Casino Chip of the Day
June 25th, 2013 at 5:08:43 AM
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OK, for casinos with the same name in the same state, what is your presentation sequence if not the alphabetical order of city names? (I think maybe you just like to see me jump through hoops in the directory organization!)
;-)
;-)
June 26th, 2013 at 12:00:20 PM
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Quote: DocOK, for casinos with the same name in the same state, what is your presentation sequence if not the alphabetical order of city names? (I think maybe you just like to see me jump through hoops in the directory organization!)
;-)
Yeah, I blew that one. I followed the MOGH's list, which was Ho Chunk Casino Baraboo, Ho Chunk Casino Nekoosa, Ho Chunk Gaming Black River Falls. So, BRF was pushed back because "gaming" came after "casino." Based on the names on the chips (Nekoosa's chip also says "gaming" and not "casino") I posted them out of order. And, I think God and/or Mother Nature punished me for it. We've been having storms and my power was out from yesterday evening until about 2 hours ago.
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
June 26th, 2013 at 9:08:15 PM
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State: Wisconsin
City: Hayward
Casino: Lac Courte Oreilles
Today's chip of the day comes from the Lac Courte Oreilles casino in Hayward, WI. The casino also trades as LCO, which is much easier to both say and write. The actual name translates means lake (of the) short/little ears. The casino opened in 1993. It has 650 slots and 14 tables on its 35,000 sqft gaming floor. The property also has a hotel and convention area.
I've been to Hayward many times, but I've only been to this casino once. Hayward is a resort community in north central Wisconsin. There are many lakes, hotels, resorts, restaurants, and super cheesy stores in town. My family used to go often because my grandma lived nearby and her favorite restaurant was in town. Having never been to this casino, I'd just assumed it was a big fancy place. It isn't. The lodge is well presented, but the facility is small and it shows its age.
Here's a picture of the front of the facility. It's pretty unassuming:
My chip from the LCO is a Paulson SCV. This is the first non-RHC paulson that we've posted in a long time in the thread. The inserts are kelly green and lavender. I had pretty good luck with the cleaning of this chip. There's some wear, but not much remaining gunk.
City: Hayward
Casino: Lac Courte Oreilles
Today's chip of the day comes from the Lac Courte Oreilles casino in Hayward, WI. The casino also trades as LCO, which is much easier to both say and write. The actual name translates means lake (of the) short/little ears. The casino opened in 1993. It has 650 slots and 14 tables on its 35,000 sqft gaming floor. The property also has a hotel and convention area.
I've been to Hayward many times, but I've only been to this casino once. Hayward is a resort community in north central Wisconsin. There are many lakes, hotels, resorts, restaurants, and super cheesy stores in town. My family used to go often because my grandma lived nearby and her favorite restaurant was in town. Having never been to this casino, I'd just assumed it was a big fancy place. It isn't. The lodge is well presented, but the facility is small and it shows its age.
Here's a picture of the front of the facility. It's pretty unassuming:
My chip from the LCO is a Paulson SCV. This is the first non-RHC paulson that we've posted in a long time in the thread. The inserts are kelly green and lavender. I had pretty good luck with the cleaning of this chip. There's some wear, but not much remaining gunk.
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
June 27th, 2013 at 7:16:01 AM
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So are you going to tell us where the "short/little ears" thing comes from? An anatomical feature of the tribe depicted on the inlay? The arrangement of coves on the lake? Something even more bizarre?
June 27th, 2013 at 7:28:26 AM
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Quote: DocSo are you going to tell us where the "short/little ears" thing comes from? An anatomical feature of the tribe depicted on the inlay? The arrangement of coves on the lake? Something even more bizarre?
Oh, good god. Did you look this up before asking? Turns out that the first guess is actually pretty close to true. Here's the story:
Lac Courte Oreilles (the actual lake) is a little south of Hayward. It was named by French fur traders. They named it that way because they believed that the natives who lived around the lake cut off the edges of the lobes of their ears. Turns out that the short ears were just an anatomical anomaly of the local people. The tribe embraced the name, and that is now the name of the tribe and their casino.
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
June 27th, 2013 at 10:13:33 PM
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State: Wisconsin
City: Lac du Flambeau
Casino: Lake of the Torches
Today's chip of the day comes from the Lake of the Torches casino in Lac du Flambeau, WI. Nice of the casino to go ahead and translate their name into English for us. Lac du Flambeau is in the utter middle of nowhere, halfway between Ashland and Wausau in northern Wisconsin. It's one of the most remote casinos that I've ever been to. The casino has a 56,000 sqft floor, with 800 slots and 13 tables.
I visited one time last summer on my drive from MN to PA. I truly have no idea where the patrons of this casino could possibly come from. There are no cities nearby, and what towns there are in the area have casinos that are closer and more convenient. That said, it was pretty busy when I stopped by. There are certainly a lot of lakes in the area, and those lakes have second-homes and cabins on them. Maybe the vacation market is sufficient to support the casino.
This is yet another casino with a northwoods lodge theme. And, like Bad River, this really is a lodge in the northwoods so the theme works well. Here's a picture of the casino:
This is one of my favorite chips in my collection. It's a Paulson product, and there's a lot going on with it. First, it's oversized. It's the same size as $1000 chips are at most casinos. I think that's 43mm? Also, it's an IHC. I can't think of another inverted hat and cane that we've seen so far. Looking at it on this chip, I think I kind of prefer it with the hats facing outward.
City: Lac du Flambeau
Casino: Lake of the Torches
Today's chip of the day comes from the Lake of the Torches casino in Lac du Flambeau, WI. Nice of the casino to go ahead and translate their name into English for us. Lac du Flambeau is in the utter middle of nowhere, halfway between Ashland and Wausau in northern Wisconsin. It's one of the most remote casinos that I've ever been to. The casino has a 56,000 sqft floor, with 800 slots and 13 tables.
I visited one time last summer on my drive from MN to PA. I truly have no idea where the patrons of this casino could possibly come from. There are no cities nearby, and what towns there are in the area have casinos that are closer and more convenient. That said, it was pretty busy when I stopped by. There are certainly a lot of lakes in the area, and those lakes have second-homes and cabins on them. Maybe the vacation market is sufficient to support the casino.
This is yet another casino with a northwoods lodge theme. And, like Bad River, this really is a lodge in the northwoods so the theme works well. Here's a picture of the casino:
This is one of my favorite chips in my collection. It's a Paulson product, and there's a lot going on with it. First, it's oversized. It's the same size as $1000 chips are at most casinos. I think that's 43mm? Also, it's an IHC. I can't think of another inverted hat and cane that we've seen so far. Looking at it on this chip, I think I kind of prefer it with the hats facing outward.
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
June 27th, 2013 at 10:45:09 PM
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Quote: rdw4potusThis is one of my favorite chips in my collection. It's a Paulson product, and there's a lot going on with it. First, it's oversized. It's the same size as $1000 chips are at most casinos. I think that's 43mm? Also, it's an IHC. I can't think of another inverted hat and cane that we've seen so far. Looking at it on this chip, I think I kind of prefer it with the hats facing outward.
I've never seen a 43mm chip in a $5 denomination. Does it look out of place in your collection? I played at Harrah's Cherokee on Tuesday of this week; when I took one of my breaks, I had a $500 chip (after buying in for a total of $300). The Cherokee $500 chip is of the 43mm variety.
As for the inverted hat and cane, I think Paul Endy's boys must have partaken of a little too much firewater from those French fur traders.
Edit 5/9/15: Due to a serious oversight on my part, rdw4potus's post of the chip from Lake of the Torches Casino was not included in the directory for almost two years. Ooops! Because of my failure, PokerGrinder was not aware that this casino had already been covered in the thread and posted a $1 chip from the same Lake of the Torches chip series as our Casino Chip of the Day for 5/9/15. If you arrive at this point in the thread some day, please take a look at PokerGrider's post and chip here.
June 28th, 2013 at 7:19:07 AM
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Quote: DocI've never seen a 43mm chip in a $5 denomination. Does it look out of place in your collection? I played at Harrah's Cherokee on Tuesday of this week; when I took one of my breaks, I had a $500 chip (after buying in for a total of $300). The Cherokee $500 chip is of the 43mm variety.
As for the inverted hat and cane, I think Paul Endy's boys must have partaken of a little too much firewater from those French fur traders.
The chip doesn't look terribly out of place in my display cases. But it doesn't fit in the non-display storage container that I also have. The rows in that container have a 40mm width. I can't imagine what would happen in a planned geometric display like the one on your desk.
I'm scared by the wording of your Cherokee post. You bought in for $300, had $500 when you took your break, and then...?
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
June 28th, 2013 at 10:20:49 AM
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Quote: rdw4potusYou bought in for $300, had $500 when you took your break, and then...?
Left the place up $145 (as far as my gaming) for the 8-hour visit. There were the usual craps swings, of course. At most I was down about $200 and up about $250. My wife ended up down $20 or so at the slots.
I also had a $40 promo voucher that their cashier converted right to currency, so that is in addition to the $145 from the craps table. Of course, we spent $60 on dinner, my wife spent $150 or so in their shops, and I spent another $70 or so on a tank of gas, so it's not as if this was a financially profitable venture. It was an entertainment outing for us, which is what we are always after when it comes to gaming. I wasn't even collecting chips this time.
There is probably a much more appropriate thread in which to ask this question, but perhaps someone who reads this one can help me out here. I mostly played $10 min craps, though I got on a $5 table for a little while. I bet the minimum pass line bet, took way less than full odds ($10 to $25), placed the six and/or eight some/most of the time for anywhere from $6 to $18, maybe pressing as high as $24 once. I had a few come bets/odds at the same levels as my pass bets/odds.
Basically, it was my usual low roller game, which had netted me a tier score total of under 300 points for the year, prior to this week. Then the next day, I received an email message from them saying, "Congratulations! You've earned a 1,000 Tier Credit® bonus based on your activity on 06/25/2013." That level of bonus requires that I earn 1,000 tier credits from my play. Sure enough, my account now shows a tier score of 2,437. It seems I must have racked up something over 1,100 tier credits at the table.
What the heck could have resulted in such a difference for that visit compared to previous visits? I played more hours at roughly the same level in the same casino when I visited back in February and wound up with squat. I even lost money on that trip.
I really don't understand how they rate table game players.
June 28th, 2013 at 10:42:27 AM
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Quote: DocLeft the place up $145 (as far as my gaming) for the 8-hour visit. There were the usual craps swings, of course. At most I was down about $200 and up about $250. My wife ended up down $20 or so at the slots.
I also had a $40 promo voucher that their cashier converted right to currency, so that is in addition to the $145 from the craps table. Of course, we spent $60 on dinner, my wife spent $150 or so in their shops, and I spent another $70 or so on a tank of gas, so it's not as if this was a financially profitable venture. It was an entertainment outing for us, which is what we are always after when it comes to gaming. I wasn't even collecting chips this time.
There is probably a much more appropriate thread in which to ask this question, but perhaps someone who reads this one can help me out here. I mostly played $10 min craps, though I got on a $5 table for a little while. I bet the minimum pass line bet, took way less than full odds ($10 to $25), placed the six and/or eight some/most of the time for anywhere from $6 to $18, maybe pressing as high as $24 once. I had a few come bets/odds at the same levels as my pass bets/odds.
Basically, it was my usual low roller game, which had netted me a tier score total of under 300 points for the year, prior to this week. Then the next day, I received an email message from them saying, "Congratulations! You've earned a 1,000 Tier Credit® bonus based on your activity on 06/25/2013." That level of bonus requires that I earn 1,000 tier credits from my play. Sure enough, my account now shows a tier score of 2,437. It seems I must have racked up something over 1,100 tier credits at the table.
What the heck could have resulted in such a difference for that visit compared to previous visits? I played more hours at roughly the same level in the same casino when I visited back in February and wound up with squat. I even lost money on that trip.
I really don't understand how they rate table game players.
I've had them rate my play wrong before, too. Most notably when a whale was back-betting my spot on BJ. He took over when I left, and apparently they rated his play as mine until he left. I've also had casinos forget to notate when I've left the table and then give way more time credit than was warranted. Did you and Mrs. Doc show your card when paying for dinner and doing other shopping? That'd be worth 1 point per dollar spent, so about 200 points that you may not have planned on receiving.
I think there's an unintended side-effect of the tier bonus program at Caesars. I've played along side a group of 7 stars members at Harrah's AC the last couple weekends. Their method is to play exactly 2,500 tier credits of VP per day, and then move on to other things. I bet they'd have played longer if there was no daily tier to attain.
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
June 28th, 2013 at 10:17:09 PM
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State: Wisconsin
City: Red Cliff
Casino: Legendary Waters
Today's chip of the day comes from the Legendary Waters casino in Red Cliff, WI. Red Cliff is just outside of Bayfield, which is a small but popular tourist destination on Lake Superior's south shore. The casino opened in 2011, and has 250 machines and 6 tables on its 15,000 sqft gaming floor. This casino replaced the Isle Vista casino, which replaced the Red Cliff casino. I don't have chips from those casinos, so if anyone else does this would be an appropriate time to post them.
I visited Legendary Waters on my drive from MN to PA last summer. I visited it before heading off to Lake of the Torches and Bad River. I thought the casino was a little small, and difficult to get to. Much of that difficulty was in the last portion of the drive, getting from the highway to the casino. The property is on Lake Superior, and has boat access. The grounds are beautiful and the resort/casino is in a great spot on the lake. The views of Madeline Island, and Basswood Island and the other Apostle Islands are pretty amazing.
I couldn't find a good picture of the front of the casino, so I'm "forced" to post this image of the lake and the back of the hotel:
My chip from Legendary Waters is a chipco product. There's a CI on the chip and everything! The front of the chip is a lake scene that emphasizes the beauty of the casino's spot on the lake. And there's a handy map on the reverse that features a star that indicates the casino's location.
City: Red Cliff
Casino: Legendary Waters
Today's chip of the day comes from the Legendary Waters casino in Red Cliff, WI. Red Cliff is just outside of Bayfield, which is a small but popular tourist destination on Lake Superior's south shore. The casino opened in 2011, and has 250 machines and 6 tables on its 15,000 sqft gaming floor. This casino replaced the Isle Vista casino, which replaced the Red Cliff casino. I don't have chips from those casinos, so if anyone else does this would be an appropriate time to post them.
I visited Legendary Waters on my drive from MN to PA last summer. I visited it before heading off to Lake of the Torches and Bad River. I thought the casino was a little small, and difficult to get to. Much of that difficulty was in the last portion of the drive, getting from the highway to the casino. The property is on Lake Superior, and has boat access. The grounds are beautiful and the resort/casino is in a great spot on the lake. The views of Madeline Island, and Basswood Island and the other Apostle Islands are pretty amazing.
I couldn't find a good picture of the front of the casino, so I'm "forced" to post this image of the lake and the back of the hotel:
My chip from Legendary Waters is a chipco product. There's a CI on the chip and everything! The front of the chip is a lake scene that emphasizes the beauty of the casino's spot on the lake. And there's a handy map on the reverse that features a star that indicates the casino's location.
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
June 29th, 2013 at 8:20:40 PM
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State: Wisconsin
City: Black River Falls
Casino: Majestic Pines
Today's chip of the day comes from the Majestic Pines casino in Black River Falls, WI. Majestic Pines is the former name of the Ho Chunk casino in Black River Falls. As the Ho Chunk nation has been expanding their list of casinos, they've been standardizing their names. This facility became Ho Chunk Black River Falls in 2011.
I visited this facility on a drive from Minneapolis to Appleton, on the way to visit my fiancee. I took the trip in (I think) 2009. My route put me through Nekoosa as well, but that facility was not yet open.
My chip from Majestic Pines is a chipco product. It was the best chip I could find, but there's a lot of edge wear. The chip features an image of a dancer in a pine forest.
City: Black River Falls
Casino: Majestic Pines
Today's chip of the day comes from the Majestic Pines casino in Black River Falls, WI. Majestic Pines is the former name of the Ho Chunk casino in Black River Falls. As the Ho Chunk nation has been expanding their list of casinos, they've been standardizing their names. This facility became Ho Chunk Black River Falls in 2011.
I visited this facility on a drive from Minneapolis to Appleton, on the way to visit my fiancee. I took the trip in (I think) 2009. My route put me through Nekoosa as well, but that facility was not yet open.
My chip from Majestic Pines is a chipco product. It was the best chip I could find, but there's a lot of edge wear. The chip features an image of a dancer in a pine forest.
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
June 30th, 2013 at 9:33:46 PM
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State: Wisconsin
City: Keshena
Casino: Menominee Casino Resort
Today's chip of the day comes from the Menominee Casino Resort in Keshena, WI. Keshena is a tiny town in a resort area in north eastern WI. It's about 60 miles north of Appleton, 40 miles west of Green Bay, just north of highway 29. The Menominee Casino opened in 1992. It has a 35,000 sqft gaming floor with 850 machines and 16 table games.
I've been to Menominee 3 times. It's more-or-less in-path on my drive from Minneapolis to Appleton. So, after the first time I visited and collected the chip I was able to return and collect a couple decent bounce-back offers. I also collected a rubber chicken from the players club. I'm not sure what it says about the property, but they gave a way rubber chickens in conjunction with the opening of their new buffet. I guess it succeeded in getting me to remember them, even if I didn't actually try the food.
This is an odd area of Wisconsin. The permanent residents are dirt poor. Just crushingly impoverished. But there's also a lot of resort/vacation traffic from Milwaukee and Chicago. It's an odd situation when a lakefront features both 800 sqft houses and 4,500 sqft "cabins." Menominee has been pretty much completely renovated in recent years, and has been made to appeal to the upper-class visitors. It's a beautiful property. In practice, the clientele is pretty varied and does include some of the less fortunate locals (who probably shouldn't gamble...).
Here's a picture of the property. It has a weak lodge theme, with modern touches. It's somewhat similar to a less grandiose L'Auberge.
My chip from Menominee Casino is an RT Plastics product. The casino uses a combination of Chipco and RT Plastics products. The front of the chip features a collection of animal images: moose, bear, eagle, wolf, and random-other-bird (maybe that's a woodpecker?). The reverse features a larger red wolf image.
City: Keshena
Casino: Menominee Casino Resort
Today's chip of the day comes from the Menominee Casino Resort in Keshena, WI. Keshena is a tiny town in a resort area in north eastern WI. It's about 60 miles north of Appleton, 40 miles west of Green Bay, just north of highway 29. The Menominee Casino opened in 1992. It has a 35,000 sqft gaming floor with 850 machines and 16 table games.
I've been to Menominee 3 times. It's more-or-less in-path on my drive from Minneapolis to Appleton. So, after the first time I visited and collected the chip I was able to return and collect a couple decent bounce-back offers. I also collected a rubber chicken from the players club. I'm not sure what it says about the property, but they gave a way rubber chickens in conjunction with the opening of their new buffet. I guess it succeeded in getting me to remember them, even if I didn't actually try the food.
This is an odd area of Wisconsin. The permanent residents are dirt poor. Just crushingly impoverished. But there's also a lot of resort/vacation traffic from Milwaukee and Chicago. It's an odd situation when a lakefront features both 800 sqft houses and 4,500 sqft "cabins." Menominee has been pretty much completely renovated in recent years, and has been made to appeal to the upper-class visitors. It's a beautiful property. In practice, the clientele is pretty varied and does include some of the less fortunate locals (who probably shouldn't gamble...).
Here's a picture of the property. It has a weak lodge theme, with modern touches. It's somewhat similar to a less grandiose L'Auberge.
My chip from Menominee Casino is an RT Plastics product. The casino uses a combination of Chipco and RT Plastics products. The front of the chip features a collection of animal images: moose, bear, eagle, wolf, and random-other-bird (maybe that's a woodpecker?). The reverse features a larger red wolf image.
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
July 1st, 2013 at 7:46:12 AM
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Quote: rdw4potusI'm not sure what it says about the property, but they gave a way rubber chickens in conjunction with the opening of their new buffet.
I suppose that as an added attraction they could have had Ernie from Sesame Street singing his famous rendition of "Rubber Ducky."
Maybe it was an omen about those "bounce back" offers to come.
July 1st, 2013 at 9:22:57 PM
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State: Wisconsin
City: Mole Lake
Casino: Mole Lake
Today's chip of the day comes from the Mole Lake casino in Mole Lake, WI. Or, I think more accurately, Mole Lake casino ON Mole Lake in Wisconsin. There really isn't a town of Mole Lake at all. The closest town is Crandon, which is about 4 miles north of the casino. The casino has 410 machines and 5 tables on it's 35,000 sqft gaming floor.
I have visited Mole Lake twice. Once on a trip from Minneapolis to Appleton 3 years ago, and again last fall when I drove from MN to PA. I took an extra half-day and went to a number of the casinos in North Central and North Eastern Wisconsin on a drive across the state almost exactly 3 years ago. Mole Lake was the most out-of-the-way casino that I visited on that trip. I guess it was unremarkable, because it was also out-of-the-way on the trip from MN to PA and I went back. Cost myself a good couple hours there. D'oh!
Mole Lake is very small, and is geared toward a relatively specific clientele. The area has a number of sporting vacationers, whether it's summer fishers, fall hunters, or winter snowmobilers and ice fishers. Mole Lake is a fairly basic hotel with a tiny attached casino that attempts to capitalize on those visitors to the area. Mole Lake is kind of like Wild Wild West/Days Inn in Vegas, but on a smaller scale and with a less run-down hotel.
Here's a picture of the property:
My chip from Mole Lake is a chipco product. The MOGH shows that this chip comes in both linen and satin finishes. This is the linen version. Mole Lake has done something very smart with this chip. There is an intentional white line around the rim of the chip. This has the effect of making the usual and unavoidable Chipco wear pattern less visible since that area is already white.
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
July 2nd, 2013 at 10:59:25 AM
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Quote: rdw4potus
State: Wisconsin
City: Mole Lake
Casino: Crandon
Today's chip of the day comes from the Mole Lake casino in Mole Lake, WI. Or, I think more accurately, Mole Lake casino ON Mole Lake in Wisconsin. There really isn't a town of Mole Lake at all. The closest town is Crandon, which is about 4 miles north of the casino.
Well, I guess I can contribute the Picky Comment of the Day. There seems to be some confusion/contradiction in the quoted text regarding which is the City and which is the Casino. I'm putting "Mole Lake" in the directory as the casino name, not "Crandon."
July 2nd, 2013 at 11:07:38 AM
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Quote: DocQuote: rdw4potus
State: Wisconsin
City: Mole Lake
Casino: Crandon
Today's chip of the day comes from the Mole Lake casino in Mole Lake, WI. Or, I think more accurately, Mole Lake casino ON Mole Lake in Wisconsin. There really isn't a town of Mole Lake at all. The closest town is Crandon, which is about 4 miles north of the casino.
Well, I guess I can contribute the Picky Comment of the Day. There seems to be some confusion/contradiction in the quoted text regarding which is the City and which is the Casino. I'm putting "Mole Lake" in the directory as the casino name, not "Crandon."
Darn it! I was going back and forth trying to decide whether to list Crandon or Mole Lake as the City, and I wound up (apparently) cutting and pasting things into the wrong places. Both the city and casino are Mole Lake, according to the chip. Though, there is no town (let alone city) of Mole Lake...
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
July 2nd, 2013 at 9:16:35 PM
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State: Wisconsin
City: Bowler
Casino: North Star
Today's chip of the day comes from the North Star Casino, sometimes called the North Star Mohican casino, in Bowler, WI. The casino has 70,000 sqft of gaming space with 1100 machines and 24 tables. Bowler is about 15 miles west of Keshena, where the Menominee casino is located. There are no large towns even remotely close to this property, but it's in an area with a significant vacation and sporting industry.
I've been to the North Star casino once. It was surprisingly upscale, though I think many things were also just new. I played blackjack to collect my chip, and the dealer was very good - much better than the folks who deal at some of the other area casinos. Here's a picture of the casino. The photo is pretty flattering, but the property is also quite sharp:
My chip from the North Star Mohican casino is a house molded clay chip. It's a simple chip, without the unique and colorful art and drawings that we've seen on the last few chips.
City: Bowler
Casino: North Star
Today's chip of the day comes from the North Star Casino, sometimes called the North Star Mohican casino, in Bowler, WI. The casino has 70,000 sqft of gaming space with 1100 machines and 24 tables. Bowler is about 15 miles west of Keshena, where the Menominee casino is located. There are no large towns even remotely close to this property, but it's in an area with a significant vacation and sporting industry.
I've been to the North Star casino once. It was surprisingly upscale, though I think many things were also just new. I played blackjack to collect my chip, and the dealer was very good - much better than the folks who deal at some of the other area casinos. Here's a picture of the casino. The photo is pretty flattering, but the property is also quite sharp:
My chip from the North Star Mohican casino is a house molded clay chip. It's a simple chip, without the unique and colorful art and drawings that we've seen on the last few chips.
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
July 3rd, 2013 at 6:25:56 AM
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rdw, you really need to get a UV light so you can check for hidden logos from the manufacturers (and share those images with us). Lacking that, do you have any indication of the source of this chip? It has characteristics of some of the house-mold chips in my collection that include hidden Paulson logos, such as the ones from Hooters, Trump Taj Mahal, and Showboat, but that's with me trying to compare a red $5 chip to some $1 chips, so I could be well off target.
July 3rd, 2013 at 6:42:15 AM
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Quote: Docrdw, you really need to get a UV light so you can check for hidden logos from the manufacturers (and share those images with us). Lacking that, do you have any indication of the source of this chip? It has characteristics of some of the house-mold chips in my collection that include hidden Paulson logos, such as the ones from Hooters, Trump Taj Mahal, and Showboat, but that's with me trying to compare a red $5 chip to some $1 chips, so I could be well off target.
I know I need a UV light. But my photobucket account won't fit those extra images. As it is, I'm going to have issues when/if I go to northern CA and Deadwood, SD. I wonder if they'd let me game their system by opening a second account with a different email address...
I think you're right that this is a Paulson chip. There aren't a lot of other manufacturers who work with clay, and this looks just like some of the other chips that we know are Paulsons.
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
July 3rd, 2013 at 9:15:31 PM
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State: Wisconsin
City: Carter
Casino: Northern Lights
Today's chip of the day comes from the Potawatomi Northern Lights casino in Carter, WI. Like most of the other chips I've posted from northern WI, the draw for this casino comes not from the native population but from the area's tourism industry. The casino is small but upscale, and features 523 machines and 9 tables on a 68,000 sqft floor. It feels as spacious as those numbers suggest.
I've visited Northern Lights once. I spent the night at the casino, because I arrived after the tables were closed for the night. My room cost $59, and was equivalent to what you'd expect at a high-end motel. I'd say it was worth $59, but not much more. I collected my chip the next morning in a short BJ session, and then went on my way.
Here's a picture of the casino:
I don't know much about the manufacturer of my chip. MOGH lists the mold as "RFID". The chip itself is interesting, with an eagle and fire on one side and the casino's specifics on the other.
City: Carter
Casino: Northern Lights
Today's chip of the day comes from the Potawatomi Northern Lights casino in Carter, WI. Like most of the other chips I've posted from northern WI, the draw for this casino comes not from the native population but from the area's tourism industry. The casino is small but upscale, and features 523 machines and 9 tables on a 68,000 sqft floor. It feels as spacious as those numbers suggest.
I've visited Northern Lights once. I spent the night at the casino, because I arrived after the tables were closed for the night. My room cost $59, and was equivalent to what you'd expect at a high-end motel. I'd say it was worth $59, but not much more. I collected my chip the next morning in a short BJ session, and then went on my way.
Here's a picture of the casino:
I don't know much about the manufacturer of my chip. MOGH lists the mold as "RFID". The chip itself is interesting, with an eagle and fire on one side and the casino's specifics on the other.
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
July 4th, 2013 at 6:05:47 AM
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Quote: rdw4potusI don't know much about the manufacturer of my chip. MOGH lists the mold as "RFID".
The MOGH catalog also listed "RFID" as the description of the $1 Fantasy Springs chip that I posted last September. I commented then that I wasn't sure at all what that meant in the case of that chip and I still have no idea. Both my Fantasy Springs chip and your Northern Lights chip look like the Grand Sierra chip that I posted. That one includes a Bally Technology logo that I still don't really understand, and the MOGH catalog lists that one as an "RTP" mold, which I don't understand either.
July 5th, 2013 at 6:05:04 AM
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State: Wisconsin
City: Green Bay
Casino: Oneida
Note: This is the entry for 7/4. I couldn't get it to post from where I was last night. Assuming my internet connection is more well-behaved today, I'll post 7/5's chip later this evening.
Today's chip of the day comes from the Oneida Casino in Green Bay, WI. The Oneida tribe owns and operates several casinos in Green Bay. Most are slots only and quite small. The Mason Street location has slots and poker, while the the main location on Airport Drive (across the street from GRB) is the main location and has table games as well. Mason Street and Airport Drive use the same chips, and my chip is from the Airport Drive location. The Airport Drive property has a 115,000 sqft gaming floor with 815 machines and 25 tables. There are also 3 restaurants and a 400 room hotel. The hotel was very busy when I stopped by. I bet it does a good non-gaming business, since it's so close to the airport - closer than many of the "airport" chain hotels.
I visited the Airport drive Oneida location in July of 2010. I played LIR to get my chip. They used a very silly convention, which I've complained about previously, wherein a winning bonus hand must be shown mid-hand so that it can be paid. I don't know why the house wants other players to see additional cards before making betting decisions, and I don't know why they think that slowing down a high-edge game like that is a good idea.
There's no real theme to the Oneida casino. It was kind of odd, really. The casino and hotel share an entrance, and from that vantage point, the presentation is much like "here's our airport hotel. Oh, and there's a giant casino appendage back over there." Here's a picture of the main entrance:
My chip from the Oneida casino is a Bud Jones product. The O in the Oneida logo is unique. It's a sun, with a sunset image in it. When I collected my chip, my friends from the area told me that is a reference to the the passage of time. Mostly, I just think it's pretty.
City: Green Bay
Casino: Oneida
Note: This is the entry for 7/4. I couldn't get it to post from where I was last night. Assuming my internet connection is more well-behaved today, I'll post 7/5's chip later this evening.
Today's chip of the day comes from the Oneida Casino in Green Bay, WI. The Oneida tribe owns and operates several casinos in Green Bay. Most are slots only and quite small. The Mason Street location has slots and poker, while the the main location on Airport Drive (across the street from GRB) is the main location and has table games as well. Mason Street and Airport Drive use the same chips, and my chip is from the Airport Drive location. The Airport Drive property has a 115,000 sqft gaming floor with 815 machines and 25 tables. There are also 3 restaurants and a 400 room hotel. The hotel was very busy when I stopped by. I bet it does a good non-gaming business, since it's so close to the airport - closer than many of the "airport" chain hotels.
I visited the Airport drive Oneida location in July of 2010. I played LIR to get my chip. They used a very silly convention, which I've complained about previously, wherein a winning bonus hand must be shown mid-hand so that it can be paid. I don't know why the house wants other players to see additional cards before making betting decisions, and I don't know why they think that slowing down a high-edge game like that is a good idea.
There's no real theme to the Oneida casino. It was kind of odd, really. The casino and hotel share an entrance, and from that vantage point, the presentation is much like "here's our airport hotel. Oh, and there's a giant casino appendage back over there." Here's a picture of the main entrance:
My chip from the Oneida casino is a Bud Jones product. The O in the Oneida logo is unique. It's a sun, with a sunset image in it. When I collected my chip, my friends from the area told me that is a reference to the the passage of time. Mostly, I just think it's pretty.
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
July 5th, 2013 at 1:44:18 PM
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When I went to Rampart in June, 2013 to get a chip, I noticed that the $1 chip (which the cashier tried to pass off to me in exchange for a $5 bill...) wasn't white, like it is in the photo in this thread, but closer to brown. I also noticed that there a couple of chips in my collection that you don't have here.
From left to right:
Rampart (Las Vegas), June 2013
Crown Casino, Melbourne (Australia), October 2011
Star City Casino, Sydney, October 2011
From left to right:
Rampart (Las Vegas), June 2013
Crown Casino, Melbourne (Australia), October 2011
Star City Casino, Sydney, October 2011
July 5th, 2013 at 1:49:39 PM
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DUHHIIIIIIIII HEARD THAT!
July 5th, 2013 at 9:25:10 PM
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Quote: ThatDonGuyWhen I went to Rampart in June, 2013 to get a chip, I noticed that the $1 chip (which the cashier tried to pass off to me in exchange for a $5 bill...) wasn't white, like it is in the photo in this thread, but closer to brown. I also noticed that there a couple of chips in my collection that you don't have here.
From left to right:
Rampart (Las Vegas), June 2013
Crown Casino, Melbourne (Australia), October 2011
Star City Casino, Sydney, October 2011
That Rampart chip looks great! Way nicer than my Chipco-made souvenir from the property. I'll have to stop by and grab a new chip the next time I'm in Vegas!
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
July 5th, 2013 at 9:51:56 PM
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State: Wisconsin
City: Milwaukee
Casino: Potawatomi Bingo Casino
Today's chip of the day comes from the Potawatomi Bingo Casino in Milwaukee, WI. The name of this casino is somewhat misleading, as the inclusion of the word bingo connotes (at least to me) a much less grand establishment than is present here. It'd be like if GVR was called Green Valley Ranch Bingo Casino. According to Casino City, the casino has 3,100 machines and 125 tables. Casino City also lists the gaming floor at 780,000 sqft. There's no way that's right, but 3,100 slots sounds about right and that many machines can't fit on a 78,000 sqft floor. So, I'm really not sure how Casino City has erred...I'm just sure that they have.
I visited the casino on a loop through WI, IL, IN, and MI. I flew into O'hare, drove up to Milwaukee, then drove back through Chicagoland en route to Michigan before returning to O'Hare to fly home. Potawatomi is quite close to Milwaukee's airport, and the hotel I stayed at was right across the street from that facility. If felt kind of silly flying to ORD to drive to MKE, but the drive from Michigan back to MKE would have been pretty brutal 2 days later.
I played Pai Gow Poker to collect my chip. At the time of my visit, this casino rounded up player commissions to the next $0.50 (they have $0.50 chips, but no quarters on the table). After visits to over 600 casinos, this is the first and only venue that I've found that employs this practice. And they were incredibly rude about it.
Here's a picture of the property:
My chip is a Paulson RHC. There's an interesting geometric pattern around the inlay. It's a repeating image of fire. It's hard to see on the smaller pictures, and not much easier to see on the chip, but it's definitely there. I wonder if it's a security feature of some kind. Edit: no, probably not a security feature. It's much easier to see in the MOGH's chip image.
City: Milwaukee
Casino: Potawatomi Bingo Casino
Today's chip of the day comes from the Potawatomi Bingo Casino in Milwaukee, WI. The name of this casino is somewhat misleading, as the inclusion of the word bingo connotes (at least to me) a much less grand establishment than is present here. It'd be like if GVR was called Green Valley Ranch Bingo Casino. According to Casino City, the casino has 3,100 machines and 125 tables. Casino City also lists the gaming floor at 780,000 sqft. There's no way that's right, but 3,100 slots sounds about right and that many machines can't fit on a 78,000 sqft floor. So, I'm really not sure how Casino City has erred...I'm just sure that they have.
I visited the casino on a loop through WI, IL, IN, and MI. I flew into O'hare, drove up to Milwaukee, then drove back through Chicagoland en route to Michigan before returning to O'Hare to fly home. Potawatomi is quite close to Milwaukee's airport, and the hotel I stayed at was right across the street from that facility. If felt kind of silly flying to ORD to drive to MKE, but the drive from Michigan back to MKE would have been pretty brutal 2 days later.
I played Pai Gow Poker to collect my chip. At the time of my visit, this casino rounded up player commissions to the next $0.50 (they have $0.50 chips, but no quarters on the table). After visits to over 600 casinos, this is the first and only venue that I've found that employs this practice. And they were incredibly rude about it.
Here's a picture of the property:
My chip is a Paulson RHC. There's an interesting geometric pattern around the inlay. It's a repeating image of fire. It's hard to see on the smaller pictures, and not much easier to see on the chip, but it's definitely there. I wonder if it's a security feature of some kind. Edit: no, probably not a security feature. It's much easier to see in the MOGH's chip image.
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
July 6th, 2013 at 7:10:10 AM
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Quote: rdw4potusCasino City also lists the gaming floor at 780,000 sqft. There's no way that's right, but 3,100 slots sounds about right and that many machines can't fit on a 78,000 sqft floor. So, I'm really not sure how Casino City has erred...I'm just sure that they have.
Maybe they call bingo numbers in their football stadium.
;-)
I thought about listing this place in the directory without the word "Bingo" in the name. Then I realized that if I did, sure as tootin' tomorrow you would post another chip with the same tribal name, and I'd have to figure a better way of listing them.
July 6th, 2013 at 9:00:40 PM
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State: Wisconsin
City: Danbury
Casino: St. Croix casino
Today's chip comes from the St. Croix casino in Danbury, WI. Danbury is very close to the Minnesota border, on a popular route from Minneapolis to vacation destinations in nothwestern Wisconsin. This property is on the site of the former Hole in the Wall casino. I don't have a chip from that property. If anyone does, this would be a good place to post it. The St. Croix casino opened in July of 2010. It has 500 machines and 10 tables on a 22,500 sqft gaming floor. There are also 4 restaurants and two small hotels on the property. Danbury is a depressing little town. There's a gas station, a post office, 4 bars, and the casino. But, like many of the casinos in northeastern WI, this property in northwestern WI is several notches more upscale than the town itself would warrant.
I have visited this property twice. Once on opening weekend, and again the next year. I collected this chip on the first weekend, and I collected it by playing BJ. i was very surprised by the property's quality then, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that it had been well kept up when I visited a year later. This property and Jokers Wild have very similar sizes and game selections. I wonder if, as this property ages, it will wind up being of a quality similar to that property. That would be kind of sad, because as much as I like JW this property is starting from a much higher quality level than JW currently presents.
Here's a picture of the property:
My chip is a Paulson RHC. It features a very happy turtle, which is a symbol of the St Croix band's enterprises.
City: Danbury
Casino: St. Croix casino
Today's chip comes from the St. Croix casino in Danbury, WI. Danbury is very close to the Minnesota border, on a popular route from Minneapolis to vacation destinations in nothwestern Wisconsin. This property is on the site of the former Hole in the Wall casino. I don't have a chip from that property. If anyone does, this would be a good place to post it. The St. Croix casino opened in July of 2010. It has 500 machines and 10 tables on a 22,500 sqft gaming floor. There are also 4 restaurants and two small hotels on the property. Danbury is a depressing little town. There's a gas station, a post office, 4 bars, and the casino. But, like many of the casinos in northeastern WI, this property in northwestern WI is several notches more upscale than the town itself would warrant.
I have visited this property twice. Once on opening weekend, and again the next year. I collected this chip on the first weekend, and I collected it by playing BJ. i was very surprised by the property's quality then, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that it had been well kept up when I visited a year later. This property and Jokers Wild have very similar sizes and game selections. I wonder if, as this property ages, it will wind up being of a quality similar to that property. That would be kind of sad, because as much as I like JW this property is starting from a much higher quality level than JW currently presents.
Here's a picture of the property:
My chip is a Paulson RHC. It features a very happy turtle, which is a symbol of the St Croix band's enterprises.
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
July 6th, 2013 at 9:48:52 PM
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Quote: DocThen I realized that if I did, sure as tootin' tomorrow you would post another chip with the same tribal name, and I'd have to figure a better way of listing them.
So, rdw, does this mean that you don't have a chip to post for us from the Potawatomi Carter Casino and I didn't need to include "Bingo" in the previous casino's name in the directory?
(What a waste of my precious time and effort!)
;-)
July 7th, 2013 at 4:09:39 PM
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Quote: DocSo, rdw, does this mean that you don't have a chip to post for us from the Potawatomi Carter Casino and I didn't need to include "Bingo" in the previous casino's name in the directory?
(What a waste of my precious time and effort!)
;-)
I do have a chip from the casino in Carter. I posted it under the Northern Lights name. I think they're transitioning away from that name and to simply Potawatomi Carter, but the chip bears the Northern Lights name so I listed it that way.
I suppose that means that you didn't need to include bingo in the Milwaukee location's name, but that location does not seem to be trying to drop the "Bingo" in the way that the Carter location is dropping the "Northern Lights" name.
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
July 8th, 2013 at 7:26:27 AM
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Question: I thought I posted an entry about the St Croix casino in Turtle Lake, WI last night. I was working from my tablet, and I don't see that post here now. Did I fail to successfully make that post, or did it get removed for some reason?
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
July 8th, 2013 at 5:10:10 PM
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I am traveling again and have been away from the forum today. I saw yesterday's St. Croix chip and added it to the directory, but I didn't see a second one from a different city. My guess is that your later post got lost in the wire.
July 8th, 2013 at 7:59:46 PM
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State: Wisconsin
City: Turtle Lake
Casino: St. Croix casino
Today's chip of the day comes from the St. Croix casino in Turtle Lake, WI. The casino opened in 1992 and has a 95,000 sqft gaming floor. The casino has 1150 gaming machines and 36 tables. This casino's location in Turtle Lake is the reason for the tribe's logo with the extremely happy turtle that we saw on the Danbury chip on Saturday.
I've been to St. Croix Turtle Lake a few dozen times. It is home to the closest no-limit texas holdem game to Minneapolis, so I've gone for a number of poker events over the years. I collected my chip on one such trip when I busted out early and played BJ while my friends continued to play poker. The casino is also home to the closest craps and roulette tables to Minneapolis.
This is one of the uglier casinos (on the outside) that I've ever seen. The inside has a reasonably passable lodge theme, but the outside looks like a Farm & Fleet:
My chip from the St. Croix casino in Turtle Lake is a Paulson LCV. It's an older chip, made before the tribe adopted the happy turtle image. Instead, it features a much more anatomically correct turtle on a rock.
City: Turtle Lake
Casino: St. Croix casino
Today's chip of the day comes from the St. Croix casino in Turtle Lake, WI. The casino opened in 1992 and has a 95,000 sqft gaming floor. The casino has 1150 gaming machines and 36 tables. This casino's location in Turtle Lake is the reason for the tribe's logo with the extremely happy turtle that we saw on the Danbury chip on Saturday.
I've been to St. Croix Turtle Lake a few dozen times. It is home to the closest no-limit texas holdem game to Minneapolis, so I've gone for a number of poker events over the years. I collected my chip on one such trip when I busted out early and played BJ while my friends continued to play poker. The casino is also home to the closest craps and roulette tables to Minneapolis.
This is one of the uglier casinos (on the outside) that I've ever seen. The inside has a reasonably passable lodge theme, but the outside looks like a Farm & Fleet:
My chip from the St. Croix casino in Turtle Lake is a Paulson LCV. It's an older chip, made before the tribe adopted the happy turtle image. Instead, it features a much more anatomically correct turtle on a rock.
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
July 9th, 2013 at 8:51:42 PM
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State: Texas
City: Eagle Pass
Casino: Kickapoo Lucky Eagle
Today's chip of the day comes from the Kickapoo Lucky Eagle casino in Eagle Pass, TX. According to Casinocity, the Lucky Eagle has a 15,000sqft floor with 1,900 machines and 22 poker tables. It's cramped, but those are crazy numbers. I wonder what the source of Casinocity's size info is, and what accuracy that stat has.
The Lucky Eagle has a strained relationship with the State of Texas. The casino is located on the TX/MX border and is on tribal land. It is the only currently operating casino in Texas. The State would like the casino to close, since land-based casino gaming is not allowed in TX. The tribe's position is that their casino is on sovereign land and not in TX, and the State has no standing to control their operations. So the State has, from time to time, performed some less-than-needed "maintenance" on the roads leading to the property. At the time that I visited in 2011, there was a new and beautiful road leading from the highway to the casino. I'm pretty sure that the Kickapoos paid for that road in order to counter the State's shenanigans.
I was impressed with the poker room at this casino. It was large and lively, with 8 full tables even at noon on a weekday when I stopped in. They were almost too busy - I couldn't wait around long enough to play. The casino has some very non-standard slots and I did play some sort of 3x3 thing for a few minutes, so that at least I could say that I played at the casino when I grabbed my chip.
Here's a picture of the Lucky Eagle:
My chip is a Chipco product. It shows a bit of the usual wear around the rim, but is otherwise in good shape.
City: Eagle Pass
Casino: Kickapoo Lucky Eagle
Today's chip of the day comes from the Kickapoo Lucky Eagle casino in Eagle Pass, TX. According to Casinocity, the Lucky Eagle has a 15,000sqft floor with 1,900 machines and 22 poker tables. It's cramped, but those are crazy numbers. I wonder what the source of Casinocity's size info is, and what accuracy that stat has.
The Lucky Eagle has a strained relationship with the State of Texas. The casino is located on the TX/MX border and is on tribal land. It is the only currently operating casino in Texas. The State would like the casino to close, since land-based casino gaming is not allowed in TX. The tribe's position is that their casino is on sovereign land and not in TX, and the State has no standing to control their operations. So the State has, from time to time, performed some less-than-needed "maintenance" on the roads leading to the property. At the time that I visited in 2011, there was a new and beautiful road leading from the highway to the casino. I'm pretty sure that the Kickapoos paid for that road in order to counter the State's shenanigans.
I was impressed with the poker room at this casino. It was large and lively, with 8 full tables even at noon on a weekday when I stopped in. They were almost too busy - I couldn't wait around long enough to play. The casino has some very non-standard slots and I did play some sort of 3x3 thing for a few minutes, so that at least I could say that I played at the casino when I grabbed my chip.
Here's a picture of the Lucky Eagle:
My chip is a Chipco product. It shows a bit of the usual wear around the rim, but is otherwise in good shape.
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
July 10th, 2013 at 7:31:40 AM
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All right! Another state pops up in the Casino Chip of the Day thread! Looks as if this is going to be a short category listing though.
I didn't even know that the Kickapoo tribe was a real native American group. I was only familiar with the word from the Li'l Abner comic strip, which included the intoxicating beverage, Kickapoo Joy Juice. Here's part of the Wikipedia description:
I didn't even know that the Kickapoo tribe was a real native American group. I was only familiar with the word from the Li'l Abner comic strip, which included the intoxicating beverage, Kickapoo Joy Juice. Here's part of the Wikipedia description:
Quote: WikiAl Capp, the cartoonist, described the drink as "a liquor of such stupefying potency that the hardiest citizens of Dogpatch, after the first burning sip, rose into the air, stiff as frozen codfish". It was said to be an elixir of such stupefying potency that the fumes alone have been known to melt the rivets off battleships.
Brewed by Hairless Joe and Lonesome Polecat, two of the comic strip's backwood poachers, the ingredients of the brew are both mysterious and all-encompassing, (much like the contents of their cave, which has been known to harbor prehistoric monsters.) When a batch "needs more body," the formidable pair simply goes out and clubs one (often a moose), and tosses it in. Over the years, the "recipe" has called for live grizzly bears, panthers, kerosene, horseshoes and anvils, among other ingredients.
July 10th, 2013 at 7:47:33 AM
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Quote: rdw4potusThe casino has some very non-standard slots and I did play some sort of 3x3 thing for a few minutes, so that at least I could say that I played at the casino when I grabbed my chip.
I like the vagueness on slots. After all, at a slot parlor with a poker room the unusual slots would be the logical thing to talk about. But not for a table player with an itnerest in chips. I approve!
BTW, my information is that all the casinos in Texas are located in Oklahoma ;)
Donald Trump is a fucking criminal
July 10th, 2013 at 8:01:45 AM
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Quote: DocAll right! Another state pops up in the Casino Chip of the Day thread! Looks as if this is going to be a short category listing though.
LOL! I would do a poll about what state to do next, but I don't think anyone would vote:-)
I think I'm out of states from which I have every available chip. I'm thinking that the "best" method going forward is to post from states like MI and IA where I'm unlikely to return soon to collect a single remaining chip, and then from states with more blanks remaining (in the hopes that I'll get to a couple of those before it's posting time...)
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
July 10th, 2013 at 9:30:38 AM
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If we were voting, I would probably vote for Colorado next, since I now have chips from the rest of the CO casinos that I didn't have when I posted my first two from the state back in March. There were several Colorado casinos that closed before I got to them, but I now have chips from 20 more places in the state (gathered on my post-WovCon III excursion) that I could post in response to yours.
July 10th, 2013 at 9:38:02 AM
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Quote: DocIf we were voting, I would probably vote for Colorado next, since I now have chips from the rest of the CO casinos that I didn't have when I posted my first two from the state back in March. There were several Colorado casinos that closed before I got to them, but I now have chips from 20 more places in the state (gathered on my post-WovCon III excursion) that I could post in response to yours.
That's a good choice! I think I even have those images set to go. I'll do that.
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
July 10th, 2013 at 8:39:55 PM
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State: Colorado
City: Black Hawk
Casino: Ameristar
Today's chip of the day comes from the Ameristar casino in Black Hawk, CO. The property has a 55,000 sqft gaming floor with 1500 gaming machines and 44 tables. There's also a 536 room high-rise hotel. I visited Black Hawk in early January. It was cold and snowy, but not as sloppy as I'd feared. Black Hawk is bigger than Central City or Cripple Creek, but it was still easily walkable.
Ameristar is easily the largest property in Colorado, and it's built in a different style than the other properties. It's also on a hill. These things combine to make it stick out to a very high degree. Personally, I'm not a fan of the degree to which the casino deviates from the norm. But I can see how/why they wanted to be different. Ameristar has the only hotel in town with a view, and they also have a bit of a different traffic flow because they are slightly removed from the row of other casinos in town.
I collected my chip by playing BJ. I was surprised by the lack of game variety at Ameristar. Many other casinos in the area have a wide variety of games, even featuring new and/or unique games. But Ameristar didn't stray from the most basic of staples. Their pit was busy, and limits were $15 and $25 on the low end.
My Ameristar Chip is a Paulson RHC. It has four wide edge inserts. They appear in the image to be sort-of lavender, but they're more of a periwinkle color on the chip itself. The center features a "$5" on some sort of collection of lines. I'm not sure if that's supposed to be a compass, or a snowflake, or just a collection of lines radiating from a central point.
City: Black Hawk
Casino: Ameristar
Today's chip of the day comes from the Ameristar casino in Black Hawk, CO. The property has a 55,000 sqft gaming floor with 1500 gaming machines and 44 tables. There's also a 536 room high-rise hotel. I visited Black Hawk in early January. It was cold and snowy, but not as sloppy as I'd feared. Black Hawk is bigger than Central City or Cripple Creek, but it was still easily walkable.
Ameristar is easily the largest property in Colorado, and it's built in a different style than the other properties. It's also on a hill. These things combine to make it stick out to a very high degree. Personally, I'm not a fan of the degree to which the casino deviates from the norm. But I can see how/why they wanted to be different. Ameristar has the only hotel in town with a view, and they also have a bit of a different traffic flow because they are slightly removed from the row of other casinos in town.
I collected my chip by playing BJ. I was surprised by the lack of game variety at Ameristar. Many other casinos in the area have a wide variety of games, even featuring new and/or unique games. But Ameristar didn't stray from the most basic of staples. Their pit was busy, and limits were $15 and $25 on the low end.
My Ameristar Chip is a Paulson RHC. It has four wide edge inserts. They appear in the image to be sort-of lavender, but they're more of a periwinkle color on the chip itself. The center features a "$5" on some sort of collection of lines. I'm not sure if that's supposed to be a compass, or a snowflake, or just a collection of lines radiating from a central point.
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
July 10th, 2013 at 9:06:14 PM
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I visited the Ameristar (and all of the upcoming Colorado casinos) just six weeks ago. I hit all of the ones in Cripple Creek on a Tuesday and all of the ones in Blackhawk and Central City the very next day. Obviously, I did not have very long sessions in any of these places.
At the Ameristar, I played $5 craps. That's a much gentler minimum than described by rdw4potus, but I still managed to lose $25 in a 20-minute session.
My souvenir chip is a white RHC Paulson with eight narrow blue edge inserts and a center inlay that looks just like the one on rdw's chip, except for the denomination.
At the Ameristar, I played $5 craps. That's a much gentler minimum than described by rdw4potus, but I still managed to lose $25 in a 20-minute session.
My souvenir chip is a white RHC Paulson with eight narrow blue edge inserts and a center inlay that looks just like the one on rdw's chip, except for the denomination.
July 11th, 2013 at 6:58:48 PM
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State: Colorado
City: Cripple Creek
Casino: Big Jims
Today's chip of the day comes from Big Jim's in Cripple Creek, CO. Big Jims is a very small casino, and it's also relatively new - the MOGH says it opened on 7/6/2011. I'm sure there's a story about how/why they didn't open on or before 7/4 to capitalize on that holiday market. The casino has 192 machines and 4 tables. If I remember correctly, the tables are on the second floor of the 2 story gaming space.
Like many of the casinos in Cripple Creek, Big Jim's is in a storefront on Bennett Avenue. It's a cute building:
The MOGH doesn't specify the maker of this chip. It's Injection-molded plastic, so Paulson and chipco are out. It doesn't match anything I can find on Matsui or Icon's sites, and I don't see it on the B&G/BJ pages either. I guess that leaves Gemaco as a likely producer?
City: Cripple Creek
Casino: Big Jims
Today's chip of the day comes from Big Jim's in Cripple Creek, CO. Big Jims is a very small casino, and it's also relatively new - the MOGH says it opened on 7/6/2011. I'm sure there's a story about how/why they didn't open on or before 7/4 to capitalize on that holiday market. The casino has 192 machines and 4 tables. If I remember correctly, the tables are on the second floor of the 2 story gaming space.
Like many of the casinos in Cripple Creek, Big Jim's is in a storefront on Bennett Avenue. It's a cute building:
The MOGH doesn't specify the maker of this chip. It's Injection-molded plastic, so Paulson and chipco are out. It doesn't match anything I can find on Matsui or Icon's sites, and I don't see it on the B&G/BJ pages either. I guess that leaves Gemaco as a likely producer?
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
July 11th, 2013 at 9:27:51 PM
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Big Jim's was the last casino I visited in Cripple Creek, right before we headed out of town and on our way up to the summit of Pike's Peak. I played $5 blackjack for 50 minutes at Big Jim's and won $40.
As rdw mentioned, the tables are upstairs, and they are in a small room. There were only five or six players there when I visited and most of the time there was only one table with any action.
There was a brand new dealer trying to learn the game, with two people looking over his shoulder to make sure he did. He was having difficulty with the job and was really sweating bullets with all of the supervision. Not only was he having trouble handling the cards and making payouts, but I saw him pay another player for a losing hand. I think he sorta figured out that he had made a mistake, but he didn't know how to take it back, and neither of the people hovering like vultures said a thing -- I don't think they even noticed what happened. When they rotated him off the table (to an idle one) I think he was right on the verge of breaking out screaming from the pressure. I tossed him a toke and told him to keep trying, but he didn't even see it; the senior dealer had to call him back to get his money.
Later, when no employees were paying any attention, I asked the other player whether I had seen correctly that he was paid for a losing hand. He confirmed it, and I had a feeling that he, his girlfriend, and their buddy might have been there looking for opportunities with a new dealer. I was just passing through and saw no strong reason to raise a stink to help the house, especially if two supervisors couldn't see the mistake.
My chip from Big Jim's looks a lot like rdw4potus's, except for the colors, the denomination mark, and the width of the edge inserts. I'm not sure of the manufacturer either, but I haven't really studied it. I can't find anything like this in the Gemaco catalog, so I'm skeptical of that possibility. Really, to me they (particularly the one that rdw posted) look just a bit like some of the Icon Phase I chips shown here.
As rdw mentioned, the tables are upstairs, and they are in a small room. There were only five or six players there when I visited and most of the time there was only one table with any action.
There was a brand new dealer trying to learn the game, with two people looking over his shoulder to make sure he did. He was having difficulty with the job and was really sweating bullets with all of the supervision. Not only was he having trouble handling the cards and making payouts, but I saw him pay another player for a losing hand. I think he sorta figured out that he had made a mistake, but he didn't know how to take it back, and neither of the people hovering like vultures said a thing -- I don't think they even noticed what happened. When they rotated him off the table (to an idle one) I think he was right on the verge of breaking out screaming from the pressure. I tossed him a toke and told him to keep trying, but he didn't even see it; the senior dealer had to call him back to get his money.
Later, when no employees were paying any attention, I asked the other player whether I had seen correctly that he was paid for a losing hand. He confirmed it, and I had a feeling that he, his girlfriend, and their buddy might have been there looking for opportunities with a new dealer. I was just passing through and saw no strong reason to raise a stink to help the house, especially if two supervisors couldn't see the mistake.
My chip from Big Jim's looks a lot like rdw4potus's, except for the colors, the denomination mark, and the width of the edge inserts. I'm not sure of the manufacturer either, but I haven't really studied it. I can't find anything like this in the Gemaco catalog, so I'm skeptical of that possibility. Really, to me they (particularly the one that rdw posted) look just a bit like some of the Icon Phase I chips shown here.
July 12th, 2013 at 8:28:54 PM
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State: Colorado
City: Cripple Creek
Casino: Billy's
Today's chip of the day comes from the Billy's casino in Cripple Creek, CO. There are three distinct and connected Billy's casinos. Billy's, Bronco Billy's, and Buffalo Billy's fill one side of one block along Bennett Avenue in Cripple Creek. Combined, they have about 80,000 sqft of gaming space with 1,100 slots and 8 table games.
I played BJ to collect my chip from Billy's. It was an odd experience. First, you know you're at a low-roller joint when the chip denominations are $0.25, $0.50, $1, and $5. Second, they tried to close the table mid-shoe (it's a double-deck game...is that mid-pitch?) with no warning. It was 11pm, and there was no consideration that maybe we could finish what we were doing before closing things down. Third, two of the other players kept switching seats, playing 1st and 3rd base. All in all, the casinos were fun and the game was good. But there's no question that it was a game in a small town in the middle of the night.
Here's a picture of the Billy's casinos:
My chip from Billy's is an Icon product. Seeing that makes me wonder if yesterday's chip from Big Jim's is also an Icon product. The Billy's chip features an image of a mountain and a rider on a bucking horse. I suppose that is Bronco Billy.
City: Cripple Creek
Casino: Billy's
Today's chip of the day comes from the Billy's casino in Cripple Creek, CO. There are three distinct and connected Billy's casinos. Billy's, Bronco Billy's, and Buffalo Billy's fill one side of one block along Bennett Avenue in Cripple Creek. Combined, they have about 80,000 sqft of gaming space with 1,100 slots and 8 table games.
I played BJ to collect my chip from Billy's. It was an odd experience. First, you know you're at a low-roller joint when the chip denominations are $0.25, $0.50, $1, and $5. Second, they tried to close the table mid-shoe (it's a double-deck game...is that mid-pitch?) with no warning. It was 11pm, and there was no consideration that maybe we could finish what we were doing before closing things down. Third, two of the other players kept switching seats, playing 1st and 3rd base. All in all, the casinos were fun and the game was good. But there's no question that it was a game in a small town in the middle of the night.
Here's a picture of the Billy's casinos:
My chip from Billy's is an Icon product. Seeing that makes me wonder if yesterday's chip from Big Jim's is also an Icon product. The Billy's chip features an image of a mountain and a rider on a bucking horse. I suppose that is Bronco Billy.
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
July 12th, 2013 at 9:06:17 PM
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Quote: rdw4potusMy chip from Billy's is an Icon product. Seeing that makes me wonder if yesterday's chip from Big Jim's is also an Icon product.
That matches my suggestion from last night, but I'm still am not absolutely certain.
By the time I made it to Cripple Creek at the end of May, only one of the three places was operating table games. Which one? Well, the answer to that seems to be a real test of the state of progress in my senility -- I can't really remember! My pre-trip notes said that I should go to Bronco Billy's to find the table games, but my gaming records just say I played $3 craps for 10 minutes at "Billy's", without recording any descriptive adjective as to which Billy's. I did manage to win $20 anyway.
The MOGH catalog has chips that have the names of all three establishments, so I suspect that they all had table games at one time. Of course, the MOGH page for "Billy's" has a "Bronco Billy's" logo at the top, so there is potential for other discrepancies, I suppose. The fact that my chip just says "Billy's" seems to lend credence to the notion that this one was the specific place that had the table game I played. I asked one of the dealers about having separate casino names for what were essentially adjoining rooms, and he said it was a tax issue. I didn't pursue that any further.
Once again, my souvenir chip looks a whole lot like rdw's, except for the colors and the denomination mark.
July 13th, 2013 at 8:45:50 PM
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State: Colorado
City: Cripple Creek
Casino: Brass Ass
Today's chip of the day comes from the Brass Ass casino in Cripple Creek, CO. The Brass Ass, along with the Midnight Rose and JP McGills, is a part of the Triple Crown Casinos. The Brass Ass is the largest of these casinos, and is the only one with table games (I do have a chip from the Midnight Rose's poker room). According to Casino City, the casino has a 2,637 sqft floor with 237 machines and 13 table games. I don't think there's any way that all those gaming positions could fit on a 2,600 sqft floor. If I had to guess, I'd say that a leading 1 was dropped from the stated floor size.
I collected my chip at the Brass Ass by playing BJ. But I spent most of my time at the casino playing High-5 poker. I thought that game was fun and novel, but it moved too slow and was too hard to deal/play/learn to catch on elsewhere. The dealer was having a hard time following the play, which made it very hard for him to lure in and explain the game to would-be players. I got the feeling that both the game and the dealer were new to the casino.
Here's a picture of the Brass Ass. The casino is across the street and down the block from Billy's.
[spoiler=Big image of Brass Ass][/spoiler]
My Brass Ass chip is a Chipco product. There's a little edge wear, but its in better c\shape than most of the other chipco's in my collection.
City: Cripple Creek
Casino: Brass Ass
Today's chip of the day comes from the Brass Ass casino in Cripple Creek, CO. The Brass Ass, along with the Midnight Rose and JP McGills, is a part of the Triple Crown Casinos. The Brass Ass is the largest of these casinos, and is the only one with table games (I do have a chip from the Midnight Rose's poker room). According to Casino City, the casino has a 2,637 sqft floor with 237 machines and 13 table games. I don't think there's any way that all those gaming positions could fit on a 2,600 sqft floor. If I had to guess, I'd say that a leading 1 was dropped from the stated floor size.
I collected my chip at the Brass Ass by playing BJ. But I spent most of my time at the casino playing High-5 poker. I thought that game was fun and novel, but it moved too slow and was too hard to deal/play/learn to catch on elsewhere. The dealer was having a hard time following the play, which made it very hard for him to lure in and explain the game to would-be players. I got the feeling that both the game and the dealer were new to the casino.
Here's a picture of the Brass Ass. The casino is across the street and down the block from Billy's.
[spoiler=Big image of Brass Ass][/spoiler]
My Brass Ass chip is a Chipco product. There's a little edge wear, but its in better c\shape than most of the other chipco's in my collection.
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
July 14th, 2013 at 6:27:08 AM
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There are, as rdw mentioned, poker rooms in Cripple Creek. Since I don't generally play poker (just once in the past decade, at WoVCon I), I have only collected chips from casinos that have other table games. At the Brass Ass, I played $3 craps and managed to lose $85 in just 15 minutes. Yes, things can go south (or north) very quickly at that game.
Since rdw4potus has been posting photos of some of the casinos, I thought I would add one that's a little different. First, rdw's photo of the Brass Ass shows the whole block of buildings, with the Brass Ass itself at the extreme left end, right at the edge of the photo. My photo instead just shows the front window of the place with it's name and logo. In the reflection, you can see Big Jim's across the street, just slightly up the hill. The three connected "Billy's" casinos are also across the street, out of view down the hill. I think rdw's photo was taken from in front of Bronco Billy's.
Yes, as for the chips we continue the trend of my Colorado souvenir chip being almost identical to rdw's, except for the colors and the denomination marks. In this case, the imitation "edge inserts" on my $1 chip are narrower than on his $5 chip. Note that both his chip and mine include the Chipco International "CI" logo just above the casino name on the side with the logo Ass.
Since rdw4potus has been posting photos of some of the casinos, I thought I would add one that's a little different. First, rdw's photo of the Brass Ass shows the whole block of buildings, with the Brass Ass itself at the extreme left end, right at the edge of the photo. My photo instead just shows the front window of the place with it's name and logo. In the reflection, you can see Big Jim's across the street, just slightly up the hill. The three connected "Billy's" casinos are also across the street, out of view down the hill. I think rdw's photo was taken from in front of Bronco Billy's.
Yes, as for the chips we continue the trend of my Colorado souvenir chip being almost identical to rdw's, except for the colors and the denomination marks. In this case, the imitation "edge inserts" on my $1 chip are narrower than on his $5 chip. Note that both his chip and mine include the Chipco International "CI" logo just above the casino name on the side with the logo Ass.
July 14th, 2013 at 9:01:52 PM
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State: Colorado
City: Black Hawk
Casino: Canyon
Today's chip of the day comes from the Canyon casino in Black Hawk, CO. The Canyon casino has a small 13,000 sqft gaming floor with 300 machines and 5 tables. Like most Black Hawk casinos, the Canyon is located on Main Street.
The Canyon's slogan is "Black Hawk's best bet." I'm sure that's debatable and may vary from game to game, but the Canyon did have the best BJ game that I encountered. Penetration was good, and the dealers were good enough at their jobs to keep the floorpeople away. All that value didn't help me keep from bleeding money away at a pathetic clip.
The Canyon is on the west side of Main street, on the south end of a string of casinos. I personally think that all of Black Hawk is walkable, but some other properties are farther away and farther apart than others. The Canyon is in a very high-density part of the strip of casinos that is easily walkable for just about anyone. Here's a picture of the property:
My chip from the Canyon is a Chipco product. It's another example of a chip with an intentional white line around the area that typically shows the first signs of wear. I think that's a smart way to go, especially since these chips age so much worse than other chips.
City: Black Hawk
Casino: Canyon
Today's chip of the day comes from the Canyon casino in Black Hawk, CO. The Canyon casino has a small 13,000 sqft gaming floor with 300 machines and 5 tables. Like most Black Hawk casinos, the Canyon is located on Main Street.
The Canyon's slogan is "Black Hawk's best bet." I'm sure that's debatable and may vary from game to game, but the Canyon did have the best BJ game that I encountered. Penetration was good, and the dealers were good enough at their jobs to keep the floorpeople away. All that value didn't help me keep from bleeding money away at a pathetic clip.
The Canyon is on the west side of Main street, on the south end of a string of casinos. I personally think that all of Black Hawk is walkable, but some other properties are farther away and farther apart than others. The Canyon is in a very high-density part of the strip of casinos that is easily walkable for just about anyone. Here's a picture of the property:
My chip from the Canyon is a Chipco product. It's another example of a chip with an intentional white line around the area that typically shows the first signs of wear. I think that's a smart way to go, especially since these chips age so much worse than other chips.
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
July 14th, 2013 at 9:27:57 PM
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At the Canyon Casino, I played $2 craps and managed to lose $50 in just ten minutes. Honest, my overall gaming results in Colorado were not nearly so bad as indicated by a few of my recent posts. In two days I had twenty sessions in twenty casinos in Cripple Creek, Central City, and Black Hawk, and overall I won a net $130. Not a big deal, but considering that five of those 20 sessions involved losses of $100 or more, I thought I came out OK.
BTW, as you can see on the chips, they spell the name of the town "Black Hawk", and not "Blackhawk", though I suspect it is a very common error.
My chip is also a Chipco product, but without any evident CI logo. This time the images on mine are quite different from those on rdw's chip, showing a snow-covered tree limb and a partly-cloudy sky. I guess that goes well with the sky-blue printing on a white chip.
BTW, as you can see on the chips, they spell the name of the town "Black Hawk", and not "Blackhawk", though I suspect it is a very common error.
My chip is also a Chipco product, but without any evident CI logo. This time the images on mine are quite different from those on rdw's chip, showing a snow-covered tree limb and a partly-cloudy sky. I guess that goes well with the sky-blue printing on a white chip.
