Jumer's and Four Winds

Work trips to Iowa are proving to be profitable for the chip collecting business. The first trip netted the Riverside Casino chip and the second nets Jumer's and Four Winds.

Jumer's is located in Rock Island, Illinois practically on the Illinois/Iowa border. It opened just about 18 months ago, so it's still brand spankin' new. In true Steve Wynn fashion, the casino is named after the owner. Well, I guess in near-Steve Wynn fashion. It's not called Wynn's. Other than that, it's a pretty standard casino. Sort of laid out like the Hard Casino in Vegas in that the floor is a big circle with all the gambling done in the middle and all the restaurants, cage and shops on the outside. No gambling, just made a quick pit stop to grab a chip.

The Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo, MI (not to be confused with Old Buffalo) was a little tougher to get to. While Jumer's was located right off I-80 and can be seen from the highway, Four Winds requires a lengthy drive on what has to be the state's windingest driveway. It too is fairly new and is kind of a cross between Soaring Eagle and Firekeepers. Not as big as the Eagle and not as bright and flashy as Firekeeper's. And definitely not more convenient for me, unless I'm on my way to Iowa.

Riverside Casino and Golf Resort

A recent work trip brought me to the relatively new Riverside Casino and Golf Resort. It opened about 5 years ago and still looks brand new. The golf course looks very, very nice. I might have to bring my clubs with me next time.

I played $5 blackjack both nights I stayed there. The first went fine. I sat at first base with 5 kids from the University of Iowa. A couple of them knew how to play so they were keeping the other kids in line. Which was nice. No table shenanigans and I won a couple of hands. All is good.

The next night, I sat at first base with some older people. They sucked. I wish I had my notebook with me so I could write down all the horrible plays. One lady, playing in the middle, had unique "strategy." She based what she though the dealer's down card was based on the second card dealt to third base. If third base got a low card second, the dealer's down card was a 10. And vice-versa. I'm not shitting you. So, it didn't matter what she had, she hit/stayed based on what she thought the dealer had. And of course, it "worked" 1 out of 5 times. And the one time it worked, she made a big deal about her strategy "always" working. Idiot. The guy sitting to her left was also a dope. He had a weird mustache and had a confused look on his face... like he was counting cards, but they were going by too fast. Or he couldn't remember if an 8 counted as a zero or not. At least, I hope he was a failing card counter. No person should be staying on 14s and 16s against 8s and 9s. Yes, he did this. Multiple times.

Very rarely have I seen table play so bad and having such a negative effect on everyone's hands that I jump up and run like the building is on fire... but this was one of those nights. In 20-25 minutes, I saw so many bad plays, I snapped. I scooped up my chips, stood up and beat feet. I didn't even answer when the dealer asked if she could 'color me up.' I was not going to spend another second at that table, no matter what. That place must rake in the dough if that's their normal clientele.

MGM Grand - Detroit

Opening Day in Detroit was this past Friday. You might remember previous adventures of mine. This year was just as fun, although I'm still a little hazy on all of the details. Needless to say, the Tigers won, many beers were consumed, there were a handful of "whoops" and it was worth a million. Also, I got this chip from the MGM Grand Detroit. The casino was pretty full after the game and I thought I was pretty lucky to score a seat at a $15 table. Because I was operating with 20-25% alcohol in my bloodstream, I neglected to see the actual name of the game - "Double Exposure Blackjack." Oh boy. So, the dealer deals both of her cards face up. Cool, huh? You lose pushes. Not so cool. Three hands in, I get 21, the dealer gets 21 and she scoops my bet. I stand-up and yell something about stealing my money, before the pit boss comes over and tells me to learn the rules. Or something. Grrr. Not fun. I got wiped out in seconds. It was ugly. But I did get this new chip.
Now, I know what you are saying. You're saying "Hey, that looks just like the other house chip you have. Are you sure you didn't get a duplicate chip?" No, idiot. I didn't. Who do you think I am? Do you think I run a highly successful blog and can't even tell the difference between two chips? Of course not. Here they are side by side.

As you can see, the differences are very distinguishable. One has a second line under the MGM Grand in the middle. One's lion is a little bigger. The outer markings are different. Clearly two different chips. How did I know this whilst drunk enough to not even now what game I was playing? Ummm... lucky?

Maxim

Way before their was a Maxim Magazine, there was a Maxim Casino, just off the strip. I can't even remember if the old building is still standing, but I think it was sort of behind the Flamingo/IP. It stood decaying (or still stands decaying) for a long, long time. But I'm pretty sure it closed long before I could have gone there. And I'm too lazy to look up any facts.



Update!!

Blog reader Matthew H. (wait, that's too descriptive, let's go with M. Hoppe) has alerted me to the fact that the Maxim is still standing and still open... but as the Western Causarina. Which I have been to and have their house chip. It's kind of across from Bally's. Well, across from the Bally's Employment Center which is behind Bally's.

Aria

Got the new Aria chip as well. It's the casino in the new City Center. More importantly, it's where the famous people like to hang out.

Flamingo

Bought two new Flamingo chips online. One is an alternate house chip featuring flamingos on it. The other is one of their 60th anniversary chips.

The Pub

What a perfect name for a casino. Too bad it's closed and I'll never get to go.

Casino Monte Lago

Here's what I know about Casino Monte Lago. It celebrated its' first anniversary in May 2004. It's located in Henderson. It's no longer open. The first two facts I gleaned from the chips themselves. The last from Casino Death Watch. Because I like buying up chips from casinos that are no longer open, buying these two was a no-brainer.

Aruba, again

Because I had collected 14 chips while I was actually in Aruba and because my chip frames hold chips in rows of 9, I thought it was a good idea to procure 4 more Aruban chips from eBay, in order to give me 2 complete rows of Aruba chips. Mission Accomplished. But not in the George W. Bush way, I actually accomplished the mission. They are; the Seaport Casino, The Palm Casino, the Aruba Palm Beach Casino, and the Aruba Caribbean Casino. None were still open when I was there. In fact, I didn't even see old, bombed-out closed buildings that could have been them. But here they are anyway.

Aruba, Part 7

My final Aruba update... the last night we were there we stopped at the Alhambra Casino which was just a short walk from the resort. They offered $3 blackjack from 6pm to 7pm, although that went to almost 8. The $3 tables in Aruba attract some unconventional players, to say the least. To start, there were two kids in the middle of the table who did such things as;

-stay on 12 against a 20
-not hit an 8
-try to double a 13 against a 19

All in all, they were definitely not a fan of basic strategy. Later, some drunk dude with a beard sat in the middle. He proceeded to not hit a 14 against a 20. Two hands later, I had an 11 against the dealer's ace and took a hit. He told me I should have doubled. I wanted to pull out a gun and shoot him in the mouth for even attempting to tell another player how to play... especially after not hitting a 14. But such is life. I didn't take any chips from the table because earlier in the stay I got them from the cage. Since they don't offer blackjack until 6pm and I walked in at 11am to collect them, this was a slight problem. I had to tell the cashier I was leaving that day, and before 6pm, so she could call a supervisor over to unlock the super secret chip room. She did hip me to not just the house chip, but also a 25th anniversary chip that features Rerun on it. If anyone knows the true identity of who this is... let me know. I'm dying to find out. And if it is Rerun... I'd kill for a Jimmy Walker chip.

Aruba, Part 6

The very first night in Aruba, I got the house chip to the Crystal Casino at the Renaissance Resort downtown. This resort has a mall attached, too... and they actually boat people from the inside of the mall to a private beach. Pretty cool. The second-to-last day in Aruba, we played there and I actually found they had two older chips in play, so I was able to collect those... and experience my most profitable table stay. So I kind of like the place.

Aruba, Part 5

On the night of my birthday, I played at the Casablanca Casino at the Westin. I came out exactly even. Which is kind of a waste, I guess.

Aruba, Part 4

Next I played at the Riu Palace. This was easily the nicest, fanciest, newest resort on the island. And what did they name their casino? Cool Casino. Seriously. It was pretty fricking cool though. Nice plasma TVs all over the pits (tuned to soccer of course). Didn't have much luck at blackjack here, but at least I didn't spill any beer.

Aruba, Part 3

On to the places I actually sat at a table and played some cards. First up, the Casablanca Casino at the Hyatt.
This chip was in the early running for nicest looking, but I must have collected the ugly ones first. Very Vegas-y look to it. Table was okay, but the beer service was pretty good. They even brought me a Balashi after I cashed out and was sitting at a slot machine.
But seriously, try the Balashi. It's muy bueno.

Aruba, Part 2

More from Aruba and the places I did not play at. First, The Occidental Grand. Conveniently located across the street from Tomato Charlie's Pizza. Which, has extremely slow service.
Then there's Excelsior, which was at the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort. A good place to find tips on art galleries, but not to play blackjack apparently.
And finally, The Casino at the Radisson. Not exactly the most creative name. Not the best looking chip either.

Aruba, Part 1

Fourteen new chips collected while on vacation in Aruba. I visited all 9 of the current casinos. Two have recently closed so I'll have to scour eBay to find those chips and complete the island set. First, the Stellaris. Located at the Marriott, it was roughly 29 miles away from our condo. Which is impressive on an island 18 miles in length. It took us a long time to walk out there and find it, but once we did I found two chips. One house and one... I'm not sure. One with monkeys, but I'm not sure why. Didn't play at all at this place, way too tired from walking.

The Eagle

This Soaring Eagle chip with the "Swan Creek Black River Saginaw" stamp on the back was picked up in December when I saw Jim Gaffigan perform. It's dated 2004, and I have no idea why I hadn't seen one before. It's in pretty rough shape and I have no idea the significance of the stamp on the back, but here it is. (Picture coming).


UPDATE!! Picture Done!!

Excalibur

Been a while since I've updated but that doesn't mean I haven't collected any chips. It just means I've been to lazy to lug the scanner home. I had my brother's friend pick me up these (pictures coming) special edition chips from the Excalibur. When I was there in September I saw a big banner hanging over the cage promoting the new chips. So, I went up to the cashier and asked for them only to be told they wouldn't be out for another month. Which is why i had to "order" them. Still not sure that the Excalibur is the casino that should be marketing the "party pit" but what do I know? So, thanks to Murray for picking these up and getting them to me.


UPDATE!!! Now with pictures!!!