it, but I thought it was a good game when I read it on the Wizard's site. But the only real house rule, Dealer wins on ties, may have helped doom this game. Even idiots can see the house edge here. :( But a much bigger dooming was the extra variance caused by the ever so awesome "Ultimate Texas Hold 'em". The variance is so high in this game that the idiots can be duped into "It's beatable (before comps/hole carding)! So I should keep playing!".

But 2 tables of "Texas Shootout" still exist at Ameristar KC as of February with a healthy 32.2% hold for the month, so it looks like players there may be dedicated. As of Feb. 2013, it also exists at Harrahs NKC, LaGrange (Mark Twain), and St. Joseph (Frontier). I have never seen this game outside of Missouri in my life though.

Generally speaking, I love Ameristar KC though. They brew their own beer!! And it's 1) tasty and 2) reasonably priced. They also offer my favorite video poker game, Double Super Times Pay, for nickels at the best paytable I expect casinos to offer (unlike most CET properties). It's also more spacious and less smoky than all the other KC casinos on the MO side.

As for Argosy, I liked them too for their cheaper, but still okay paying video poker. I even was able to play Dream Card poker for 10-line pennies! The biggest drawback was the casino was small as a whole. It was so unmemorable for my g/f, she didn't even remember we visited the place last year when I mentioned it recently...lol Another annoying thing was that you had to swipe in a player's card to get in. They had "Guest Cards" for players that didnt want to sign up. Fortunately they are supposed to be connected to Hollywood STL now.

I agree with you thinking the casino was quite classy for the size. And very classy considering the immediate surrounding area. Blows the Alton Belle out of the water...lol

Quote: rdw4potus

Today's chip of the day comes from the Argosy casino in Riverside, MO. The chip lists a location of Kansas City, MO. But I don't see how that's accurate.

Early in this thread I declared that I was going to identify casino locations based on what it said on the chip, eg., "Las Vegas" instead of "Paradise". You, of course, are free to use whatever method you prefer. The only time it arises for me now is when there are two casinos by the same name in the same state and I have to identify them in the directory. So far as I know, there is only one Argosy Casino in Missouri, so it isn't an issue to me. Maybe it will be if I ever get to western Missouri and need to find the casino!

Quote: rdw4potus

The MOGH lists my chip as being a Bud Jones product. I don't see a BJ on the chip, but I also don't know what else it could be.

This is one of those designs that MOGH always attributes to Bud Jones, while I have been reporting them as patterns available in the Gemaco catalog. This one looks like Gemaco's design series B model 139.30.14.31. It's the last chip on the right in the second row shown on this page.


Edit 7/31/14: I finally got to visit the Argosy in Riverside/Kansas City. I posted my souvenir chip from this casino, along with a bunch of others, in this post.

State: Missouri
City: North Kansas City
Casino: Harrah's

Today's chip of the day comes from Harrah's in North Kansas City, MO. Harrah's opened in 1994. The casino has a gaming floor of about 60,000 sqft. There are 1,524 machines and 62 table and poker games.

Harrah's is my usual hotel when I stay in KC for business. That happens less in the new job than it did in the old one, but I did stay at Harrah's for a couple nights last fall when I did my trip to OK and KS. I collected my chip playing PGP a few years ago, but I've mostly played Texas Shootout on return trips. The hotel is comfortable and convenient. And, it's been my experience that it's one of the more easily compable of the total rewards properties.

Here is a picture of Harrah's North Kansas City, and a view of downtown from the hotel (skyline pic is highly zoomed):



My chip from Harrah's is a Paulson RHC. The MOGH shows that this is one of 18 different $5 chips that have been issued in the 19 year life of this casino. What is odd to me is that several different manufacturers are involved with those chips. I wonder if the chips from this Paulson base set are in the tray at the same time as the Chipco and BJ produced special edition chips.

State: Missouri
City: Boonville
Casino: Isle of Capri

Today's chip of the day comes from the Isle of Capri casino in Boonville, MO. The casino opened in 2001. It's pretty small, but makes good use of space. The floor is only 28,000 sqft, but has 991 machines and 19 tables. It doesn't feel particularly crowded, which is surprising considering the machine to floorspace ratio. When I was scouring the interweb for the image (below) of this casino, I learned that it hosted a boneless wing eating competition last month. Apparently, boneless wing eating is a different event than regular wing eating, with the absence of bones leading to an increase in wings per unit time. At any rate, that struck me as pretty much the perfect event for this property, which is in rural central Missouri.

I visited Boonville on a business trip to Saint Louis and KC a couple years ago. I drove across MO from one city to the other, stopping in Boonville to snag this chip. This casino is pretty close to exactly what I think most people picture as being a stereotypical rural midwestern casino. Low rise hotel, small gaming floor, low limits, simple restaurants, lots of smoke. I played BJ when I collected my chip. There weren't a lot of other options.

Here's a picture of this property. I couldn't find a smaller version, so I put it behind a spoiler tag:


My chip from the Isle of Capri is a Paulson RHC. Unlike the last several casinos, there is only 1 chip in each denomination listed for this casino. no special editions, no new chip sets, just these tried and true (and worn) Paulsons.

In anticipation of what tomorrow's chip might be, I have added the city for this casino in the directory.    ;-)

For that matter, I am assuming that you are progressing through your collection (within state, anyway) in alphabetical order. Does that mean you have not yet been to the new casino in Cape Girardeau? I haven't, but that one is on my list for the next time I get to that area, perhaps next summer.


Edit 7/31/14: I finally got to visit the Harrah's and Isle of Capri casinos presented above. I posted my souvenir chips, along with a bunch of others, in this post.

I meant to ask, rdw, when you were in Atlantic City, did you get by the new Margaritaville? Do they use their own chips (as they do to a limited extent at the Las Vegas Flamingo Margaritaville), or do they use Resorts chips? The MOGH catalog doesn't show any Margaritaville chips yet, but the place hasn't been open very long.

I meant to go to Resorts, but did not make it over there. I suspect there are margaritaville chips, like there are at the other margaritaville casinos. But, I lost track of time at Harrah's on Saturday and didn't wind up leaving the casino at all.

Yes, I'm trying to stick to alphabetical order within the state (though, alphabetical ordering of states has gone out the window). Yes, you were wise to anticipate today's chip. And no, I haven't been to the new casino in Cape Girardeau. At some point, I'm going to make a trip back to the midwest to clean up my MO, AR, KS, and IA collections. That'll be a brutal weekend, especially if I fly into and out of the same place (probably STL).

State: Missouri
City: Kansas City
Casino: Isle of Capri

Today's chip of the day comes from the Isle of Capri in Kansas City. The Isle opened in 2000 and has 45,000 sqft of gaming space. There are 1,165 machines and 22 tables. OK, maybe 22 tables. Casino City lists the contents of those 22 tables as being 21 BJ and 5 craps. So, there's that... I thought the Isle felt quite spacious. Looking at things, this casino has about the same number of machines and tables as Boonville does, but with twice the floor space.

I visited the Isle in Kansas City on the same trip that brought me to Ameristar and Argosy. I played BJ to collect my chip, and my visit was quite short. At the point that I visited the Isle, I was trying to keep a tight timeline. I think this was the only stop that actually occurred on time and within the budgeted duration of the visit.

Here's a picture of the casino entrance, and another of the boat itself:




My chip from the Isle is a Paulson RHC. The MOGH says that this chip has been in circulation since February of 2001, and that this chip was in circulation for the 4 months before that. It feels like there should be a story there, but I can't find any info about what happened that affected the $5 denomination and only the $5 denomination.

Quote: rdw4potus

The MOGH says that this chip has been in circulation since February of 2001, and that this chip was in circulation for the 4 months before that. It feels like there should be a story there, but I can't find any info about what happened that affected the $5 denomination and only the $5 denomination.

Perhaps someone there shares your dislike (and mine) for those huge center inlays that cover up the top hats and canes. The MOGH catalog isn't completely clear as to whether there might have also been big-inlay chips that appeared briefly for the other denominations, just that they don't have any to display in the catalog.



On an only-slightly-related basis, the MOGH catalog listing of Mississippi casinos includes an Isle of Capri Crown Plaza Resort, declared as being "open" in the city of "Crown Plaza Resort", but with no chips shown. The page for the (missing) chips includes a logo and photo of the Fitzgeralds/Fitz in Tunica. My Google search for an "Isle of Capri Crown Plaza Resort" led only to info about the "Isle of Capri Crowne Plaza Resort" as a name for the Isle of Capri aka Isle aka Golden Nugget in Biloxi.

Anyone know what that's all about? Perhaps I should post this question in a different thread?


Edit 7/31/14: I finally got to visit the Isle of Capri casino in Kansas City. I posted my souvenir chip from this casino, along with a bunch of others, in this post.

State: Missouri
City: La Grange
Casino: Terrible's Mark Twain Casino

Today's chip of the day comes from the Terrible's Mark Twain casino in La Grange, MO. This casino has an interesting history. It was the Mark Twain Casino from 2001 to 2005. Then it was Terrible's Mark Twain Casino from 2005-2011. Then it became Mark Twain Casino again. That same thing has happened with two other properties in the MO and IA. The rapid growth and subsequent bankruptcy of the Herbst corporation has had a profound effect on the gaming scene in the rural midwest. Mark Twain is a small casino. The floor is about 18,000 sqft, and there are only 630 machines and 13 tables. Interestingly, within those 13 tables are: 3CP, BJ, roulette, craps, LIR, and S21. So, there is a pretty good variety of games for such a small place.

I visited this casino on a visit to Saint Louis and Metropolis. La Grange is about 130 miles north of the Saint Louis airport, and it's a very easy drive. I played BJ to collect my chip, and then turned around and drove to Metropolis. Had I been thinking harder, I'd have gone to La Grange last if for no other reason than because it would have saved me from 6 hours alone in the car with the song stuck in my head. I suppose I'll return to pick up a new chip here when I go to Cape Girardeau. That's about as close to this casino as I expect I'll ever be again. I guess that I can head a little south of Cape Girardeau and console myself at Lamberts if I get the song stuck in my head again.

Here's a picture of this property:



My chip from Terrible's Mark Twain is a Paulson RHC. The inlays on the two sides of the chip are rotated 90 degrees from each other. I was going to say that I couldn't think of the last chip we looked at that had that much variance between two otherwise identical faces, but it looks like the same thing is true of yesterday's chip from the Isle as well.

Quote: rdw4potus

I guess that I can head a little south of Cape Girardeau and console myself at Lamberts if I get the song stuck in my head again.

Just a minor error in your link -- you need the "http://" to make it work right.

Doc, if you noticed the Twin River thread then you know that you need another New England trip. At yesterday's table games launch the casino had a limited amount of $5 commemorative chips available to the public. They had to be purchased at one roulette table and there was a limit of five per person although there was nothing to stop anyone from getting back in line.

I know your policy of physically attending the casinos to collect chips however should you want one just say the word. I would be more than happy to send it to you.

Thanks for the offer, and Twin River is on my list for an in-person trip someday. Don't know when that will be, but I suspect I will visit casinos in RI and ME on another trip to the Atlantic Provinces. Possibly also stops in MA then, if the places are open.

I have only very tentative plans for a trip to the northeast this year, likely in August and we won't get up to New England. I think we will make it to NJ and then maybe to Montreal and Ottawa. If we do that, I also hope to pick up a few chips along the way in Verona, Hogansburg, and Gananoque. Maybe even Rocky Gap on the way home.

It seems that both New England and the other parts of Ontario will have to wait at least another year to get on our travel schedule. We are already booked for a trip out to Reno/Tahoe and down to San Diego in late September, and after that time of year I just plain avoid going north -- I'm not much into the idea of snow and ice. All of our visits to New England and Canada (even Vancouver) have been between May and September.

State: Missouri
City: Saint Joseph
Casino: Terrible's St. Jo Frontier Casino

Today's chip of the day comes from the Terrible's St. Jo Frontier Casino in Saint Joseph, MO. This property opened in 1994 and operated as St. Jo Frontier Casino until 2005. Then it was Terrible's from 2005 to 2012, after which the Terrible's name was shed again. The casino has 32,000 sqft of gaming space, 566 machines, and 11 table games.

I visited Terrible's after leaving the Argosy and before venturing into Kansas to visit the casinos there. The trip from Terrible's to Casino White Cloud was...interesting. My GPS determined that the best route was to take a dirt (note, NOT gravel. dirt.) road in southern Nebraska for a few miles. Then I took four consecutive left turns, cursed, and *bam* White Cloud. Now if only that casino had table games at the time of my visit! I had a good time at Terrible's. I played BJ to collect my chip, then I played some more BJ, and some more. I spent way too much time at the casino, and I was late to all subsequent stops as well.

Here is a picture of the casino under ideal conditions:



and another picture when things are not so great:




My chip from Terrible's is a Paulson RHC. It's styled in a very similar manner to yesterday's chip from this facility's cross-state sister property.

State: Wisconsin
City: Odanah
Casino: Bad River

Today's chip of the day comes from the Bad River casino in Odanah, WI. Bad River has 450 machines and 8 tables on a 45,000 square foot gaming floor. It is exactly as spacious as that sounds, though I think that's because they've been scaling back due to slow business. I visited Bad River as a part of a trip through WI, MI, OH, and ON when I drove my car from MN to PA when I moved last summer. Bad River was one of the first casinos that I stopped at, and I arrived around 5pm. It was so dead, it made Revel look like a viable gaming destination. Bad River is in a bad location. I suppose it's where it needs to be (on the reservation), but the area now has other casinos that are closer to its few population centers. Before those casinos opened, I'm sure Bad River did a better business. Also, the area communities are just shrinking. I collected my chip by playing BJ. I was alone at the table during my 2 shoe session. The dealer was excellent. I asked about his background, and he explained that he'd dealt in Vegas and Biloxi for years. Then he took a job at Bad River when he "retired" and moved to Ashland, WI. I also ate dinner at the cafe at Bad River. It was by far the best coleslaw I've ever had, and a pretty good patty melt as well.

Bad River has a strong north woods lodge theme. That works well, since it kind of really is a lodge in the middle of the north woods:-) Here's a picture of the facility:




My chip from Bad River is a Chipco product. I really don't mean to keep harping on how dead the casino was, but the fact that I found a chipco product with such a small amount of wear is probably just a further indication that the tables at Bad River don't get much play. The MOGH lists two finishes for this chip, linen and satin. This is the linen version.

Meant to make some comments about some of the other Missouri casinos. Harrah's N. KC is okay and the hotel is satisfactory, but I am annoyed that it has crap for video poker, but it holds my record for "Biggest Win". $400 on a Double Super Times Pay machine (one of the best machines they have at 98.36%). I typically wouldn't play quarters on a machine that bad, but I wanted to get 25 Tier as quick as I could for Race to Rewards.

Isle of Capri KC...meh. Has full pay pickem for dollars still, other than that, pass.

Isle of Capri Boonville: Just described one of my stories there in another thread. Gave myself a near heart-attack when I got 4 to a Royal with a flush in Caribbean Stud, but I didn't play the progressive since it was only $30k. Also back in the day, Boonville had full-pay All American for quarters (100.72%), easily the best video poker Missouri ever saw. I randomly bumped into my Aunt and Uncle there once in 2004 even though I have been there less than 10 times. Seven years later I randomly bump into them at Fitzgerald's Tunica...lol

O.K., so we have another brand new category for chips in this thread!

The last time I was in Wisconsin was the summer of 1997, long before I started collecting casino chips (other than that single one from the cruise ship in 1976). I think I am unlikely to ever gather a collection of Wisconsin chips.

Quote: Doc

O.K., so we have another brand new category for chips in this thread!

The last time I was in Wisconsin was the summer of 1997, long before I started collecting casino chips (other than that single one from the cruise ship in 1976). I think I am unlikely to ever gather a collection of Wisconsin chips.

I would guess you'll wind up with one or two Wisconsin chips. There are a couple casinos that are close enough to Chicago or close enough to Minneapolis that you may eventually get to those places.

State: Wisconsin
City: Baraboo
Casino: Ho Chunk

Today's chip of the day comes from the Ho Chunk Casino in Baraboo, WI. Baraboo is in the Dells area of Wisconsin, and this casino is sort of the adult answer to the family resorts and waterparks in the area. The casino has a 95,000 sqft floor, with 2,800 machines and 57 tables. The Ho Chunk Nation has several casinos in Wisconsin - some with tables and some without. This one is the flagship, and is their largest property.

It took me a long time to get my chip from this casino. It's just a little too far south for me to visit on my drives from Minneapolis to Appleton over the past few years. Finally, I forced it to be "on the way" and grabbed the chip. It's a big casino, but it's sort of strangely boring. The dells is all about excitement and entertainment, and this casino has mostly older slots and blackjack. There are some new slots, and there are some other table games, but reel slots (and simple virtual reels) and BJ account for about 80% of the gaming seats. I played BJ to get my chip, and I won about $20. I used the money to buy a pie at the Norske Nook a bit farther up I-94.

Here's a picture of the casino, obviously not taken during the peak season in the Dells:



My chip from Ho Chunk Baraboo is a Paulson RHC. It has an oversized center inlay, but there's something about this one that makes it look better than most. I think it's the color-matching that makes the larger inlay work on this chip.

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Does anybody know the chips from Casino Lisboa, Portugal? One of my friends is from somewhat near there and I'm considering bugging them to make a trip out and pick a few up if they're remotely interesting. (And, if anybody else is interested in them, I may be able to arrange extras, contingent on if/when they get around to it.)

Quote: rdw4potus

I would guess you'll wind up with one or two Wisconsin chips. There are a couple casinos that are close enough to Chicago or close enough to Minneapolis that you may eventually get to those places.

I haven't even gotten to the Ohio casinos, much less those in the Detroit, Minneapolis, or Chicago areas. That's a long drive from my place, and probably not interesting enough to me to warrant plane tickets.

Quote: rdw4potus

State: Wisconsin
City: Baraboo
Casino: Ho Chunk

My older brother was born in Baraboo, but I've never been there. Drove sorta past it on the interstate in '97 on my only visit to the state. Not really expecting to make it back.

State: Wisconsin
City: Nekoosa
Casino: Ho Chunk

Today's chip of the day comes from the Ho Chunk casino in Nekoosa, WI. Nekoosa is a small town, on the Wisconsin River just south of Wisconsin Rapids Like many central wisconsin towns, the lumber and paper industries are economic drivers. The casino opened in 2010. It has a 16,500 sqft gaming floor with 650 slots and 15 table games. I didn't realize that this casino was so new. It would have only been open for a few months at most when I collected my chip in early 2011. I guess that explains why everything was so nice and shiny:-) Unlike the Baraboo location, this casino has an almost silly collection of new slot machines. I think they literally bought the best/newest machines when they opened.

I collected my chip playing BJ. The pit is pretty small, and it felt like the table was not full-size. It was full, and we did not all fit sitting at the table. That was kind of frustrating. Constantly elbowing one's neighbors while also being chastized for being too far from the table is not fun. I'd have played longer, but the floorwoman was too much to take.

Here's a picture of the front of the casino. The picture exaggerates things somewhat, but there really is a disproportionately large outdoor covered porch thing on the front of the casino.



My chip from Ho Chunk Nekoosa is an Icon product. It seems to me like Icon's products are of quite high-quality. I wonder of they have a cost premium relative to the GPI family of chips.

State: Wisconsin
City: Black River Falls
Casino: Ho Chunk

Today's chip of the day comes from the Ho Chunk Gaming facility in Black River Falls, WI. I think I made an error in the alphabetizing of these locations. I'd been following the MOGH's listings, and the other Ho Chunks were listed as "casino" while this one was listed under "gaming." But the Nekoosa chip also says "Gaming." D'oh!

This facility has a 38,000 sqft gaming floor, with 635 machines and 9 tables. The property also has a small hotel and convention space. I've never stayed in the hotel, but I attended a meeting in the convention space a few years ago. The rooms were small, but effectively equipped and well laid out. The casino is well situated in Black River Falls, which is on I-94 half-way between Minneapolis and Madison. I've visited this property a total of 3 times. I believe it was 2009 when I visited and attended the conference. At that time, the property was operating under an older name. I visited again in 2011 when I collected this chip and a month later when they sent me a freeplay offer that I assume must have been a typo. $200 in FP for what was maybe a $2,500 handle on BJ when I collected the chip.

Here's a picture of this casino:



I had a lot of trouble with the pictures of this chip. The face of the chip is not in focus, and my point-and-shoot camera would not auto-focus on the chip. I must've tried this 20 times, and these were the best images I got of both sides of the chip. I believe that this is the same Icon blank (with a very slightly different edge pattern) that the Nekoosa chip used. I'm surprised that they accepted these chips. I wouldn't have let these chips into the casino at this quality level.




Here is the MOGH's chip image from this casino. Their image is clearer than mine, but also shows the blurriness of the chip's face: