Casino Gaming History and News

We are dedicating a good portion of this week’s blog to the magicians who come by our store year round to find different kinds of cards to use for their acts. Aristocrat is one of the main card brands that they do come in to purchase.

For the magicians around the world, we now have a brand new line of Copag cards that are under the 310 brand. Each set will come with a parent deck. There are a few different choices.

Copag Svengali deck: The goal of a Svengali deck is to have alternated between normal sized cards and cards that are a little shorter. For the average magician participant, they are unaware that there is any difference to the card deck. They see it as a normal deck. At the end of the exercise, you end up realizing that all the cards are suddenly the same as the one the participant originally picked.

Copag Stripper deck: The ability to let a magician control how the deck goes is one of the main objectives of a stripper deck. The cards for the deck have a slightly angled edge. When someone picks a card and you turn the cards around and then their card is put back, you will be able to tell which card is the one they selected because it was put back in the deck the reverse way.

Copag Gaff Deck: You use this to go along with your parent deck. This deck includes 4 blank cards with red and blue backs, 4 double-sided blank cards, 4 double-sided blue and red back cards, some cards that have a blank white side and different card faces on the other, some double-sided cards and then random cards that have for example Ace of Spades on one side and 4 of hearts on the other.  

Reviews of the Copag cards by others have said they are great handling for the magician. We have a limited supply of each one. So make sure you dive in, get some and trick your friends.

Casino Token Price Guide:

We got in more copies of the Nevada Gaming Tokens price guide by author Dan Wickett. If you have a collection of casino tokens and want to know the pricing of your collection, it’s worth buying. You can purchase it clicking the picture below.

One of a kind chip:

Those serious collectors who would like to have a hard to find chip from the 1950s from a place called the Cotton Club, look no further than below. The land-based casino was opened from 1945 to 1957 in Las Vegas. Asking price is $2500. You can see the clip below:

Today, those passing the Venetian on the Las Vegas Strip on their way to properties including Harrah’s Las Vegas, The Linq, and Flamingo will pass the small casino/hotel resort known as Casino Royale. The property is owned by the Elardi family. With its 152 rooms, Outback Steakhouse upstairs above the casino floor and Ben and Jerry’s, Subway and other restaurants downstairs, Casino Royale Hotel and Casino is the smallest property on the Las Vegas Strip. People will also hear about their first $20 in free slot play walking by.

Before there was Casino Royale at 3411 Las Vegas Blvd S Las Vegas, Nevada 89109, there was a place called Nob Hill Casino that opened in 1979. Nob Hill Casino did not have a hotel. However, there was a Travelodge nearby. The establishment billed itself as having the World’s Most Liberal Dollar Slots with a 97.4% payback. Cigarettes were also sold per carton for $5.41 plus tax. The property was between the then Sands and then Holiday Casino. A free souvenir, free drink coupon, and free gaming guides were also offered.

The place would end up closing in 1990 after a run of eleven years. On January 1^st, 1992, it was re-opened as Casino Royale Hotel and Casino.  According to Chip Rack 2018, there are eight known chips from Nob Hill Casino. We have three of those eight. You can see those three chips below. You can purchase either by clicking the picture on each one. We have a limited quantity of each.

Additionally, we also have one ashtray from the Nob Hill Casino. You can buy this ashtray for $7.95. If you are interested, email us at marketing@spinettis.com or call us at 702-362-8767.

Speaking of Casino Royale, we also have a few chips and casino decks for purchase from there below you can buy clicking each picture:

Name changes coming:

Stratosphere becomes The Strat

Renovations have already started beginning at the Stratosphere. The new name is going to be The Strat. You can see one of the construction pictures below recently shot in July.

So with a name change means chips, cards and other items with the Stratosphere name will become out of existence soon. Below you will find the current Stratosphere $1 chip for purchase. We’re also now selling Stratosphere decks for $1 a piece in a variety of styles which is our lowest price ever for a casino deck. If you’re interested in either, you can click the picture to purchase either.

SLS rumored to changing the name to the Grand Sahara Resort:

The SLS is going through a lot of restructuring right now. At some point, the name is going to change to possibly the rumored Grand Sahara Resort. If you have not yet grabbed the $1 chip from SLS, here is a great chance to grab one before the name change and the chips become non-existent.

2019/2020 Las Vegas Calendar is here for only $5:

We just got in our two year Las Vegas calendar that has a lot of great shots of Las Vegas. It is only $5. You can purchase it below clicking the picture:

The term for one is wet chip. You may have heard it used before. It is what you call a casino chip from a cruise ship. Based on research, most cruise lines have some form of casino gaming excluding Disney Cruises.

Besides Nevada, non-Nevada and international chips, there is also a market for cruise ship chips. What I have seen so far is that there is a market for collectors who like racks of chips to collect and play games with. But there are also those who collect one of each as well.

This week’s newsletter is a special one for two reasons. One, we just did a redesign on our website. The colors and theme are different. Take a look and let us know what you think. We think you will like the improvements.

But secondly, we have added a new section for all of our casino chips from cruise chips. Below I’ll separate them by different cruise lines and of course you can click on each chip to purchase each one as always.

Regency Cruises: A day cruise leaving Miami. The venture only lasted three months. However, the chips do live on forever. You can purchase different ones from there clicking each picture below.

Premier Cruise Lines: This cruise line that went out of Florida existed from 1983 to 2000. The company was known mostly for taking trips to the Bahamas for three or four nights. Check out our variety of chips from there below clicking each picture to purchase.

Discovery Cruises: Known as a one day cruise that goes to the Bahamas, these chips are from one of those cruises where you get to have the one-day vacation experience. The company is still in operation today. Click the picture on each chip to purchase each one as always. Another day cruise that leaves from Miami.

Dolphin Cruise Line: Another one of these cruise lines that went to the Caribbean and sailed out of Miami. Based on customer reviews from the past, some say this was the cruise line they had their first cruise on. For the staff and passengers, it may not have been the most perfect ship one could travel on, but the staff made up for some of the amenities. Some say the food and service were the best they ever had. You can see their chips below and purchase each by clicking the picture.

Royal Venture Cruise Line: A company based out of Georgia with an office in Clearwater, Florida ran 2-day cruises to nowhere to 5-day cruises from Tampa to Mexico. This cruise line company lasted six years from 1995 to 2001. See their cool hat and cane mold chips below you can purchase by clicking the picture.

Card Player Cruises: A company that is still active that operates poker rooms on a variety of different cruise ships. When it comes to cruises, the poker room is only available when the ship gets to sea. Lessons are provided and there are low stake $1 $2 games available. Cruises include South America, Cuba, the Caribbean and New Zealand and Alaska. You can see our chips from Card Player Cruises below and click picture to purchase.

If you’d like to see the entire section of chips, you can find them clicking our new cruise ship chip section clicking here.

Hi everyone. It’s Chris. Our general manager is out of town this weekend. He left me in charge. So I have the power till Sunday night at 11:59 PM to do whatever I see fit. I have decided Spinettis Gaming Supplies Needs a Christmas in July Sale.

This weekend only to July 22^nd at 11:59 PM PST, 10 Percent off everything on your entire order. Enter the promo code nuts at checkout. Again, enter the promo code nuts at checkout for 10 percent off everything.

All kidding aside, our general manager was happy to do this one time because we know a lot out there like discounts and we don’t offer them very often.

So again to recap, promo code nuts at checkout for 10 percent off your entire order to Sunday night July 22^nd at 11:59 PM PST.

Lady Luck Casino Decks just arrived:

For those who remember the Downtown Las Vegas casino Lady Luck, it opened in 1964 and closed in 2006. We have a limited supply of casino decks in two different colors. You can purchase either by clicking the picture below:

New Nevada Casino Chip:

To those who keep up to date with all the new Nevada casino chips. Edgewater Casino located in Laughlin, Nevada has a new $1 chip. You can purchase it by clicking the picture below:

Thanks to everyone who called us or emailed about the Life Magazine newsletter last week on Moulin Rouge and Dunes. I am glad you enjoyed it. It was our greatest response so far since I started doing this newsletter.

That’s it for this shorter edition of our weekly newsletter. I do not want to keep you any longer from getting 10 percent off your entire order this weekend. Enjoy our Christmas in July sale. Again, promo code nuts at checkout for 10 percent off your entire order.

To those who enjoy learning about early Las Vegas History, this week’s write up will be an interesting one for you. The year was 1955 and two brand new casinos/resorts had opened in Las Vegas. One of them was named Dunes and it would go on to be opened to 1993. The other place was called Moulin Rouge. In Las Vegas history, it is known for being the first integrated hotel in America. The Moulin Rouge though popular in its short period of time being open would close less than a year after opening.

What brings both of these casinos together is an article in Life Magazine from its June 20^th, 1955 edition titled Gambling Town Pushes Its Luck. You can see the front cover of the magazine below.

The article talks about both the Dunes Hotel and Moulin Rouge recently opening in 1955. The Dunes was built for five million dollars at the time. The biggest question from the article was, had Vegas expanded beyond the demand? The answer to that question is an obvious no it hadn’t at the time and it still hasn’t to this day. What’s fascinating is with a variety of new hotel projects from The Drew to Resorts World, we are still asking this same question 63 years later as Vegas continues to expand with new casinos stating they will open in 2020. The article in Life Magazine is a great look into the past about the skepticism of Las Vegas’s staying power. However, what you will find inside are some of the most beautiful, vintage and historical pictures of Las Vegas in the 1950s you will ever see.

For example, the photo below of the beautiful women showgirls at the Moulin Rouge. Up top, you can see some of the vintage resort signs including the Moulin Rouge, Sands, and the New Frontier lit up.

On another page, imagine what it would be like to gamble in either the Dunes or Moulin Rouge when it opened. The picture below shows patrons at the Moulin Rouge playing blackjack. The bottom picture shows people playing craps at the Dunes.

To those who like maps, another page ends up showing off the entire city of Las Vegas in 1955 where all the casinos and resorts are at the time.

Some of our readers know my name is Chris. I am the author of our weekly newsletter. I started working on a historical project and one of the items I decided to acquire was this Life Magazine. There are a few out there on the Internet. However, I admit I was blown away by all the pictures of Vegas in the 50s inside. If you are someone who truly loves Las Vegas history, it is no doubt worth having. That is the inspiration for this week’s newsletter.

Speaking of the Moulin Rouge, and Dunes, please find below some of our best chips for purchase including a one of a kind Dunes chip:

Error Chip From Dunes.

Below is a $100 black Dunes Denomination chip. However, on one side of the chip, there is a mess up. There is a misprint of a $500 denomination. You can see a picture below of both sides. We are selling the error chip for $400. Send us an email to marketing@spinettis.com or call us at 702-362-8767 to purchase.

Dunes Card Decks:

We also have a limited quantity of factory sealed red or blue Dunes Hotel and Casino card decks for sale for $25. You can purchase either clicking the picture below:

Here are some more of our favorite Dunes Chips from our collection you can purchase:

And here are our Dunes dice:

And here are our Moulin Rouge Chips for sale. We’ve added a few new ones to the site:

Ebay featured item of the week:

Check out this chip from the 1930s from Gerlach, Nevada you can bid on Ebay starting Sunday. It’s a 1932 chip from the Capooch Club. You can click on the picture of the chip to bid below:

If you have followed our newsletter, website and been to our store in Downtown Las Vegas, you know that we have a big variety of casino chips. Though we wish we could list everything on our website and eBay that we sell, we have a wide inventory of chips from all non-Nevada states that aren't listed. Some we have 1 chip of, some a few or sometimes a few racks. It really depends.

We are doing this blog/newsletter this week to let you all know that if you are looking for a chip for your collection, a few chips to complete a rack or maybe some more from a casino in a state not Nevada, we may have it. Just because it is not on our website does not mean we don’t have it. Whether you are looking for chips from Mississippi to Florida to Missouri or Washington, we may have it.

I am inviting every casino chip or rack collector to send me an email to marketing@spinettis.com regarding any chip or chips you are looking for a casino in another state, not Nevada.

Today we will look at a few different casino chips from a variety of states across the country.

B.B Cody’s in South Dakota:

This was a land-based casino in Deadwood, South Dakota. It opened in 1989 and closed in 1997. One of their matchbook advertisements said that we have it all. A steakhouse was the one restaurant that occupied this gambling establishment. You can see some of the chips we have from there below and you can click the picture to purchase each chip:

Golden Eagle in Colorado:

What is interesting about this one is that according to Chip Guide, the Golden Eagle never actually opened where it was supposed to be in Cripple Creek, Colorado. You can purchase the one chip we have from there below clicking the picture.  

The Post in California:

It was a card room in San Jose, California that was open in 1972 and closed in 1972. It was located on Post Street. Perhaps that is the reason why it was named The Post. You can see the chips below and click on each one to purchase.

Freddie’s Club in Everett, Washington:

These chips from a closed gaming establishment sometimes get bought in quantity by guys making poker sets and racks. These are of course Paulson chips. You can purchase all the different chips we have from Freddie’s Club by clicking the photo of each one.

Special of the week:

We have at least 4 racks or 400 chips of this great green gold hot stamped chip from Casino Nacionales in Panama. They are regularly priced $2. However, you get a $1 discount on each chip by entering the code green at checkout. Please take note that the chips condition will vary from used casino condition to good and mint condition. You can see an example from our rack below. Click the picture below to purchase this chip for $1 each.

Ebay Chips of the Week:

Here are some cool chips from a 1960s casino from the Toiyabe Club in Gabbs, Nevada. You can bid on them below starting Sunday:

We are still catching up from all of the excitement last week of the Casino Collectibles Association Show at the South Point Hotel and Casino. We met a lot of cool collectors, sold a lot of hard to find casino chips and made new friends. Our own Anne Spinetti even finished third in the convention’s annual poker tournament.

If you didn’t have a chance to be there, you can see the video of the convention by clicking the link here on our YouTube channel.

Additionally, please find some of the best photos from the convention week below. During the convention, there were a variety of different casino exhibits and displays to show some great history of casinos.

A Rare Chip:  

At the convention this year, we brought out our 1963 Las Vegas Club One Armed Bandit Chip for the world to see. According to the book, The Official U.S. Casino Chip Price Guide, only 8 have ever been identified. The book says, "One of the top 10 on most collectors want lists!" We have one in our collection. Asking price is $10,000. Send us an email at marketing@spinettis.com or give us a call at 702-362-8767 if interested.

A New Book for Casino Tokens:

To those who are casino token collectors, there is a new price guide to look up your collection. It’s called the Nevada Gaming Tokens: A Comprehensive List of Gaming Tokens from Nevada with Values. It’s authored by Dan Wickett and it is a first edition book. The book includes both information on gaming tokens and route tokens. If you have a token collection, this is no doubt worth purchasing. You can purchase it clicking the picture below:

New Price on Our 32 Inch Sahara Roulette Wheel:

For those who love the game of roulette, we have a new price on our 32 inch Sahara Casino Wheel with Number Reader. It is a John Huxley. The price for the wheel now is $3895 down from $4495. If you have ever been to our store in Downtown Las Vegas, you may have seen it. See pictures below:

Layout of the week:

Getting back to some interesting casino layouts, here is a blackjack one from the Hotel Nevada. Go ahead and place your bets. The layout is $75. Send us an email to marketing@spinettis.com or call us at 702-362-8767.

Spinettis Gaming Supplies Obsolete Casino Chip Showcase Expands:

To our loyal readers who will be in Las Vegas for the casino collectibles show at the South Point Hotel and Casino, we are very excited to announce that you are in for a great surprise when you visit our store in Downtown Las Vegas. Our showcase of obsolete casino chips is increasing to four rows from the original three.

We are adding in hundreds of new casino chips that have never been seen in our chip cases. While you’re here in town, come stop by and we would be glad to help you add to your collection with all the new chips that we are now displaying. If you can't make the show in Las Vegas, you are always welcome to send us an email to marketing@spinettis.com and we would be glad to check if we have any chips in stock from our expanded collection and of course can ship them.

Here is a picture of one of the cases with four rows below:

Casino Collectibles Show at the South Point Hotel and Casino Thursday, June 21st to Saturday, June 23^:

The countdown is on. We are very excited about the chip show at the South Point Hotel and Casino next weekend. This year is a celebration of the Casino Collectibles Association’s 30^th Anniversary. According to the program for this year’s events, it looks like there is going to be 84 different tables for this year’s event.

Here’s a breakdown again of the convention’s hours if you are attending:

Thursday, June 21^st: 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM (Early Entry at 9:00 AM for pre-registered members)

Friday, June 22^nd: 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM (Industry day equals free admission with a casino employee id)

Saturday, June 23^rd: 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM (No admission charge on Saturday)

You can find more information at http://www.ccgtcc.com.

A new game in Texas Hold'Em Zombies:

Every now and then we get a fun new item in our store. We just acquired this game to sell to our customers called Texas Hold'Em with Zombies. It is a great game for ages 10 and up that blends role-playing and poker together. In the process, you end up trying to kill zombies. Great for any fan of the TV show The Walking Dead. You can find more information and purchase the game clicking the picture below:

Helping Mrs. Nevada International Get Ready for Her Pageant:

Recently, we welcomed Mrs. Nevada International Laurie Long into our store. For the upcoming Mrs. Nevada International pageant next month in Charleston, West Virginia, each contestant has to bring a gift for all of her fellow contestants. We were able to help her out with that. You can see her picture below:

Two Facts about Mrs. Nevada International Laurie Long.

1. She at one point thought about being a professional poker player.
2. Her favorite casino game is blackjack.

Ashtray of the week:

We have a cool one from the Riviera from Dino’s Den and Delmonico. It’s $9.95. If you are interested, give us a call at 702-362-8767 or send us an email to marketing@spinettis.com.

Special Set of 5 Chips from the Ocean’s 11 Movie:

In the classic 2001 movie that was set in Las Vegas and mostly in the Bellagio, there were some prop chips used in different scenes. Asking price for this set is $149.95. Send us an email at marketing@spinettis.com or call us at 702-362-8767 to purchase. You can see them in the picture below:

Outside of Las Vegas, there are many other casinos in the state of Nevada. In Carson City, Nevada, there was a place called Artichoke Joe’s. It was reported a great place to play poker. It was a location where people could play cards and bingo, predominately senior citizens.

 The address and location was 2292 S Carson St. Carson City, Nevada. To understand a little about the history, first, you have to know that there were three different names for the place. It was called Artichoke Joe’s Horse Book, Artichoke Joe’s Peanut House Saloon and Artichoke’s Poker Palace. As far as the inspiration for the name, it was named after the owner Joe Sammut. His father grew artichokes. Thus that is where the name Artichoke Joes came from. According to the Nevada Appeal in an article from 2006, Joe had a passion for card games. It’s even stated he was dealing in his own place prior to the day he died at 89 back in 2006.

The gaming establishment first opened in 1980 and then it was closed in 1982. It re-opened in 1992. In 1997, the name was changed to Artichoke’s Poker Palace. It closed in 2006 after Joe Sammut’s death.

Today, in California, there is another Artichoke Joe’s opened in the city of San Bruno with the same name. Opened 24 hours, the establishment has Blackjack, Pai Gow Poker, Texas Hold ‘Em. On Yelp, some of the customers say that the restaurant inside is a hidden gem. It reportedly has one of the largest card rooms in all of California.

In the city of Carson City, Nevada today, there is a variety of different casinos from the Carson Nugget to Casino Fandango. Beyond Reno, Laughlin and of course Vegas, Carson City is another place worth visiting in this state if you are a gaming enthusiast.

Some of our Artichoke Joe’s chips from Carson City have limited quantities. You can see all the chips for purchase below we have from our collection. As always, you can click on the picture to purchase any of the chips you may be interested in.

Our latest ashtray we're showing you is from the famous Silver Slipper. Price for this is $9.95. Send us an email at marketing@spinettis.com or call 702-362-8767 if you'd like to buy it. We only have this 1.

Ebay Auctions of the week: All these items start Sunday, June 10th: