2024 - September

Another 2024 entry! This one comes because The Mirage closed on July 17. It was open for 34 years - and will re-emerge in a couple of years as the new Hard Rock, complete with a guitar-shaped tower on the Strip.

This chip was the original house chip, from what I can tell. Not all that different from the house chip used at its' closing.

This is my 5th chip from the Mirage. Besides the two house chips, there is the 25th anniversary chip, Siegfried and Roy chip, and Danny Gans chip. They also had a Boyz II Men and Terry Fator chip, and a six chip set of Fator's puppets, but I was never particularly fond of those. Boyz II Men is an odd choice for the only musical act to get a chip. And as far as entertainers go - Gans was The Mirage to me, not Fator. 

Stayed at The Mirage once - good location, fine to stay out, really smelled like suntan lotion in that place. Never played there much, but will miss it nonetheless. 

2024 - May

 For the first time since 2015, a second post in a calendar year! On a roll now. The two newest chips are numbers 528 and 529. 528 came in the mail, 529 came on a recent visit to Las Vegas. I'm not sure what that visit number is... gotta be in the 20s. Here we go:

Four Queens - Mayor Oscar Goodman. This is my second Goodman chip, but it's the first one he appeared on. The other being a Plaza chip. This chip is limited to 2,500... so only another 2,499 are out there in the world. This marked the first time the mayor of Las Vegas was pictured on a casino chip, although to be honest, I haven't seen any others. His wife is the current mayor.

Park MGM. I would have bet you a bunch of money I already had this chip, but in preparation for my most recent visit, I found it was missing from my collection. Which is odd because the last time I was there, we ate at Eataly inside Park MGM twice. I got this one in the course of playing, and what a session it was. $15 table, paying blackjack 6 to 5. I joined three players at this table, all of them with ties to Dominos (there was some super Dominos convention going on at the time). I slid my three $5 chips to the circle and we were off.

Loss

Loss

Loss on a double

Loss

Loss

Down a quick $90 with one Park MGM chip in my pocket for my collection and one chip left, I bailed. A beatdown of epic proportions. Also, the sandwich I had for lunch at Eataly was massively over-priced. Probably done with Park MGM now.

On this visit I did make it down to see the new Fountainebleau. Overrated. And I got most of my $90 back playing at a $10 table at the Flamingo. So at least the old places know how to treat a guy.

2024 - January

 I'm 99% sure this won't be my only post in 2024. So there's that. I recently added seven new chips to my collection. We have:

1. Circa. I would have swore this was in the City Center area on the grounds of the former Monte Carlo Casino (RIP Carlo), but no, it's downtown. Which makes sense, the chip has a very downtown design to it. In a good way.

2. Horseshoe Las Vegas. Was under construction when I was last there, but this is mostly a name change of the old Bally's Casino. Really good location. 

3. Sahara. Just a new, updated chip for one of the originals. Way down at the far end, but now has Fountainebleau nearby and Resorts World across the street. So not as lonesome as it once was. It's also been cleaned up nicely inside. We walked through on the most recent visit and I was impressed. The casino floor layout was almost exactly how I remembered it, too. 

4. Strat. Also a new house chip for a casino down at the far end. I really like the look of this new Strat chip and, like the Sahara, seemed much cleaner/nicer on the inside than I remember. 

5. Circus Circus. Sticking with new house chips from the far end, a new house chip from Circus Circus. I don't think anyone calls it the CC. I did not go inside so I have no idea if the inside's been cleaned up but judging from the outside of the place, I doubt it. Would it kill them to power spray the exterior once every 30 years?

6. Fountainbleau. I think they started on this the last time the CC was power-washed, but it is now finally open. It was nearly complete last year when we were there and it's open now. I'm eager to check out the inside on our next visit. I really like how this chip looks except for the donut hole in the middle. Need to put a big "F" or something in there.

7. Last, it's the Mandalay Bay Raiders chip. From the complete opposite end of the Strip as the last couple. Not sure I could name any current Raiders. David Carr? He still a thing?

2023!

Starting off with a bang! Got a couple from before this year that I had never added and three from a trip in early January to Las Vegas. My first trip since January 2017. Things have gotten a lot more expensive. On to the chips:

1. Casino Catalonia - Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. I can't for the life of me remember who got this for me, but I'm guessing GK. He's a big Punta Cana guy. 

2. Next is the Tin Lizzie in Deadwood, South Dakota. My parents like to vacation there and brought this one back for me. I have no idea why they like going there... I've been to South Dakota once and it was depressing. Except for the Corn Palace - that place rocks. 

3. On to the Vegas chips! The first from my recent trip is from Resorts World. I guess they call it "three casinos in one" but it appears to just be three different hotel towers with a shared gaming space and a mall/restaurant row connecting each tower to the casino. I played here for a bit, the cheapest table on Thursday morning was $15 and it was a 6-5 table, but beggars can't be choosers. And they brought our drinks fast, so that was a plus. 

4. and 5. The last two are both from Ellis Island Casino and Brewery. I was actually pretty surprised I didn't have a chip from Ellis Island already, as the place is 50 years old. The first is the newer house chip and the second is a 50th Anniversary chip. And believe me, most of the people there playing were present on opening day 1967. (The 50th Chip came out 6 years ago). The location opened as the Village Pub and renamed Ellis Island in 1985. There's still a restuarant in it called the Village Pub. Ellis Island actually had one $5 table that paid 3-2, which is fantastic. But I grew tired of waiting players out and just played $10 3-2 Which still isn't all that bad. It's not a bad walk from the Strip to Koval, but it's a walk better made in the daylight. And it isn't all that far from the new Top Golf on Koval. I'm glad I went but now am a little sad I also didn't grab the Ellis Island chip that simply said "Honoring Immigrants." Next time.

 

Now just 3 away from 500!

It's been a while.  Not quite 18 months like the time between the last 2 posts, but still 5 months.  I guess I'm running out of chips to collect.  Was in Vegas in January and while I didn't come home with any chips, it did send me to the web to get a handful I had been looking at.  13 to be exact, which brings my grand total up to 497.  Just 3 more to go to hit an even 500.  On to the newest 13:

1.  Scoreboard Sports Lounge and Casino - Spring Creek, NV.  Spring Creek is a suburb of Elko off I-80 on the way to Salt Lake City.  It's part of the Northern Star Casinos group which includes 2 casinos in Elko including one names El Capitan.  I kind of want a chip from there now.

2.  Palms - Las Vegas.  New house chip for the Palms.  Which is the home of Rain.  Not Mist.  I actually kind of like it, especially for the Palms.  They don't have the strongest looking collection of chips.

3.  Red Rock 10th Anniversary.  Congrats to the Red Rock on 10 years of taking people's money!

4.  Green Valley Ranch 15th Anniversary.  And congrats to the Green Valley Ranch on 15 years of taking people's money.  Man, I wish their TV show was still on the air.

5.  Lucky Dragon - Las Vegas.  I wish I had made it down to this one, as it's the first Strip casino built from the ground up since 2010.  It's by the City Center complex though and out of walking distance for the 50 hours or so I was in town.  Next time for sure.

6.  Aliante Casino - Las Vegas.  New house chip after being acquired by Boyd Gaming.  Pretty boring.  And very similar to:

7.  Cannery - Las Vegas.  Also a new house chip after being acquired by Boyd Gaming.  All the money was spent on acquisition, I guess.  Nothing left for chip design.

8.  and 9.  Caesars Palace Las Vegas 50th Anniversary Chips.  2 chips for this, one with a view of the casino as it looked in 1966 and one from 2016.  I still don't think this place, or palace if you will, is beeper friendly.  I'll have to check.

10.  Caesars - Lake Tahoe.  Very nice design by the folks in Tahoe as the red chip with black Caesars head looks really sharp.

11.  Tropicana - Laughlin.  Again, a really nice looking chip.  Take note Boyd Gaming!

12.  MGM - Prince George's County, Maryland.  Maryland's newest casino is an MGM property.  I believe the state now has 6.

13.  Nugget - Reno.  New house chip for the Nugget, which is actually in Sparks, not Reno.  But they are practically the same town.  And who has ever heard of Sparks?  At least people are familiar with the biggest little city in the world.  Reno fever, catch it!

Long Time, No Blog

Looks like it's been almost 18 months since my last update.  Fear not, I have not neglected my chip collecting duties over that time.  In fact, I've collected almost one chip per two months gone without blogging.  I am now 8 chips closer to hitting the 500 mark, the new chips bring me just 16 shy.  Now it has been a while since I've gotten some of these chips, so a lot of the pertinent details I've forgotten, but I'll try my best.

1.  The Adventure of the Seas Casino on board a Royal Caribbean cruise ship.  I hope whomever was on this trip had a lovely time and visited some lovely places.

2.  Casesars Windsor.  The 4th "Detroit" casino, it's easily the most recognized structure of the Windsor skyline.

3.  Rivers Casino 5th Anniversary.  Just outside of Chicago.
4.  Rivers Casino.

5.  Hollywood Casino Kansas City.  This one is near the NASCAR track in KC.  Lots going on in KC these days.

6.  Plaza.  Downtown Las Vegas.  Stayed there in January when I visited.  You've been to Vegas too many times when you opt to stay downtown because you're bored with the Strip and "never stayed downtown before."
7.  Plaza Oscar Goodman.  Former Mayor of Las Vegas.  Read a great book about him - Of Rats and Men by John L. Smith.  No, not that John L. Smith.

8.  Casino del Mar - Puerto Rico.  I'm hoping this was from the same person as chip #1.  That would be a lovely trip.

March Update

Six new chips to add to the blog, courtesy of my brother (@ATRoss14) and the internet.  They are:

1.  Soaring Eagle - Mt. Pleasant, MI - new house chip.  My brother stopped by the Eagle a few weeks ago and brought me back the new house chip.  I haven't been to Soaring Eagle in years, instead opting for Detroit and Battle Creek, but I'm sure nothing has changed.  Automatic shuffle machines, high table minimums, unfriendly staff and lots of smoke.  Put that on a billboard!

2.  The Mirage - Las Vegas - 25 Years.  The Mirage opened in the middle of the Las Vegas strip in 1989.  It helped kicked off the new era of modern, upscale Strip casinos.  I've always liked gambling there and once even saw Steve Lyons wandering around.

3.  Hard Rock - Las Vegas - Puma.  How could I not get a chip with a sweet pair of Puma kicks on it?

4.  Hard Rock - Las Vegas - Eminem.
5.  Hard Rock - Las Vegas - Hootie and the Blowfish (New Years Eve 1996).

Just your standard 'musician on a chip' chips.

6.  Riviera - Las Vegas - older house chip.  The Riviera Casino is set to close May 4 (just two days after the Kentucky Derby!).  So I went back and looked for some of their older house chips and found this one.  I've never stayed at the Riviera, I'm sure I've played a little there but really, I only remember that there was a Burger King in their Food Court.  And I never ate at their food court.

That brings my chip total up to 470.

November Update

11 new chips have been added to the collection since the last update.  They are:

1.  Blackbird Bend Casino - Iowa.  Just north of Omaha and on the other side of the Missouri River, I visited this casino on a work trip.  We ate at their less than stellar buffet for dinner one night.  One of the least busy casinos I've ever been in.  Even for Iowa standards.

2.  Isle Casino - Cape Girardeau, MO.  Another casino visited while on a work trip.  This one was pretty new and modern looking.  Not the easiest place to get to when you are just trying to make a quick stop on your way to the airport in St. Louis though.

3.  Horseshoe Casino - Cincinnati, OH.  The last of the four land-based casinos in Ohio to open (Ohio also has a handful of Racino's).

4.  Horseshoe Casino - Baltimore, MD.  Just opened in August of 2014, this is the 4th casino (with live table games) in Maryland.  A planned 5th is set to open in 2016.

5.  Rocky Gap Casino - Cumberland, MD.  Opened in early 2013, this was the 3rd casino in Maryland to open.  Guess I'll have to track down chips for the Hollywood Casino and Maryland Live! before too long.

6.  Linq - Las Vegas.  The Linq replaces the Quad, which was the Imperial Palace.  The name "The Quad" lasted for about 18 months, so the Linq has a low bar to clear.  We'll see if it's still in operation in June of 2016.

7. SLS - Las Vegas.  The SLS is the new Sahara, and opened in mid-2014.

8.  Cromwell - Las Vegas.  This replaces Bill's, which replaced the Barbary Coast.  The Coast is still one of my top 3 favorite places to gamble (along with the Monte Carlo and the Bellagio between 3am and 5am).

9. Westgate - Las Vegas.  The Westgate is the new LVH which was the new Las Vegas Hilton.  This name change happened in July 2014.  Westgate is known for being a time-share company, so it'll be interesting to see if the old Hilton shifts from casino/hotel to time share/casino.

10.  Grand Casino Romania.  Julie's Aunt Linda picked this one up for me while on a long boat cruise of the Danube.  This casino is located in the Marriott Hotel in Bucharest.  The front of the chip reads "10 Ron" which I think means it is worth roughly $3 in U.S. equivalency.  Hopefully, the exchange rate brings the value up as it would currently rank last amongst my chips for face value.

11.  Holland Casino.  Aunt Linda got this one for me on the same trip as the above.  But the Holland Casino was located inside the Shiphol-Airport, which seems really nice and convenient to me.  5 Euros makes it worth about $6.25, which places it as the second most valuable chip by face value, just behind my chips from London.