Coins and casinos.
coinmanic
Posts: 572
Next to banks, perhaps no other institution is so closely connected to coinage. Great hoards known for quantity if not quality were associated with the casino trade, most notably Ted Binion's
Sadly, Quarters, Nickels and Silver Dollars have been eliminated from most houses of Gambling. The machines take only paper currency and spitt out your winnings with a paper voucher. The computer operated slot sounds can in no way compete with the sound of acascade of Quarters tumbling into a metal hamper.
Share a story or two if you have them.
Sadly, Quarters, Nickels and Silver Dollars have been eliminated from most houses of Gambling. The machines take only paper currency and spitt out your winnings with a paper voucher. The computer operated slot sounds can in no way compete with the sound of acascade of Quarters tumbling into a metal hamper.
Share a story or two if you have them.
SOCIALIZED MEDICINE: The wealthiest class treats the lowest class and sends the bill to the middle class.
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I am more interested in making a profit than the tactile feel of the coins and the clanking sounds and I am sure that the damage to coins that go through the machines has decreased dramatically.
Back in the day, about ten years ago I got a well worn Aboriginal People of North America five cent with the North American bison reverse that must have been someone's lucky piece that they never got back in a payout.
I remember going to the local casino's when the state quarters were first introduced and looking through all my quarters to to pick out the new designs to bring home. When my safe got too full of them to hold anything else, I cashed them all in.
I also remember going to work at a new casino, route 66 casino in Albuquerque, where they were the first one in Albuquerque to offer coinless slots only. Everybody said these slots would not work because people liked to hear the coins drop.
Next on the list in the casinos to go will be the pit's with live dealers . The cost of live dealers is very high and will go the way of coinless slots.
I have already seen this happening at one local small casino which also happens to be in Albuquerque.
I diverged into coin-ops. I currently have 4 slots. (take up too much room)
This one is all silver, now that jackpot has a "ring" to it.
<< <i>Hmmmm... I would not play without a live dealer and real cards. I do not like the machines. Cheers, RickO >>
I understand but you have to look at it from the casino's standpoint, it costs millions a year to run a pit, which they can be using on other ways to get your money
I am glad I am retiring before my job is eliminated.
<< <i>Very nice machine!! Any silver coins in the bottom of that baby? >>
Yes. It's stocked for play, but you better have silver.
First time I saw these machines was back in the late 70's in London, seemed like every other establishment had these. Lots of vultures hung around them watching the platforms as others threw money in them, some were agressive in pushing their way in when they felt it was ripe for a decent fall of coins.
Not sure how many casinos use them in the US.
I was going to be rich, I thought.
The machine paid out $8 in Nickels. $8 stinking bucks, yeesh.
<< <i>In the mid 70's I stayed at the King 8 motel in Vegas (It was new years and all the good hotels were booked). I was playing this odd nickel slot with essentially one machine on top of the other. After a few minutes I hit. Both the top and the bottoms showed all sevens. Bells and whistles and sirens went off. A crowd of a dozen or so surrounded me, including a well dress casino employee.
I was going to be rich, I thought.
The machine paid out $8 in Nickels. $8 stinking bucks, yeesh. >>
Being a King 8 motel was it surprising that it paid out $8? Back in the 70s you could have eaten well for a week on $8 in vegas.
My last trip to Reno was in 1988. There was a casino on the strip that tried all the gimmicks with their "mechanical slots". I played two of their quarter machines and did quite well. One paid out in 1987 and 1988 ASE's, the other in Morgan Dollars. The one paying in ASE's had three wheels and one payline. Every time one ASE showed on the payline it paid one ASE, two ASE's on the payline and five ASE's paid. If you hit three on the payline, it was 100 ASE payout. With less than $10 in quarters I had 10 ASE's (MS68/69 that went into protective sleeves). The Morgan machine was set up similarly but didn't pay out as well ... 5 Morgans for $10 (all about XF and no 21's). They had a sight-glass on the coins in the hopper and you could see some CC's in there! I doubt those two machines are still in operation there.
It's much more convenient today with the ticket-in, ticket-out and automated redemption centers, but I do miss the clang of a big dollar hitting the tray. Using token machines in the late 90's sucked. Still the mess and no chance of silver.
I have a couple of machines (quarters) at home that still do it the old way.
<< <i>I remember my first trip to Reno around 1958. I was 7 and couldn't go into the casino, but they had oversized slots (pre-big berthas) at the entrance and would watch dad drop a silver dollar (yeah, real silver) in that mother and pull the handle. I do remember the sound of big silver hitting the metal pan ... awesome!
My last trip to Reno was in 1988. There was a casino on the strip that tried all the gimmicks with their "mechanical slots". I played two of their quarter machines and did quite well. One paid out in 1987 and 1988 ASE's, the other in Morgan Dollars. The one paying in ASE's had three wheels and one payline. Every time one ASE showed on the payline it paid one ASE, two ASE's on the payline and five ASE's paid. If you hit three on the payline, it was 100 ASE payout. With less than $10 in quarters I had 10 ASE's (MS68/69 that went into protective sleeves). The Morgan machine was set up similarly but didn't pay out as well ... 5 Morgans for $10 (all about XF and no 21's). They had a sight-glass on the coins in the hopper and you could see some CC's in there! I doubt those two machines are still in operation there.
It's much more convenient today with the ticket-in, ticket-out and automated redemption centers, but I do miss the clang of a big dollar hitting the tray. Using token machines in the late 90's sucked. Still the mess and no chance of silver.
I have a couple of machines (quarters) at home that still do it the old way.
Would be fun to see PCGS arrange for similar machines to be set up at their Vegas members only show.
Didn't wanna get me no trade
Never want to be like papa
Working for the boss every night and day
--"Happy", by the Rolling Stones (1972)
<< <i>Would be fun to see PCGS arrange for similar machines to be set up at their Vegas members only show. >>
With the ability to electronically control payouts that could be a moneymaker for them. Just about any machine manufacturer could retrofit a few of these if they chose to pursue this. Might be too late for this year though.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
They were called one armed bandits until casino's figured out they could get more money faster if they just used buttons.
<< <i>Not all gambling machines can go paperless. The coin-pusher or penny pusher machines require coins to function, although they can and do throw some currency bills on the platforms as well.
First time I saw these machines was back in the late 70's in London, seemed like every other establishment had these. Lots of vultures hung around them watching the platforms as others threw money in them, some were agressive in pushing their way in when they felt it was ripe for a decent fall of coins.
Not sure how many casinos use them in the US.
My son was playing that this past weekend at Seaside Heights, NJ boardwalk.
The trouble is they payoff in tickets.
Anyhow....I was surprised & a little disappointed that when cashing out I received a ticket instead of coins. I think the Coins falling out would have made it more exciting. Not to mention 4 times I had to wait for help when the cashout tickets either Jammed or ran out of paper. How is that any diff than the Coin machines jamming or running out of coins? I had more fun playing the change machines & I always broke even
Edit: I Love the Quarter Pushers. Almost purchased one to put in my home. I can't walk past one without pumping $10 through it. Some have been modified to spit out tickets as well
-donn-
The name is LEE!
<< <i>Remember: The money that comes to Vegas, stays in Vegas....
-donn- >>
More likely than not, but not always. If nobody wins then people wouldn't visit again.
Authorized dealer for PCGS, PCGS Currency, NGC, NCS, PMG, CAC. Member of the PNG, ANA. Member dealer of CoinPlex and CCE/FACTS as "CH5"
After a two week long desert trip, I came back through Lake Tahoe and got a motel room to try and clean up.
I decided to drop $300 at the local casino, playing video poker as slowly as I could, sipping on a brandy and watching people go by.
Well, most of the people going by were ugly. They did not have the brandy that I like (Hennessy VSOP). The computerized poker game was bizarre with all sorts of wierd options.
I ended up playing some sort of wierd game where all of the 2s were wild. Then I drew four of them. That and a king was good for a fake royal flush.
I won a $1100 jackpot. Walked out of there up $800. It paid for my entire camping trip (they tend to be cheap, as I tend to buy only gas and ice).
And, of course, i'll never go back. That is how you keep your winnings.
I narrowly avoided the worst motel room in the worst motel you ever saw in Lake Tahoe. The less I say of this, the better. I got a glimpse of the room, darkly, only for a few seconds. The memory haunts me.
Craps for me. Nuttin but craps.
But, they still have the real one arm bandits in Virginia City and a few older Reno casinos. It is a highly regulated portion of the gaming industry and I think they probably have rules against the old mechanical ones. My brother in law has 5 mini casinos 2 in Reno/Sparks, 3 in LV. Penny slots and cards. Real down and dirty places..
It's all added up to over $30Million in the bank since the late 70's. He's not fond of the Indian casinos, they have taken away the senior citizen buses from northern calif from his trade.
Yes, he's Italian as a matter of fact
Fun stuff.
<< <i>I ended up playing some sort of wierd game where all of the 2s were wild. Then I drew four of them. That and a king was good for a fake royal flush.
I won a $1100 jackpot. Walked out of there up $800. It paid for my entire camping trip (they tend to be cheap, as I tend to buy only gas and ice >>
The game strangely enough is called "Deuces Wild" and you were paid for the 4 deuces. The king was not involved. A "fake" Royal Flush pays only $125 on a $1 machine ($5/hand)
...just sayin'
Started on the gold/silver train in 2003...
Started to think about whether I would gamble if I had to use gold/silver coins, instead of FRN's...
Done gambling by late 2005...
I could no longer justify the risk...
No regrets.
Black Jack or 21 to a few- brought me a bit over 500.00
1$ slots I hit 3 times straight and cleaned the machine- 5k walkaway.
5$ slot got me for 300.00
hold em tourney was a $500.00 walk in, and 8 hours later I walked with 37K in my pocket.
$42,200.00 for about 15 hours of gambling- 2800/hr- better than what I make in a week of 40+ hours of work.
This was a long weekend of gambling, but worthwhile.
That was back in 1997. Since that time I may have been to a few Indian casinos, a few boats when I was living in Chicago, and 3 trips to La. when we last live din Houston (We got married in Lake Charles 6 years ago!) we won a few hundred on that trip.
I think its time for a road trip to Coushata!
The 1st time I went to vegas I saw Jack Benny in person. Most people today don't even know who that was when you tell them that.
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<< <i>Surprisingly enough, the blackjack tables at Thunder Mountain Casino outside of Roseville, CA, still pays $1.00 blackjacks with a $1 chip and a Kennedy Half Dollar. >>
Most casinos pay out the $0.50 increments for Blackjack using Kennedy halves ($5 pays $7.50). I think that it would be fun to try to get a set of circulated halves that way ....
Whatever you are, be a good one. ---- Abraham Lincoln
<< <i>Lauglin is a lot of fun. You can walk into a casino with a couple hundred bucks and still be treated well. A decent room is about $30. It reminds me of Vegas many years ago. >>
Whether or not Laughlin is fun depends a lot on your demographic. For me the place just seems a little too boring and in general it feels like one giant retirement community...kind of like the same audience as the typical coin show. When other places have nostalgic themed nights they mostly go for a "back to 60's" or "70's nights". In Laughlin (more specifically at the Tropicana Express Hotel Casino) they have "back to 40's" nights.
Most of the hotels in Laughlin are nice considering the money you're paying per night. On weeknights you can still find rooms for less than $20 a night.
Authorized dealer for PCGS, PCGS Currency, NGC, NCS, PMG, CAC. Member of the PNG, ANA. Member dealer of CoinPlex and CCE/FACTS as "CH5"
I still give out Kennedy halfs on the crap table at Rt 66 casino in Albuquerque on our $1.00 craps game and I do see some 40% silver ones.
<< <i>
<< <i>Lauglin is a lot of fun. You can walk into a casino with a couple hundred bucks and still be treated well. A decent room is about $30. It reminds me of Vegas many years ago. >>
Whether or not Laughlin is fun depends a lot on your demographic. For me the place just seems a little too boring and in general it feels like one giant retirement community...kind of like the same audience as the typical coin show. When other places have nostalgic themed nights they mostly go for a "back to 60's" or "70's nights". In Laughlin (more specifically at the Tropicana Express Hotel Casino) they have "back to 40's" nights.
Most of the hotels in Laughlin are nice considering the money you're paying per night. On weeknights you can still find rooms for less than $20 a night. >>
Very true on the Demographics. If one is looking for nightlife, entertainment and roller coasters 1000 feet up, their is truly no place like Vegas.
Some nice quiet gambling though, I much prefer Laughlin.
vegas is alittle like heaven on earth. but once your energy and your doe
are shot, its like hell.
A few smart token collectors have done very well reselling the Casino $ tokens ...
making a 500% to 1000% profit ..
a few of the early Rare ones from 1965 sell for over $100 each ..
wish I had saved a few .. tj
here is link:
"many contacts among the Lumberjacks "
NGC Registry AOEDAD sets:
Set #1 Major Expositions
Set #2 So-called Dollar Collections
So-called $50 Slug Facsimiles
Bashlow re-strikes
Check out my current listings: https://ebay.com/sch/khunt/m.html?_ipg=200&_sop=12&_rdc=1
The Nevada caino's built some fabulous coin and car and collections.
Reno/Sparks/Carson/Tahoe/Virginia is a great coin/money/collectible type of place.
There is both old and new money in town. Fast money and slow money.
Slow Money: Silver and Gold are mined in Northern Nevada and find their way into the cities and ranches and mints and stores. Additionally, there are many cases over the years of folks who came to town and left lighter than they arrived. More than one soul has sold valuable to catch a train/car/cab/plane/Nighthorse out of town.
There are some awesome coin/collectible hoards that have come out of the town.
For instance, the Fitzgerald hoard and the Redfield Collection.
http://www.kingofcc.com/RedfieldDollars.htm
I’ve been in a couple warehouses myself in Northern Nevada that blew me away. One of them was owned by Sy Redd, founder of International Gaming Technology. The entire place was full of antique slot machines and other assorted goodies. A veritable museum. I worked for Redd at his company, International Gaming Technology (worlds largest slot machine manufacturer). When business slowed down, rather than lay off the line workers, Sy would send us to his warehouse to refurbish the old slot machines. Occasionally we would find a silver dime stuck in the assembly and was directed to just put the coin back in the hopper.
Unfortunately, much of the towns silver/coin hoards/collections have been parceled out and sold off (a good thing if you’re buying, just unfortunate if you like to view awesome collections intact). For instance, breaking up the Harrah’s car collection and the
Liberty Belle’s antique collection was just a crying shame. The Station Casino in Tonopah had one of the finest antique slot machine collections in the state. Alas, sold off to pay some bills no more than 7 or 8 years ago.
There have been a few nice collections of antique gaining/coin operated machines put together-broken up over the years. There have been some rich coin collectors too, Harold ‘Pappy’ Smith for instance curried fine gold coins.
My stance is that once a fine collection is assembled, the current or assembling steward (the 'owner') ought take a picture of such, and document for future enjoyment.
And yes, there still is one slot machine in downtown Reno that pays out silver dollars, at the Cal Neva. The slot used to take one quarter and would pay out 1, 2, or 5 silver dollars (common and beat up morgans and peace dollars) if the bars lined up. Now the coin requires two quarters! There was a time about two years ago (when silver shot up and the play was only a quarter) that slot machine was a pretty sweet gamble.
Going back several years, the same casino would actually pay out silver dollars from the machines and at the cage they would give you 10$ for each silver dollar. This is when the silver value was quite a bit lower. A few in the know would purchase silver dollars down the street from Fran Rosa or others at 7 or 8$ and walk down the street to exchange them for 10$.
Most casino’s are no longer mom and pop. In fact the lack of coins as payout, in favor for slips of paper receipts, is actually forcing some small operators (2 or 3 machines) to remove their slot machines.
The reason why? Here is the story an owner of a quickie mart told me a couple months ago: Well, before a customer would win coin from the machine. IF the big jackpot paid the route vendor would pay in bills.
Now, however – the store clerk must pay off every winning ticket from the till. This requires them to keep MUCH more cash in the drawer. Too much, the risk of getting robbed is no longer worth the effort to keep the slot machines.
The law of unintended consequences, perhaps...