Casino Chip of the Day
August 26th, 2013 at 8:50:38 PM
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August 26th, 2013 at 8:55:00 PM
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Quote: IbeatyouracesOther than the city of Ironwood to the west, the largest population in that area is probably the prison not far away. Never been to the casino and probably never will.
Ironwood is a decently sized town, and it's sort of fun, too. But other casinos are closer to it. I can't imagine going to Lac Vieux Desert again. I only went to get this chip. Without that, there would be pretty much no reason for anyone but a logger, prisoner, or nimrod to even be in the area - there are faster and prettier ways to get through the area. And, to be clear, that's not two choices...the faster way is also prettier.
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
August 26th, 2013 at 8:57:20 PM
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Quote: teddys
Darn! I knew that, too! Right up there with the Butte Pirates, Poca Dots, and Arkansas School of the Deaf Leopards on my (and, really, anyone's) list of best/worst highschool mascots.
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
August 26th, 2013 at 9:04:16 PM
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August 27th, 2013 at 3:45:20 AM
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Aces' post moved CCOTD ahead of SWOTD -- amazing in that it is essentially a dialog between Doc and rdw4potus but IIRC even more amazing that no members have been nuked or even suspended as the result of posting in this thread :-)
August 27th, 2013 at 6:26:24 AM
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Quote: rdw4potusState: Michigan
City: Harris
Casino: Island
Today's chip of the day comes from the Island Resort and Casino in Harris, MI. Harris is a very small town (pop:1,800) in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The town is near, but not on, the Lake Michigan coast. It is between the slightly larger towns of Escanaba (pop: 12,000) and Menominee (Pop: 20,000, including Marinette, WI). Casino City's info about the property opens us up for a The Price is Right style game. The size of the casino's floorspace uses 5 of these 6 numbers: 408,520. I'll venture a guess that 40,820 is the right number, with the 5 being a mis-key when the 8 was pressed. The casino has 1,280 machines and 21 table games.
At first, I couldn't figure out why this landlocked casino was called the Island. Especially when there really are lots of islands in/around the UP. Then I stepped inside. The casino's theme is rural Michigan's interpretation of what a tropical island would be like, apparently with no first hand knowledge to inform the situation. Maybe it's supposed to be a campy caricature of a tropical island. If that's the case, it's very well done. Here's a picture of the outside of the property:
I visited the Island on a trip to Marinette a couple summers ago. The fiancee's family has a cabin up there, and we took a break from painting the cabin to visit the casino. I really didn't play much, maybe just 15 minutes of BJ to grab the chip. Then we walked around and people-watched for a while. The Island is an interesting place. It's not breathtaking like the native properties in southern Michigan, but it's still nicer than it should be given the lack of competition and small target population. I just can't get over the theme - I guess it's better than another lodge-themed casino in the north woods.
My chip from the Island is a Chipco product. I guess in some ways the chip exemplifies my amusement with the casino's theme: one side of the chip shows a Native American by a fire, while the other side shows two palm trees. For a chipco product, the chip shows very little wear. As I recall, all of the chips were about this good. The MOGH shows only one non-commemorative issuance, from 1998 when the casino opened. I have to assume that the actual chips in play are from a later run of the same design - there's no way chipco chips made it that long looking this good.
I visited this casino in the summer of 2002. A friend, Stu, and I were cruising through Wisconsin and Michigan playing the advantage slots. The Island Casino had IGT Vision Series, WMS games, and a few others games like Fireworks, Wheel of Fortune, etc. I got lucky and hit power point-power point-seven for $500 on an X-Factor.
"Quit trying your luck and start trying your skill." Mickey Crimm
August 27th, 2013 at 9:51:11 AM
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Quote: chickenmanAces' post moved CCOTD ahead of SWOTD -- amazing in that it is essentially a dialog between Doc and rdw4potus but IIRC even more amazing that no members have been nuked or even suspended as the result of posting in this thread :-)
As predicted. (2nd paragraph)
This thread was not intended at all as a two-person conversation, and I would really like to see more people posting images of different chips from these casinos. Or at least remembrances from visits.
As for the lack of suspensions due to casino-chip-of-the-day drama, I think that's a fortunate response to my post #1 request for no conflicts here. Thanks to all for that!
Edit 8/11/16: I finally got my chip from the Greektown casino in Detroit and posted it here.
Last edited by: Doc on Aug 10, 2016
August 27th, 2013 at 9:59:12 AM
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August 27th, 2013 at 10:31:00 AM
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Quote: Doc
This thread was not intended at all as a two-person conversation, and I would really like to see more people posting images of different chips from these casinos. Or at least remembrances from visits.
One of the problems is that most of this forum outside of you, rdw, and a few others haven't visited a ton of casinos, especially outside of Vegas, of which I was not a member when this thread covered most of that area. I try to say stuff if I've actually been to the place. :) I do try to keep up and read, but I just usually have little comment since I have never been there. :(
August 27th, 2013 at 10:37:24 AM
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Quote: chickenmanAces' post moved CCOTD ahead of SWOTD -- amazing in that it is essentially a dialog between Doc and rdw4potus but IIRC even more amazing that no members have been nuked or even suspended as the result of posting in this thread :-)
How many views do you think the Spanish word of the day thread has even though it's last post was Nov. 5th? Take a guess and have some fun before looking it up.
Many people, especially ignorant people, want to punish you for speaking the truth. - Mahatma Ghandi
August 27th, 2013 at 10:54:37 AM
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Quote: 1BBHow many views do you think....
No idea. On the other hand, conflict and drama do add to the number of views. The HB challenge thread has 900 fewer posts but a whole heck of a lot more views. The Revel promotion thread has less than 30% as many posts and almost 75% as many views. A lot of folks have this thread blocked, apparently because they find the whole topic boring.
August 27th, 2013 at 11:00:29 AM
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Quote: 1BBHow many views do you think the Spanish word of the day thread has even though it's last post was Nov. 5th? Take a guess and have some fun before looking it up.
Wow! I was 100% low on that.
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
August 27th, 2013 at 11:07:04 AM
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I, too, looked it up and was surprised. I wonder how much of that was from when the thread was active and how much is from newcomers who start their WoV experience by clicking on the "top" thread.
I also noted that 98steps's Craps Strategy Investment thread has more than 100,000 views.
I also noted that 98steps's Craps Strategy Investment thread has more than 100,000 views.
August 27th, 2013 at 8:21:45 PM
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State: Michigan
City: Peshawbestown
Casino: Leelanau Sands
Today's chip of the day comes from the Leelanau Sands casino in Peshawbestown, MI. The casino is on the eastern side of the Leelanau Peninsula, North of Lake Leelanau, on the Grand Traverse Bay of Lake Michigan. It's about 20 miles north of Traverse City. The casino has 443 machines and 8 tables on a 25,980 sqft gaming floor.
The geography of the Leelanau Peninsula is very interesting. Lake Leelanau runs right across the landmass, nearly connecting to lake Michigan on each side. It is connected by river to Lake Michigan on the West side, but is completely separated from the larger lake on the East side.
I visited the Leelanau Sands on my trip from MN to PA. This was the last casino I visited before calling it a night in Traverse City. It was somewhat difficult getting from Traverse City up the peninsula to the casino. It's all one road, but there's a lot of very slow traffic through very touristy areas along the way. That got frustrating, especially on the way back down the peninsula, as I was more and more excited about finding a bed.
Leelanau Sands features BJ, craps, roulette, 3 card poker, and Let It Ride. Not my favorite games, but they do hit the staples in their little pit. I collected my chip by playing BJ. I was, at age 31, the youngest customer in the room by at least 20 years. I'm not sure if that's normal for the area or if it was a late-night anomaly.
This casino is pretty much what I'd expected of the casinos in rural Michigan. The others surpassed my expectations, but this one didn't. It's small, it's mostly slots, it's somewhat rundown, and it's remote. Here's a picture of the front of the casino:
My chip is a Paulson RHC. The MOGH shows that the chip was issued in 2012, which probably explains why it's in such good shape. The chip has very bright lime green and yellow edge inserts. Past chips from the casino were kind of bland, but this one has a lot of color.
City: Peshawbestown
Casino: Leelanau Sands
Today's chip of the day comes from the Leelanau Sands casino in Peshawbestown, MI. The casino is on the eastern side of the Leelanau Peninsula, North of Lake Leelanau, on the Grand Traverse Bay of Lake Michigan. It's about 20 miles north of Traverse City. The casino has 443 machines and 8 tables on a 25,980 sqft gaming floor.
The geography of the Leelanau Peninsula is very interesting. Lake Leelanau runs right across the landmass, nearly connecting to lake Michigan on each side. It is connected by river to Lake Michigan on the West side, but is completely separated from the larger lake on the East side.
I visited the Leelanau Sands on my trip from MN to PA. This was the last casino I visited before calling it a night in Traverse City. It was somewhat difficult getting from Traverse City up the peninsula to the casino. It's all one road, but there's a lot of very slow traffic through very touristy areas along the way. That got frustrating, especially on the way back down the peninsula, as I was more and more excited about finding a bed.
Leelanau Sands features BJ, craps, roulette, 3 card poker, and Let It Ride. Not my favorite games, but they do hit the staples in their little pit. I collected my chip by playing BJ. I was, at age 31, the youngest customer in the room by at least 20 years. I'm not sure if that's normal for the area or if it was a late-night anomaly.
This casino is pretty much what I'd expected of the casinos in rural Michigan. The others surpassed my expectations, but this one didn't. It's small, it's mostly slots, it's somewhat rundown, and it's remote. Here's a picture of the front of the casino:
My chip is a Paulson RHC. The MOGH shows that the chip was issued in 2012, which probably explains why it's in such good shape. The chip has very bright lime green and yellow edge inserts. Past chips from the casino were kind of bland, but this one has a lot of color.
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
August 27th, 2013 at 9:32:35 PM
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August 27th, 2013 at 9:35:19 PM
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August 28th, 2013 at 8:44:59 AM
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August 28th, 2013 at 7:41:55 PM
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State: Michigan
City: Manistee
Casino: Little River
Today's chip of the day comes from the Little River casino in Manistee, MI. The casino is owned and operated by the Little River Band of Ojibwa Indians. Yes, the Little River Band. The casino has 1,650 machines and 22 tables on a 44,000 sqft gaming floor. Manistee is down the Lake Michigan Coast from Traverse City, and is across the lake from Manitowoc, WI. There's a high-speed ferry connecting the two towns. I've always wanted to try that, but I've never had the chance.
Little River was the first casino that I visited after having spent the night in Traverse City during my trip from MN to PA last summer. It's a nice, simple, rural casino. Not really upscale like its neighbors to the south, but much better than the Sands as well. Some of this may be a function of age. Sands opened in the '80s, Little River opened in '99, the southern properties opened closer to 2010. Here's a picture of the outside of the casino:
The casino has BJ, craps, roulette, 3 card, Caribbean, UTH, and let it ride. I collected my chip by playing UTH. I played at about 10:30am, so I was pretty impressed that they even had a table open. I expected to either need to wait to play at all, or to be stuck with BJ. I played for about an hour, and finished down about $100. The dealer was great. She was acutely aware of the musical relationship to the tribe/business name. We did a nice little riff on Lonesome Loser where she pointed out that she beat me & used the queen of hearts, and I feigned indignation at the implication that I fit the preceding lyric. Of course, being the only table game player in the building, on a stop while driving alone across the country might mean...well...yeah...
My chip from the Little River is a Paulson RHC. It has 3 large edge inserts that extend into the center section and slightly under the inlay. The inserts are yellow, blue, and black. Those colors, especially the yellow and blue, featured heavily in the casino's decor as well. I assume that's planned, but I don't know what -if any- significance that has.
City: Manistee
Casino: Little River
Today's chip of the day comes from the Little River casino in Manistee, MI. The casino is owned and operated by the Little River Band of Ojibwa Indians. Yes, the Little River Band. The casino has 1,650 machines and 22 tables on a 44,000 sqft gaming floor. Manistee is down the Lake Michigan Coast from Traverse City, and is across the lake from Manitowoc, WI. There's a high-speed ferry connecting the two towns. I've always wanted to try that, but I've never had the chance.
Little River was the first casino that I visited after having spent the night in Traverse City during my trip from MN to PA last summer. It's a nice, simple, rural casino. Not really upscale like its neighbors to the south, but much better than the Sands as well. Some of this may be a function of age. Sands opened in the '80s, Little River opened in '99, the southern properties opened closer to 2010. Here's a picture of the outside of the casino:
The casino has BJ, craps, roulette, 3 card, Caribbean, UTH, and let it ride. I collected my chip by playing UTH. I played at about 10:30am, so I was pretty impressed that they even had a table open. I expected to either need to wait to play at all, or to be stuck with BJ. I played for about an hour, and finished down about $100. The dealer was great. She was acutely aware of the musical relationship to the tribe/business name. We did a nice little riff on Lonesome Loser where she pointed out that she beat me & used the queen of hearts, and I feigned indignation at the implication that I fit the preceding lyric. Of course, being the only table game player in the building, on a stop while driving alone across the country might mean...well...yeah...
My chip from the Little River is a Paulson RHC. It has 3 large edge inserts that extend into the center section and slightly under the inlay. The inserts are yellow, blue, and black. Those colors, especially the yellow and blue, featured heavily in the casino's decor as well. I assume that's planned, but I don't know what -if any- significance that has.
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
August 29th, 2013 at 12:28:30 AM
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DUHHIIIIIIIII HEARD THAT!
August 29th, 2013 at 4:56:06 PM
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Actually the ferry from Manistee goes to Milwaukee. The Ludington ferry goes to Manitowoc.
"Dice, verily, are armed with goads and driving-hooks, deceiving and tormenting, causing grievous woe." -Rig Veda 10.34.4
August 29th, 2013 at 10:17:05 PM
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State: Michigan
City: Detroit
Casino: MGM Grand
Today's chip of the day comes from the MGM Grand in Detroit, MI. The MGM Grand opened in 1999 and has 4,129 machines and 99 tables on a 100,000 sqft gaming floor. The casino is essentially across downtown Detroit from the Greektown casino. MGM bills this casino as the first urban gaming destination that was completely built from the ground up. The MGM Grand was about what I'd expected. Like Caesars in Windsor, MGM is at a level that nearly matches its sister property in Vegas.
Here's a picture of the property:
I stopped in at MGM on the same trip that brought me to Greektown. I didn't play much at MGM, as I only had a few hours in town and I needed to get to Windsor to get credit for the Great Race promotion. One thing that struck me about MGM was the number of different games that they had. Here's a list of their current poker and table game offerings from the casino's website:
2-5-7 Poker
6 to 5 Blackjack
21 +3 Blackjack
Baccarat
Bad Beat Jackpot
Big Six
Blackjack
Blackjack Switch*
Caribbean Stud Poker*
Craps
Crazy 4 Poker*
Double Exposure Blackjack
Four-Card Poker*
High Tie Blackjack
Let it Ride Stud Poker*
Mississippi Stud Poker*
Omaha/Omaha High-Low Split
Perfect Pairs Blackjack
Progressive Pai Gow Poker*
Roulette
Seven-Card Stud
Spanish 21
Texas Hold 'Em
Three-Card Poker*
Two-Way Monte
Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em*
My chip from the MGM is a Paulson product. The MGM Grand name is stamped into both faces of the chip. The MOGH shows an in-service date for this line of chips of 2007. The colors of the edge inserts are kelly green, pink, and sort of an eggplantish purple/gray/brown. At least to my eye, the three colors do not go particularly well together with the eggplant standing out from the green and pink.
City: Detroit
Casino: MGM Grand
Today's chip of the day comes from the MGM Grand in Detroit, MI. The MGM Grand opened in 1999 and has 4,129 machines and 99 tables on a 100,000 sqft gaming floor. The casino is essentially across downtown Detroit from the Greektown casino. MGM bills this casino as the first urban gaming destination that was completely built from the ground up. The MGM Grand was about what I'd expected. Like Caesars in Windsor, MGM is at a level that nearly matches its sister property in Vegas.
Here's a picture of the property:
I stopped in at MGM on the same trip that brought me to Greektown. I didn't play much at MGM, as I only had a few hours in town and I needed to get to Windsor to get credit for the Great Race promotion. One thing that struck me about MGM was the number of different games that they had. Here's a list of their current poker and table game offerings from the casino's website:
2-5-7 Poker
6 to 5 Blackjack
21 +3 Blackjack
Baccarat
Bad Beat Jackpot
Big Six
Blackjack
Blackjack Switch*
Caribbean Stud Poker*
Craps
Crazy 4 Poker*
Double Exposure Blackjack
Four-Card Poker*
High Tie Blackjack
Let it Ride Stud Poker*
Mississippi Stud Poker*
Omaha/Omaha High-Low Split
Perfect Pairs Blackjack
Progressive Pai Gow Poker*
Roulette
Seven-Card Stud
Spanish 21
Texas Hold 'Em
Three-Card Poker*
Two-Way Monte
Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em*
My chip from the MGM is a Paulson product. The MGM Grand name is stamped into both faces of the chip. The MOGH shows an in-service date for this line of chips of 2007. The colors of the edge inserts are kelly green, pink, and sort of an eggplantish purple/gray/brown. At least to my eye, the three colors do not go particularly well together with the eggplant standing out from the green and pink.
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
August 30th, 2013 at 6:50:46 AM
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DUHHIIIIIIIII HEARD THAT!
August 30th, 2013 at 7:44:42 PM
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Quote: Ibeatyouraceswhich now houses the newly opened Detroit Public Safety Headquarters.
I wonder if this is still open all things considered.
There will come a time soon when Detroit will have junkets from various areas in the USA. The locals just aren't going to support a property like this MGM.
August 30th, 2013 at 8:02:49 PM
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August 30th, 2013 at 8:42:11 PM
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State: Michigan
City: Detroit
Casino: Motor City
Today's chip of the day comes from the Motor City casino in Detroit, MI. The casino opened in 1999 and has 2,800 slots and 69 tables on a 75,000 sqft gaming floor. Motor City is about 1/2 mile north west of the MGM Grand, just outside of the MI10/I-75 loop surrounding downtown Detroit. The drive from one property to the other was painless. Ordinarily, they'd also be easily walkable but this is Detroit...
I remember driving up to Motor City and thinking that the building was beautiful. It was so pretty that I couldn't wait to get inside. Then I parked and went inside and it was a little disappointing. It's not that the inside was bad, it just didn't live up to the promise of the outside. It's be like if the inside of Bally's correlated to the outside of Caesar's. Motor City makes very good use of light, both inside and out. Here's a picture of the outside of the property, which showcases the playfully colored facade of the hotel and casino:
Motor City has a good variety of games. I remember seeing LIR, UTH, THB, 4 card poker, 3 card poker, PGP, and Mini Bacc in addition to the staples of BJ, craps, and roulette. The casino's website also lists casino war among the offerings. I don't remember seeing that game when I visited, but maybe it's been added in the years since I stopped in. I collected my chip by playing BJ, and I didn't play long. I wanted to extract myself and get to Windsor. It's a good thing I gave myself extra time, since I was detained and very nearly denied access to Canada.
My chip from Motor City is a Paulson RHC. There are four edge inserts, two each in light and dark blue. The chip has moderate edge wear and some soil markings that I couldn't clean off. The MOGH lists this series as beginning at the casino's opening in 1999, and with this level of dirt and wear it's conceivable that this chip is from the original batch.
City: Detroit
Casino: Motor City
Today's chip of the day comes from the Motor City casino in Detroit, MI. The casino opened in 1999 and has 2,800 slots and 69 tables on a 75,000 sqft gaming floor. Motor City is about 1/2 mile north west of the MGM Grand, just outside of the MI10/I-75 loop surrounding downtown Detroit. The drive from one property to the other was painless. Ordinarily, they'd also be easily walkable but this is Detroit...
I remember driving up to Motor City and thinking that the building was beautiful. It was so pretty that I couldn't wait to get inside. Then I parked and went inside and it was a little disappointing. It's not that the inside was bad, it just didn't live up to the promise of the outside. It's be like if the inside of Bally's correlated to the outside of Caesar's. Motor City makes very good use of light, both inside and out. Here's a picture of the outside of the property, which showcases the playfully colored facade of the hotel and casino:
Motor City has a good variety of games. I remember seeing LIR, UTH, THB, 4 card poker, 3 card poker, PGP, and Mini Bacc in addition to the staples of BJ, craps, and roulette. The casino's website also lists casino war among the offerings. I don't remember seeing that game when I visited, but maybe it's been added in the years since I stopped in. I collected my chip by playing BJ, and I didn't play long. I wanted to extract myself and get to Windsor. It's a good thing I gave myself extra time, since I was detained and very nearly denied access to Canada.
My chip from Motor City is a Paulson RHC. There are four edge inserts, two each in light and dark blue. The chip has moderate edge wear and some soil markings that I couldn't clean off. The MOGH lists this series as beginning at the casino's opening in 1999, and with this level of dirt and wear it's conceivable that this chip is from the original batch.
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
August 30th, 2013 at 8:59:48 PM
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DUHHIIIIIIIII HEARD THAT!
August 31st, 2013 at 6:52:36 PM
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I have a question, if Detroit is broke, how come there are so many nice luxury casinos there?
August 31st, 2013 at 6:56:50 PM
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August 31st, 2013 at 9:10:51 PM
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State: Michigan
City: Petoskey
Casino: Odawa
Today's chip of the day comes from the Odawa casino in Petoskey, MI. The casino is owned and operated by the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians. It opened in 2007, and has 1,300 machines and 20 tabes on a 33,000 sqft gaming floor. The property also has 5 restaurants and a 137 room hotel. Petoskey is is in the far northern part of Michigan's Lower Peninsula, on the Lake Michigan coast. The town is full of lake houses, cabins, and touristy shops and attractions.
Odawa is a beautiful little property. I'd say it's about as nice as the Four Winds in Hartford, which is to say that it's about 3x nicer than the area and competition level warrants but still not as nice as some of the other casinos in Michigan. Odawa has a couple interesting stylistic features. There are big swoopy lines on the front of the property. One is the valet/drop-off covering, and the other runs along the front of the property. Driving up, it sort of looks like the casino is sticking its tongue out at you - which was fitting given how quickly they took my money from me. This is the best picture that I could find of the front of the property. It does an OK job of showing the flow of the lines:
I visited Odawa quite late in the evening, and I didn't spend much time inside. Their pit includes roulette, craps, BJ, 3 card, let it ride, and one of the 7 card poker games. I thought it was UTH, but the casino's website makes it look like it's THB. At any rate, all that was open when I visited were BJ, craps, and roulette. I donated some money to the Tribe, collected my chip at the BJ table and continued on my way.
My chip from Odawa is a Chipco product. There's no intentional white line around the seam on the chip, and the area around the seam shows a significant amount of wear. This chip was much better than some of the others in the tray, but it's still not great. The chip features the casino name and location info on one side, and an image of the ace of diamonds and jack of spades on the other. Blackjack is definitely the casino's feaured game, so I thought that was a fun chip design.
City: Petoskey
Casino: Odawa
Today's chip of the day comes from the Odawa casino in Petoskey, MI. The casino is owned and operated by the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians. It opened in 2007, and has 1,300 machines and 20 tabes on a 33,000 sqft gaming floor. The property also has 5 restaurants and a 137 room hotel. Petoskey is is in the far northern part of Michigan's Lower Peninsula, on the Lake Michigan coast. The town is full of lake houses, cabins, and touristy shops and attractions.
Odawa is a beautiful little property. I'd say it's about as nice as the Four Winds in Hartford, which is to say that it's about 3x nicer than the area and competition level warrants but still not as nice as some of the other casinos in Michigan. Odawa has a couple interesting stylistic features. There are big swoopy lines on the front of the property. One is the valet/drop-off covering, and the other runs along the front of the property. Driving up, it sort of looks like the casino is sticking its tongue out at you - which was fitting given how quickly they took my money from me. This is the best picture that I could find of the front of the property. It does an OK job of showing the flow of the lines:
I visited Odawa quite late in the evening, and I didn't spend much time inside. Their pit includes roulette, craps, BJ, 3 card, let it ride, and one of the 7 card poker games. I thought it was UTH, but the casino's website makes it look like it's THB. At any rate, all that was open when I visited were BJ, craps, and roulette. I donated some money to the Tribe, collected my chip at the BJ table and continued on my way.
My chip from Odawa is a Chipco product. There's no intentional white line around the seam on the chip, and the area around the seam shows a significant amount of wear. This chip was much better than some of the others in the tray, but it's still not great. The chip features the casino name and location info on one side, and an image of the ace of diamonds and jack of spades on the other. Blackjack is definitely the casino's feaured game, so I thought that was a fun chip design.
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
August 31st, 2013 at 9:25:31 PM
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DUHHIIIIIIIII HEARD THAT!
September 1st, 2013 at 9:36:22 PM
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State: Michigan
City: Baraga
Casino: Ojibwa
Today's chip of the day comes from one of two locations of Ojibwa casinos in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. This one is from the Ojibwa casino in Baraga. The casino has 320 machines and 9 tables on a 17,000 sqft gaming floor. Baraga is on the Lake Superior coast, on L'anse bay. It's about 30 miles south of Houghton and about 80 miles west of Marquette. It's a scenic, but rustic, area.
Ojibwa Casino Baraga was not a pretty place, inside or out. This is about the size and quality level that I'd expected from the casinos in the UP, but I'd been pleasantly surprised by the quality of some other properties. Here's a picture of the outside of the casino:
Ojibwa Casino Baraga is one of those casinos where the building is open 24/7, but the tables are not. Frustratingly, the tables operate on an "until table close" system. That means that they close the tables when they're frozen out. I arrived as the last player was leaving and begged to play one last shoe before the table were closed down for the night. While the casino is not pretty, the blackjack game was very well dealt by a young woman who was quite entertaining. The casino also has UTH, craps, 3 card, and roulette.
My chip from Ojibwa Baraga is a Chipco product. It depicts an eagle flying over water and a wooded shore. The chip shows quite a bit of wear.
City: Baraga
Casino: Ojibwa
Today's chip of the day comes from one of two locations of Ojibwa casinos in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. This one is from the Ojibwa casino in Baraga. The casino has 320 machines and 9 tables on a 17,000 sqft gaming floor. Baraga is on the Lake Superior coast, on L'anse bay. It's about 30 miles south of Houghton and about 80 miles west of Marquette. It's a scenic, but rustic, area.
Ojibwa Casino Baraga was not a pretty place, inside or out. This is about the size and quality level that I'd expected from the casinos in the UP, but I'd been pleasantly surprised by the quality of some other properties. Here's a picture of the outside of the casino:
Ojibwa Casino Baraga is one of those casinos where the building is open 24/7, but the tables are not. Frustratingly, the tables operate on an "until table close" system. That means that they close the tables when they're frozen out. I arrived as the last player was leaving and begged to play one last shoe before the table were closed down for the night. While the casino is not pretty, the blackjack game was very well dealt by a young woman who was quite entertaining. The casino also has UTH, craps, 3 card, and roulette.
My chip from Ojibwa Baraga is a Chipco product. It depicts an eagle flying over water and a wooded shore. The chip shows quite a bit of wear.
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
September 2nd, 2013 at 7:23:22 AM
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September 2nd, 2013 at 8:40:46 PM
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State: Michigan
City: Marquette
Casino: Ojibwa
Today's chip of the day comes from the Ojibwa casino in Marquette, MI. The casino opened in 1994 and has 301 slots and 11 tables on a 13,500 sqft gaming floor. Marquette is on the Lake Superior coast about midway across Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It's one of the larger towns in the UP, with a population of a little over 20,000.
I tried to get into this casino and play after I left the facility in Baraga. But, the tables had already closed for the night due to the casino's "open until table close" rule. It was a bit after midnight, so I spent the night in town. There were lots of hotels in town, but I had a hard time finding a room on no notice. I guess Marquette is a tourist hub, in addition to being a commercial hub in the UP. I wound up staying at a very nice Econo Lodge. That's not sarcasm - it was easily the best Econo Lodge I've ever stayed at. And, as a cheap single guy, there's a decent body of comps available for that comparison. I don't think I've found a picture to show today. A Google image search lists the same image for Baraga and Marquette. My usual method when that happens is to use the MOGH's image and, barring that, the 500nations.com image. Both of those sites list only the tribe's logo for the Marquette location.
I made a note when I visited and couldn't play, but not the next day when i returned to the casino. I assume i played BJ to collect my chip, and I know I didn't spend much time. I know I'm starting (ha!) to sound like a broken record, but i was hoping to make it to Windsor for the evening so I was rushing through the casino trying to start the day quickly and make up for lost time (I'd hoped to sleep much farther east). In addition to BJ, the casino has 3CP, craps, and roulette.
My chip from the Ojibwa casino in Marquette is nearly identical to the chip from Baraga - only the city name and title are different. Apparently, the Baraga location is a resort while the Marquette location is just a casino. This chip has a considerable amount of wear, as would be expected from a Chipco product.
City: Marquette
Casino: Ojibwa
Today's chip of the day comes from the Ojibwa casino in Marquette, MI. The casino opened in 1994 and has 301 slots and 11 tables on a 13,500 sqft gaming floor. Marquette is on the Lake Superior coast about midway across Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It's one of the larger towns in the UP, with a population of a little over 20,000.
I tried to get into this casino and play after I left the facility in Baraga. But, the tables had already closed for the night due to the casino's "open until table close" rule. It was a bit after midnight, so I spent the night in town. There were lots of hotels in town, but I had a hard time finding a room on no notice. I guess Marquette is a tourist hub, in addition to being a commercial hub in the UP. I wound up staying at a very nice Econo Lodge. That's not sarcasm - it was easily the best Econo Lodge I've ever stayed at. And, as a cheap single guy, there's a decent body of comps available for that comparison. I don't think I've found a picture to show today. A Google image search lists the same image for Baraga and Marquette. My usual method when that happens is to use the MOGH's image and, barring that, the 500nations.com image. Both of those sites list only the tribe's logo for the Marquette location.
I made a note when I visited and couldn't play, but not the next day when i returned to the casino. I assume i played BJ to collect my chip, and I know I didn't spend much time. I know I'm starting (ha!) to sound like a broken record, but i was hoping to make it to Windsor for the evening so I was rushing through the casino trying to start the day quickly and make up for lost time (I'd hoped to sleep much farther east). In addition to BJ, the casino has 3CP, craps, and roulette.
My chip from the Ojibwa casino in Marquette is nearly identical to the chip from Baraga - only the city name and title are different. Apparently, the Baraga location is a resort while the Marquette location is just a casino. This chip has a considerable amount of wear, as would be expected from a Chipco product.
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
September 3rd, 2013 at 11:17:48 PM
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State: Michigan
City: Mount Pleasant
Casino: Soaring Eagle
Today's chip of the day comes from the Soaring Eagle casino in Mount Pleasant, MI. Soaring Eagle is owned and operated by the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe. According to CasinoCity, the casino has 5,000 slots and 82 tables on a 210,000 sqft gaming floor. I've been skeptical of their size stats in the past, but I think this one is accurate. The casino really is that big. Mount Pleasant is almost exactly in the center of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. It's a small city, with a population of about 25,000.
As Teddys mentioned earlier, this is one of 3 casinos in MI (along with Firekeepers and Four Winds' New Buffalo location) that could easily fit in on the Vegas Strip. In terms of "what is that doing there"-ness, driving up to Soaring Eagle is about the same as that moment when Foxwoods first becomes visible on the drive up from the turnpike in CT. It would seem like there was no reason for a casino this large or this incredibly upscale to be in a small town in Michigan, but it's there and it's busy. Here's a picture of the property:
I collected my chip from Soaring Eagle on a trip into Michigan from Chicago. I'm traveling now (@ Harrah's NKC tonight) and I don't have my notes with me. I think I grabbed this chip on the same trip as the one that brought me to Gun Lake and Four Winds Hartford. I then passed pretty much directly past this casino again on my trip through MI last summer. Had I known earlier that I'd be driving through last summer, I could have saved several hours on the earlier trip. Oh, well.
For such a very large casino, Soaring Eagle has relatively few table games: Blackjack, craps, roulette, 3 card, 4 card, crazy 4, let it ride, Ultimate Texas Hold'em, and Mississippi Stud are all that are listed on the casino's website and on CasinoCity. If I'm reading the casino's website right, they have single 0 roulette with la partage. I collected my chip playing UTH, which I was pretty well addicted to at the time.
My chip from Soaring Eagle is a Chipco product. It's in a bit better shape than some other Chipcos that we've looked at recently, but still shows some of the expected edge wear.
City: Mount Pleasant
Casino: Soaring Eagle
Today's chip of the day comes from the Soaring Eagle casino in Mount Pleasant, MI. Soaring Eagle is owned and operated by the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe. According to CasinoCity, the casino has 5,000 slots and 82 tables on a 210,000 sqft gaming floor. I've been skeptical of their size stats in the past, but I think this one is accurate. The casino really is that big. Mount Pleasant is almost exactly in the center of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. It's a small city, with a population of about 25,000.
As Teddys mentioned earlier, this is one of 3 casinos in MI (along with Firekeepers and Four Winds' New Buffalo location) that could easily fit in on the Vegas Strip. In terms of "what is that doing there"-ness, driving up to Soaring Eagle is about the same as that moment when Foxwoods first becomes visible on the drive up from the turnpike in CT. It would seem like there was no reason for a casino this large or this incredibly upscale to be in a small town in Michigan, but it's there and it's busy. Here's a picture of the property:
I collected my chip from Soaring Eagle on a trip into Michigan from Chicago. I'm traveling now (@ Harrah's NKC tonight) and I don't have my notes with me. I think I grabbed this chip on the same trip as the one that brought me to Gun Lake and Four Winds Hartford. I then passed pretty much directly past this casino again on my trip through MI last summer. Had I known earlier that I'd be driving through last summer, I could have saved several hours on the earlier trip. Oh, well.
For such a very large casino, Soaring Eagle has relatively few table games: Blackjack, craps, roulette, 3 card, 4 card, crazy 4, let it ride, Ultimate Texas Hold'em, and Mississippi Stud are all that are listed on the casino's website and on CasinoCity. If I'm reading the casino's website right, they have single 0 roulette with la partage. I collected my chip playing UTH, which I was pretty well addicted to at the time.
My chip from Soaring Eagle is a Chipco product. It's in a bit better shape than some other Chipcos that we've looked at recently, but still shows some of the expected edge wear.
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
September 4th, 2013 at 12:10:57 AM
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Are eagles a prominent symbol for tribes in Michigan?
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication - Leonardo da Vinci
September 4th, 2013 at 5:55:02 AM
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September 4th, 2013 at 6:30:13 AM
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Quote: IbeatyouracesMt. Pleasant also houses Central Michigan University on the west side of US 127 and its actually a mid-sized city overall. The area is very busy in the fall. The casino is actually just a bit to the east and is one, along with Bay Mills that are actually on a reservation. Casinos like Firekeepers are on land purchased from the state of Michigan. At one time, Soaring Eagle was the largest casino outside of LV or AC.
The casino is seriously huge. I bet it's still the largest casino outside of LV, AC, or CT.
Do they really not have bacc? That surprised me, but I don't remember it there and it wasn't on the casino's website or on CasinoCity's list.
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
September 4th, 2013 at 6:35:34 AM
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Quote: AyecarumbaAre eagles a prominent symbol for tribes in Michigan?
Yes. And the northern half of Michigan - the upper third of Lower Michigan and all of the UP - is a significant permanent residence and breeding ground for bald eagles. Many of the images, like the one from Soaring Eagle, depict golden eagles. They're much more rare in Michigan, though maybe that increases their significance in native lore?
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
September 4th, 2013 at 6:35:36 AM
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DUHHIIIIIIIII HEARD THAT!
September 4th, 2013 at 6:45:58 AM
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September 4th, 2013 at 7:02:14 AM
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Quote: IbeatyouracesOne thing I just thought of also but not sure if its still open. They also have/had a building across the street with only slots. The main casino also offers bingo.
I think when I get home from this western trip, I'm going to take a vacation in northern Michigan. Beautiful up there in early fall.
As a Michigan outsider, the term "Northern Michigan" is confusing as hell. I don't know how you meant it here, but apparently that's the northern part of the lower peninsula? Something like 1/3 of the state is North of "Northern Michigan" :-) I've been using that term incorrectly for years as a synonym for the UP!
Is the slots only building smoke free? Prairie's Edge in MN has that setup, with the non-smoking area as a part of the gas station in the parking lot.
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
September 4th, 2013 at 7:15:44 AM
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September 6th, 2013 at 6:44:51 AM
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Yoohoo! .... Hellooo?... Uh, rdw4potus, we miss you, Bro. ;-)
Anyway, there was no Casino Chip of the Day posted on 9/4 or 9/5, so I'm guessing that rdw has gotten kinda busy on one of his trips. Is this the period he planned to make that outrageous set of loop drives in between meetings?
So, rdw, if this is too busy a period for you to be posting chips, let us know, and someone can fill in until you are back to your computer. Several folks have mentioned they have a chip or ten they would like to post when it comes their turn -- they could do that and then turn things back over to you.
Edit 8/11/16: I finally got my chip from the Motor City casino in Detroit and posted it here.
Anyway, there was no Casino Chip of the Day posted on 9/4 or 9/5, so I'm guessing that rdw has gotten kinda busy on one of his trips. Is this the period he planned to make that outrageous set of loop drives in between meetings?
So, rdw, if this is too busy a period for you to be posting chips, let us know, and someone can fill in until you are back to your computer. Several folks have mentioned they have a chip or ten they would like to post when it comes their turn -- they could do that and then turn things back over to you.
Edit 8/11/16: I finally got my chip from the Motor City casino in Detroit and posted it here.
Last edited by: Doc on Aug 10, 2016
September 6th, 2013 at 6:54:04 AM
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September 6th, 2013 at 7:09:20 AM
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Yep, I just located his post with the tentative travel schedule: Sept. 2-18.
If he is following the original schedule, right now he is starting on the "Drive a loop from Minneapolis to KC to Rapid City to Minneapolis. Collect chips from IA, SD, MO, and KS." Sounds as if he got to KC early though.
My wife is very happy that is not us.
If he is following the original schedule, right now he is starting on the "Drive a loop from Minneapolis to KC to Rapid City to Minneapolis. Collect chips from IA, SD, MO, and KS." Sounds as if he got to KC early though.
My wife is very happy that is not us.
September 6th, 2013 at 7:15:47 AM
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September 6th, 2013 at 8:22:18 AM
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Quote: IbeatyouracesThere's only one Michigan chip left I believe and that should be Turtle Creek unless he has a Victories Casino chip before they moved across the street and were renamed Odawa. My guess is that after this one, he'll start with the chips he's collecting now then to the state of Oklahoma.
There are two in MI now. I was in Dowagiac yesterday:-) I think OK and IA are the only states that I haven't touched yet, so there's a good chance that you're right about the plan as well.
As for my absence from the thread, two things have happened. First, I donated my laptop charging cord to the cleaning staff at Mystic Lake in MN on Monday. I thought I'd fixed that issue by buying a replacement at Best Buy, but apparently my Dell doesn't work with their universal charging blah blah. I now have a second new cord which does work. That's good, since I do theoretically work for a living and this is my business laptop. Second, and this one is possibly more embarrassing, I never budget my time right on these trips. More specifically, I never plan enough time to actually play. I was in Dowagaic at 8pm yesterday, and visited Columbus and Cincy after that before arriving at HSI for the night. Want to guess what I didn't want to do after hitting the hotel room here at 4am?
If someone else could cover this period, that would be great. I have pared down my trip(s), but I'm pretty much on the road until 9/10, and again from 9/13 to 9/16.
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
September 6th, 2013 at 9:13:09 AM
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Quote: rdw4potusIf someone else could cover this period, that would be great.
OK, I'll step up to the plate again for a little while. I think I now have seven chips from casinos that have not yet been covered in this thread. My tentative plan is to present the 2 from NV followed by 2 from NJ then 3 from MD. If rdw has time to keep me informed just which days he will have opportunities to post chips over this coming week and a half, I'll leave those days open for his new-chip posts and post mine when he is not available.
As I noted above, I remember other folks saying that they have chips they would like to post when it is their turn, but I haven't kept a record of that. Perhaps this would be a good time to remedy that. If you have collected a chip from a casino not yet covered in this thread and would like to post an image and story in the format we have been following, please send me a PM, and I will coordinate so that not everyone tries to post images the same day.
I now need to prepare something to say about a casino chip for today ....
September 6th, 2013 at 9:15:01 AM
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I won a $600 pot in a $3-$6 Stud Hi-Lo game at Soaring Eagle in 1994. The only way that can happen is if all 8 players are in to the river and the betting (a bet and four raises) is capped on 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th streets. I scooped the pot when the community card on 7th street, the Aces of Spades, came off giving me a flush and a wheel. The pot was $597 after the rake. That's 99.5 big bets. I bet it is a world record for winning the most big bets in a limit stud hi lo game.
"Quit trying your luck and start trying your skill." Mickey Crimm
September 6th, 2013 at 9:35:01 AM
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State: Nevada
City: North Las Vegas
Casino: Aliante
The very first chip posted in this thread on March 15, 2012 was from the Aliante Station casino in North Las Vegas. As of the first of last November, that establishment split from Station Casinos and became Aliante Casino and Hotel. I'm not sure whether they had the new chips in the rack from the very beginning or not.
I made my way back out to that northern suburb while I was in Nevada for WoVCon ]I[ last May and picked up one of the new chips. I played $5 craps for 20 minutes and walked away from the table up $50. Enough to pay for my gas out to that distant locale.
Either my memory of my previous visit is faded, or I didn't examine the place adequately in May, so I can't really report on what has changed other than the name of the place and the chips.
The chips themselves didn't change so very much either. My $1 souvenir is another gray Paulson RHC with the same triangular edge inserts as on the Aliente Station chip I posted almost 18 months ago. Just as back then, I have a little color shift in my photography -- the chip is really a much darker gray than it appears in this photo. The center inlay is quite similar but gray instead of the earlier blue, and with the new name, of course.
Also of course, since "Aliante" is early in the alphabet, this means I have to do a bunch of editing of the formatting codes to get this chip in the proper position in the table for the post #1 index. Ah, the agony of being nerdy.
City: North Las Vegas
Casino: Aliante
The very first chip posted in this thread on March 15, 2012 was from the Aliante Station casino in North Las Vegas. As of the first of last November, that establishment split from Station Casinos and became Aliante Casino and Hotel. I'm not sure whether they had the new chips in the rack from the very beginning or not.
I made my way back out to that northern suburb while I was in Nevada for WoVCon ]I[ last May and picked up one of the new chips. I played $5 craps for 20 minutes and walked away from the table up $50. Enough to pay for my gas out to that distant locale.
Either my memory of my previous visit is faded, or I didn't examine the place adequately in May, so I can't really report on what has changed other than the name of the place and the chips.
The chips themselves didn't change so very much either. My $1 souvenir is another gray Paulson RHC with the same triangular edge inserts as on the Aliente Station chip I posted almost 18 months ago. Just as back then, I have a little color shift in my photography -- the chip is really a much darker gray than it appears in this photo. The center inlay is quite similar but gray instead of the earlier blue, and with the new name, of course.
Also of course, since "Aliante" is early in the alphabet, this means I have to do a bunch of editing of the formatting codes to get this chip in the proper position in the table for the post #1 index. Ah, the agony of being nerdy.
