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.