Casino Gaming History and News

On August 14^th, 1951, Benny Binion opened Binion’s Horseshoe after purchasing the land from the resorts of the Hotel Apache and Eldorado Club. It was the first casino downtown that had both carpet and comps offered to all gamblers. Of course, it was also the place where the World Series of Poker started.

Before Binion’s Horseshoe existed as mentioned above, there was a place called Hotel Apache there from 1932 to 1941. When it opened in 1932, an invitation was sent out and it said all people could come gamble after 5:00 PM. The marketing said it was the most luxurious place in Nevada. Room rates were anywhere from $3 to $7 a night. There were 60 rooms. Below you can actually see a postcard from the place.

The reason we are talking about this is that recently Binion’s reopened some of its hotel rooms to the public. Of the over 300 rooms that closed down back in 2009, 81 new rooms are now open again. They are calling it Hotel Apace. The rooms will give a vintage throwback feeling that will have an old-style phone for example. So, for those interested, one can stay at Binion’s again on the Fremont Street Experience.

This week, we are showing you our entire Binion’s chip collection for purchase in honor of Hotel Apache. You can purchase each chip clicking on the picture below:

The Stratosphere has officially changed its name to The Strat. You can buy the new chips clicking the picture below. We have the $1, $5 and $25 chip.

In this week’s Las Vegas History Series, we are going to focus on two casinos that were open in the 1970s.

First, we will tell you about the 20^th Century Casino. Located just East of the Las Vegas Strip, the resort was only opened for one year.  A postcard from the establishment billed itself as having 300 rooms, a swimming pool worth checking out and a great buffet dining experience. The casino’s theme was, of course, a feeling like you were in the 20^th Century.

A matchbook marketed the place as having complete gaming, a cocktail lounge, and entertainment. The property was purchased by a group in New York led by Andrew DeLillo in 1977. Reportedly, he sold the resort later to Herb Ross who was the owner of the Golden Goose and Coin Castle Casino. He would later rename the place to the Treasury Hotel.

Today, the address of 115 E Tropicana Ave is occupied by the Hooters Hotel and Casino. Right across the street is the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino.

See our chip collection from 20^th Century Casino below to purchase. You can buy each chip clicking the picture.

Our second Las Vegas Casino this week is the Jackpot Casino. Located where The World’s Largest Gift Shop is today at 2410 S Las Vegas Blvd, it was open from 1971 to 1977. Some of the marketing that the casino used to get customers to come by included a 15-cent hot dog and soft drink. They also offered five free nickels for the slots, a free drink of your choice and the Jackpot sandwich and drink meal combo for 56 cents.

When it comes to gaming, the place had slot machines, craps, poker, keno, blackjack, and even pinball machines. Below you can find our collection of Jackpot Casino chips you can purchase clicking the picture below.

Hard to Find Sahara Tahoe Card Decks:

We have one of each of these Sahara Tahoe Card Decks in red and blue They are factory sealed. The price will be $329 shipped. If interested, send me an email to marketing@spinettis.com. See pictures below of the sealed boxes and an example of what the cards look like.

This week, we are showing you some new styles of Copag cards we are now selling and the new one of a kind items we have for sale here at Spinettis.

Starting with the Copag cards, check out these Poker Size decks below. You can purchase each one clicking the picture below: 

And check out these cool Bridge size decks that include a new style from the class legacy group and unopened two-deck setups of 2017 and 2018 WSOP tournament decks. You can purchase any of these clicking the picture below:

Focusing on our one of a kind items, how about a bottle of wine from Sands or the Hacienda? Either is $34.95. Send me an email to marketing@spinettis.com

How about this cool sign from the Tropicana? Price is $29.95. Send me an email to marketing@spinettis.com or call us at 702-362-8767.

Finally, how about this very cool ashtray with a lot of the casinos from the past for $20 or this one from Binion’s for $25? Send me an email to marketing@spinettis.com or call us at 702-362-8767.

Though many may think of Pahrump, Nevada as a place where people go to visit a brothel, there are other things to do in the city.  

For starters, there are actually two wineries in Pahrump. Though it may be difficult to believe that a winery would be possible in the desert, there are actually two of them in the city. According to recent customer reviews, at Pahrump Valley Winery, they actually offer you the opportunity to taste a few wines for free. They also have a restaurant and give tours.

At the Sanders Family Winery, they actually offer you the opportunity to be taken there by a private car. The story goes that the owner of this place was also the owner of the Pahrump Valley Winery. They also have free wine tastings.

You can see pictures below:

Pahrump also has golf courses. There is the Mountain Falls Golf Club and The Lake Executive Golf Course.

Besides that, Pahrump also has its own history of casino gaming. One of those casinos that is still open to this day is Saddle West. It originally opened in the early 1970s. Live table games stopped in 2011. However, there are electronic games a person can play. Saddle West’s restaurant The Silver Spur bills itself as having the best cheeseburger in Pahrump.

There was also a place that was only opened for one year called Our Bar. It was opened from 1982 to 1983. There is still a dive bar there today in the same location. If I had to guess, there were one or two table games when Our Bar was in business.

Finally, there was a place called Mountainview Casino. It ended up burning down in a fire in 2003. It re-opened as McCaw's Mountain View in 2011.

Below you can find our entire collection of chips from Pahrump Nevada. You can purchase each one clicking the picture:

Additionally, since it is Pahrump, here are some of our most popular brothel chips you can purchase clicking the picture of each chip below as well: 

Like the Las Vegas Strip, Fremont Street has gone through a variety of resort changes in its history. A casino by the name of Carousel occupied 32 Fremont Street from 1965 to 1974. It was located right next to The Mint.

Focusing on its marketing, Carousel Casino advertised liberal slots, five free nickels for the slots and free parking. On the food front, a customer could get a fried chicken dinner, fish and chips dinner or a roast beef dinner for 96 cents. You could also get ham, bacon, or sausages with hash browns for 65 cents.

Many casinos in Las Vegas have done customer contests to draw people in. Arguably one of the most interesting giveaways I’ve ever heard about, Carousel Casino gave away one acre of Las Vegas property every 75 days. You also did not have to be present to win. Carousel also gave away free cocktail coupons to customers.

The reason it was called Marty’s Carousel at one point was because it was bought by a man named Marty Kaizen. Before acquiring Carousel, he worked for Howard Hughes at the Desert Inn. However, the story goes is that he never acquired a gaming license. Before Marty Kuzen, the McLaney Group also owned the Carousel at one point. That is why it was also called McLaney’s Carousel.

In the early 1970s, Al Garbian owned the Carousel. He was considered a casino pioneer. He attended Elvis’s wedding to Priscilla at the Aladdin. According to an obituary from the 1970s in the Las Vegas Sun, he never lost touch with the common man. He also worked at the Sahara, Las Vegas Club and the Lucky Strike.

It became the Gambler’s Hall of Fame Casino in 1974.

Below you can find our collection of Carousel chips for purchase. There are even parking chips. You can purchase each chip by clicking the picture.

A Cool Site to Visit:

If you are really into Las Vegas history, the website over50vegas.com is an absolute must-visit There are so many great photos, items to look at and things to read from Las Vegas History. Click the button below to visit.

World Series of Poker Crowns New Main Event Champion:

The 2019 World Series of Poker is officially over. The winner of this year’s Main Event was Hossein Ensan. A few quick facts about him are below:

1. At age 55, he is one of the oldest champions of the World Series of Poker’s Main Event.
2. First place was 10 million dollars.
3. He was born in Iran and moved to Germany when he was 25.

Please take note that product links on each chip picture will not be live to 3:00 PM Eastern time on Saturday, July 13th. Again, they will NOT work to 3:00 PM. No promo codes are necessary. Prices are set. The inventory is also up to date and correct. Most things are very limited in quantity. Sale ends Sunday evening.

Click on each picture to purchase the chip.

Chips on Sale for 50 cents a chip. Click the picture below to purchase:

All of these chips below are $1 a chip. For those of you with Palmas Club chips who may want to add, this is your chance. Click each picture below to purchase.

We have one 300 chip set of these Palmas Club Casino Chips for $300. Click below to purchase:

All of these chips are $2. Click below to purchase: 

This 600 Flamingo Hilton Roulette Chip set is only $450. Click below to purchase:

Earlier this week, it was a moment of absolute excitement when a man named Steve ended up winning a spot in the World Series of Poker Main Event. Through a scratch-off contest that was run by Copag at the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino, he became victorious in his quest to win a spot into the poker tournament that costs $10,000 to enter.  

As of this writing on Friday afternoon in Las Vegas, Steve is still in the WSOP Main Event. He made it through the first day of competition. You can see a picture of Steve below from when he won his seat:

Here’s a shot of the World Series of Poker Main Event getting underway:

And here’s another shot of the happenings from the tournament:

Additionally, we wanted everyone to know that the Copag card booth will continue to be open through the remainder of the World Series of Poker. You can see a picture of the booth below:  

Finally, something that has been very popular with customers lately is our WSOP six mix where you get two tournament decks from the 2016, 2017 and 2018 World Series of Poker for only $24.95. You can purchase below clicking the picture:

Good luck to all the participants in the 2019 World Series of Poker Main Event.

It was quite a joy meeting so many of the chip collectors at last weekend’s show at the South Point Hotel and Casino. You also came by our store in Downtown Las Vegas and checked out all of our new chips as well. See one of the photos from last week’s show below:

We presented you all of our high-end chips in the showcase at South Point. But for those who were unable to make it to the show or our store in Downtown Las Vegas, we present you below with a link to view the entire updated high-end chip book with many new additions. If you find any that interest you, send me an email to marketing@spinettis.com or call us at 702-362-8767 and I’d be happy to assist with an order. Please note that some of them have already been sold.

Click the photo below to view our new high-end chip collection:

As you can see from one of the high-end chip pages above that shows some of the Sands chips, it can be an exciting collector’s market. I’ve met some collectors who have a smaller collection of stuff, but their 100 or so chips could all have book value at three figures and above. A true chip collector should have at least one of them in their collection.

A Cool Jeton:

Check out this cool $5 Jeton from Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino below. Price is $40. If interested, send me an email to marketing@spinettis.com and I’ll gladly create an order for you.

Spinettis will be closed on the Fourth of July:

Please be aware that Spinettis Gaming Supplies will be closed on the Fourth of July. We will have regular hours on July 3^rd and July 5^th.

On this Saturday, June 22nd when our newsletter goes out, some of you may be over at the South Point Hotel and Casino enjoying the last day of this year’s Casino Collectibles Association show. We will be over there all day to 3:00 PM. So, if you are in Las Vegas, come by and see us.

This week, a few updates in Las Vegas. If you have not heard yet, the rumor out there is the SLS is going to change its name back to the Sahara Hotel and Casino and not the Grand Sahara Resort name. If it’s true, it will no doubt resonate with some people in a nostalgic way. We are going to have to wait and see on this one. However, we think this is a good move for the North Las Vegas Strip property.

In other news, the Stratosphere is continuing its transition to The Strat. A new show just opened recently called Celestia that is being billed as “Acrobatics, artistry, and illusion.” Lots of renovations and redesigns have been going on over there.

In honor of these two casinos, we are letting you know about our casino decks from the Stratosphere and Sahara that you can get in bulk quantity for a discounted price.

You can purchase a case of 144 Stratosphere decks for $72.00. That’s 50 cents a deck for a case of Stratosphere decks you can purchase clicking the photo below:

On the Sahara decks front, we have cases of brand new decks in one color or half and half. You can get a full box of orange, purple or half orange and half purple. One color boxes are $150 and a mixed box is $175. Purchase clicking the pictures below:

If you are just looking for some individual decks, we have Stratosphere decks for $1, used Sahara decks for $2.50 and new Sahara decks for $3.00. Those can all be purchased below clicking each picture as well.

Now Get Five $5 Commemorative Chips for $20 at Spinettis in Las Vegas: