October Update

Two new chips added during the month of October.

1. Las Vegas Hilton - older house chip.
2. Las Vegas Hilton - Spacequest Casino.



The LV Hilton will most likely be changing names sometime soon, as they are losing their affiliation with the Hilton brand. So, I'm trying to collect as many of the Hilton chips as I can while they are still floating around.

The Spacequest Casino chip has a hologram in the middle and I guess it sort of fits in with their Star Trek theme. Sounds like a place the Klingons would gamble.

September 2011 Update

Three new chips have been added -

1. Grand Casino - Hinckley, MN
My aunt and uncle picked this one up for me while they were (hopefully) traveling through Hinckley. I hope they didn't purposely go there... no offense to all my blog readers from Hinckley.



2. North Star Resort and Casino - Bowler, WI
My parents picked this one up on a trip designed to go to Bowler. I don't know either.


3. Menominee Casino Bingo Hall - Keshena, WI
Same trip for mom and dad. Beats me.



What do all three of these chips have in common? I couldn't find any of the cities they are located in on a map. In fact, I had never even heard of these places until I read their names on the chips.

August 2011 Update

Three new chips have been added -

1. Barbary Coast 2000 "The Millennium."
Nothing special about this chip, but I think it gives me every $5 chip the BC pumped out before its' untimely closing. The Leprechaun on one side is a nice touch.

2. Oneida Casino - Green Bay, WI
One of my aunts brought this back for me. One of the few non-red $5 chips I have seen. Maybe the guy who runs the Oneida is color-blind?



3. Gun Lake Casino - Wayland, MI
Situated between Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo, this is Michigan's newest casino. A buddy picked it up for me while he was there for a bachelor party. This one is red, so at least they got that going for them.

Hard Rock - Tampa, FL

This will be the first chip for frame #5. Yes, the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Tampa is my 253rd five dollar chip. It's also where Anna Nicole Smith died. I didn't know that when we were there. We stopped in one night after a spring training game and it was odd. No roulette or craps. Blackjack minimums were $50! And the tables were full. There was also some type of dance contest going on in front of one of their bar/restaurants. It was crazy. Mostly because I didn't win, but also just because it was going on. I'm not sure if it was a sponsored thing or an impromptu breakdown or what. So, we packed up quickly and hit Thee Doll House. Should have stayed at the casino, as bad as it was. But that's a story for a different blog.

Tropicana

The Tropicana. It smells like old people. Always has, probably always will. I don't like seeing the older "famous" casinos close down, but I'd make an exception for this place. Plus, that corner lot is dying for a new casino to tie in with MGM, NYNY and Excalibur.

Sahara

The Sahara. Sadly, the Sahara is closing May 2011. I've played thousands of dollar blackjack hands at the place. Never once rode the roller coaster or went down the water slide in front of it though. The Sahara had one of the strangest side bets I've ever seen at a casino. I think it's evolved over the years because there are a few different versions, but it either involved getting a blackjack or a pair of the same card (including suit) and if you made an extra $1 bet - you would either spin a wheel to win a prize or there was a pre-determined dollar amount you won. Either way, it was dumb. But most of the people playing there were dumb, so I guess it evens out. One of our first trips (Vegas '98) we ate the buffet for some strange reason. The was the year we willfully stayed at the Stardust, so we were obviously a group that wasn't strong with decision-making. But - despite all that, I'll miss the Sahara. The north end of the strip gets a little more lonely come May.

Caesars Palace

This logo looks like it would work better for Little Caesars Pizza not Caesars Palace. But Caesar didn't actually live there and the casino isn't beeper friendly (a bank of pay phones doesn't count) so who cares?

Del Webb's The Mint

The Mint. Opened in 1957 and later became part of Binion's Horseshoe. Hunter S. Thompson stayed there during his Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas book. Also, I believe James McManus stayed there (after it sold to Binion's) and wrote about it in Positively Fifth Street. The have (or had) a rooftop pool - which would be cool to swim in if it wasn't 250 feet closer to the sun. I like to get sun burnt but come on people! You might as well sit inside a microwave!

Jockey Club

The Jockey Club isn't a casino and never has been. It was supposed to be, hence they made chips. But it wasn't to be. Now, the Jockey Club is just a timeshare on the strip. I'm not even sure if the rooms are available like a hotel - or if it is strictly condo type arrangements. It's had a pretty prominent spot on the strip for years though, so even though the casino never made it, the chip is kind of cool.

Gold Spike

The Gold Spike casino opened in 1976, closed shortly thereafter and then reopened in 1983. It's apparently been totally redone on the inside and is quite nice for a downtown joint. It's been years since I've been downtown, so I'll have to take the interwebs word for it. I just like the logo on the chip.

MGM Grand Boxing

Three new chips from the MGM Grand Las Vegas for the collection.

1. New house chip. Nothing fancy. In fact, it's pretty tough to notice the difference. I thought I had the same chip for a second. But upon closer inspection there are two noticeable differences. The first is a small top hat/cane icon just above the "Las" in Las Vegas. The second is a thicker red circle around the white inlay. Way to change things up MGM.

2. DelaHoya-Hopkins. Quest for History - 9/18/04. The infamous "body shot" fight. Hopkins KO'ed The Golden Boy in the 9th round and did it very impressively. Oscar would fight just 4 times after this one, going 2-2 with losses to Mayweather and Pacquiao. Hopkins meanwhile has gone 6-3-1 since this fight, losing twice to Jermain Taylor (I attended the second one) and beating Winky Wright, Antonio Tarver, Kelly Pavlik and Roy Jones Jr. Of course, that Jones victory would have been more impressive 15 years ago. Back to the DelaHoya/Hopkins fight - it was in the 9th round that you could hear Hopkins' corner calling for a body shot. Seconds later, B-Hop crushed Oscar with a vicious left hook to the body, that dropped the former champ for good.

3. Mayweather-Mosley. Who R U Picking? - 5/1/10. Derby Day 2010. While we sat in the rain and cheered on Super Saver, Floyd beat the ever-living crap out of Shane Mosley. 119 on two cards and 118 on the third for Pretty Boy. Mosley did rock him once in the second, but Mayweather never went down, regained his composure and put on a clinic. Unfortunately, that's the last time we've seen Floyd in the ring, although he had reportedly been out hitting people in the Las Vegas area. Meanwhile, fresh off a draw against Sergio Mora, Mosley gets the guy everyone wants Mayweather to fight - Manny Pacquiao. Awesome.

Four new chips

Four new chips for the collection... all of them splendid.

1. New house chip for the Silver Nugget in North Las Vegas. Kind of a cool chip, the reverse has a white inlay. I don't believe I'm been to the Silver Nugget (it's no Golden Nugget), but if I'm in North LV, I might stop in. The chip inspires me.

2. New house chip for the Tropicana. You can dress up the Trop all you want, but that place will always smell like old people to me. Always.

3. Monte Carlo Jabbawockeez. Being my favorite casino, I get any chip the Carlo pumps up... but I did have to think about this one for a second. Some dance group or something? Just doesn't seem like they should have their own chip. But if the Carlo deems them worthy, I guess I can too. I just hope they don't burn the place down.

4. New house chip for Fitzgerald's in downtown. I have been to Fitzgerald's, probably a handful of times. And I can't remember a damn thing about the place. Fitzgerald's - at least I didn't get knifed there, I don't think.

Cosmopolitan

Got the new house and Grand Opening chips for the Cosmopolitan. Opened on December 15 of 2010. It sits between the Bellagio and the City Center. I expect it to suffer financial trouble very soon.