Casino Chip Madness (CCM): Best Full Casino Sets of All Time - Nomination Thread (2 Viewers)

[bergs]

Foxwoods $25s look so hot in stacks...I miss playing 2/5 and building these.

I was dubious that this thread would result in an effective nomination, but these pics are amazing. Keep em coming.

 

[atomiktoaster]

Here's a work in progress list, in no particular order:

Bellagio 2nd
Silverbird CIC
Mapes TRK
(all well covered)

Paris

These stand out for me among the current LV strip chip sets.

 

[Ben]

Buffalo Bill's:

Stones Gambling Hall - The Tavern:

Grand Casino Tunica:

Mapes (TRK scrowns)
Foxwoods (current)
Ritz
Ambassador Plaza
Striped Aztar
Crystal Park
Oak Tree Casino

F your rules Butler, I do what I want.

(no actually I can't upload more than 20 images in a post and just spent a bunch of time trying and now it's all gone. Not doing all that again, and would need a second post which is also against the rules. Everybody freaking knows which chips I'm talking about...)

 

[Leonard]

Loving this thread. No pics because I have none to add to those already posted.

Finalists (IMO):
Old school cash - Trops and Mapes
Newer cash - PNY and Foxwood
Old school tourney - Binions WSOP
Newer tourney - any of the WSOP sets

I would probably award the grand prize to PNY. Vibrant colors with first class NYC themed inlays, and the twin tower chip puts them over the top.

I am fortunate to own several of the sets mentioned, but would probably break out the checkbook for a nice playable set of Mapes and break into the 401-K for a big Binion's Horseshoe playable set.

 

[Poker Zombie]

Those Taverns, with the 3-fingers spot pattern, and the identical-colored middle finger on each chip - WOW! I wouldn't have thought it possible to make a whole set with the same spot repeating on every chip and still being a "want now" chip.

 

[carlin]

several of my choices are already listed... pics are added for the ones not already shown...

not necessarily in order..

Mapes

Vineyard

Aria

PNY

Carousel

Ameristar

Agua Caliente

Comstock

Caesars, AC

Sundance

great thread!

-gc

 

[beaver]

Agua Caliente
View attachment 31836

Great looking set! I probably would have changed the edge spot color on the $2 so they aren't the same as the snapper.

 

[Junior24xx]

Love this thread.....
Gotta say, the house molds are a love it or hate proposition for me.... And most of the time it's it great. Only my opinion.

Mapes=awesome
Tropicana=awesomer

 

[RainmanTrail]

Some great sets in here for sure. I'm a pretty big fan of the Bellagio chips too. Seems like they're getting some love around here.

I'd like to see some Bud Jones sets show up though. Love me some BJs!

 

[manamongkids]

Some great sets in here for sure. I'm a pretty big fan of the Bellagio chips too. Seems like they're getting some love around here.

I'd like to see some Bud Jones sets show up though. Love me some BJs!

I also love BJs, dont we all?

 

[inca911]

The Vineyards have so much going for them, so I'm making sure they have a strong nomination as they find their way into the Final Four (and beyond)!

The amazing variety of denominations means the set can handle any possible cash game. Other very beautiful sets can't touch the versatility of the Vineyards. If you want to play any of these, we've got a chip breakdown to cover your game with style.: $0.50/$1, $1/$2, $2/$4, $3/$6, $5/$10, $10/$20, $25/$50, etc.

That's right, Mapes: you have to cannibalistically mill your own quarters out of other TRKs if you want fractionals in your game, but we've got them built in! If you have an OCD issue with $20s and want $25s, we've got you covered. If you have vision problems, and can't read the smaller font $0.50 denomination, we've got a larger font version for you too. That's right, TWO versions of hotstamps, plus the giant inlays done right. We've got multiple molds in the set, so mold monkeys love 'em: SCV on the $0.50s, RHC on the $1 - $25s, and IHC on the $100s and $500s. There's metal flake security in the mid denominations, microdots for the high value chips, and yes, we have UV on all the inlay chips for the younger EDM/Rave/blacklight dance crowd (starting on the $1s and continuing through the $500).

The casino was only open for 10 months, so the chips are all in excellent shape. Very limited felt time = more minty goodness. By the way, the casino is now a church, which I consider a divine endorsement of its inherent chip-worthiness.

And in keeping with the religious considerations, the Vineyards are also "non-denominational"--open to all chip faiths and chip beliefs. ;-)

The amount of chips purchased at the asset liquidation means they are still reasonably available. Some of the sets (e.g., yeah I'm talking to you: Aviation Club de France Paulsons), are nearly impossible for collectors to get. These are only quite difficult. Oh, and did I mention that there's a tourney set? So yeah, that's covered too!

Additionally, one of the prettiest $100s out there is from the Vineyard. Did I mention the $100 and $500 denominations are oversized? That's right, we've got the big 43mm guns starting at the century mark. Other sets just can't handle our size and chip girth! There are two versions of the $100s as well for those who get tired of the same chips every game, including the lovely 8-spot hundred. One of the nicest chips out there. Just stunning. If you get married to another set, they certainly aren't offering a hundo-menage-a-trois by putting both the wife and the girlfriend into play at the same time! <---shamelessly soliciting the French, single, and open-marriage voters

And no nomination should even be considered without a splashed pot picture, so "BAM!", get you some of that! I'm OUT.... *drops microphone and walks off stage*

 

[jbutler]

I'm going to extend the deadline until 10pm tonight mostly because I'm sick in bed and won't have a chance to do anything with this until at least then. So why not give folks a little more time to finalize everything.

But get those lists finalized by tonight and I'll do the tabulating.

Thanks so much to so many of you who have taken the time to reality scrape to find some sets many of us probably have never seen. There's some really great stuff out there.

 

[Psypher1000]

Thanks so much to so many of you who have taken the time to reality scrape to find some sets many of us probably have never seen. There's some really great stuff out there.

Seconded.

 

[luckbox]

wow super thread...i think nevada holds 4 of the top 5 spots but so many choices, im overwelmed

 

[RainmanTrail]

The Vineyards have so much going for them, so I'm making sure they have a strong nomination as they find their way into the Final Four (and beyond)!

The amazing variety of denominations means the set can handle any possible cash game. Other very beautiful sets can't touch the versatility of the Vineyards. If you want to play any of these, we've got a chip breakdown to cover your game with style.: $0.50/$1, $1/$2, $2/$4, $3/$6, $5/$10, $10/$20, $25/$50, etc.
View attachment 32161

That's right, Mapes: you have to cannibalistically mill your own quarters out of other TRKs if you want fractionals in your game, but we've got them built in! If you have an OCD issue with $20s and want $25s, we've got you covered. If you have vision problems, and can't read the smaller font $0.50 denomination, we've got a larger font version for you too. That's right, TWO versions of hotstamps, plus the inlays. We've got multiple molds in the set, so mold monkeys love 'em: SCV on the $0.50s, RHC on the $1 - $25s, and IHC on the $100s and $500s. There's metal flake security in the mid denominations, microdots for the high value chips, and yes, we have UV on all the inlay chips for the younger EDM/Rave/blacklight dance crowd (starting on the $1s and continuing through the $500).

View attachment 32168View attachment 32171 View attachment 32172 View attachment 32173 View attachment 32174 View attachment 32175View attachment 32177 View attachment 32169

The casino was only open for 10 months, so the chips are all in excellent shape. Very limited felt time = more minty goodness. By the way, the casino is now a church, which I consider a divine endorsement of it's inherent chip-worthiness.
View attachment 32162

And in keeping with the religious considerations, the Vineyards are also "non-denominational"--open to all chip faiths and chip beliefs. ;-)
View attachment 32166
View attachment 32167

The amount of chips purchased at the asset liquidation means they are still reasonably available. Some of the sets (e.g., yeah I'm talking to you: Aviation Club de France Paulsons), are nearly impossible for collectors to get. These are only quite difficult. Oh, and did I mention that there's a tourney set? So yeah, that's covered too!
View attachment 32163

Any of course, one of the prettiest $100s out there is from the Vineyard. Did I mention the $100 and $500 denominations are oversized? That's right, we've got the big 43mm guns starting at the century mark. Other sets just can't handle our size (and chip girth)! There are two versions of the $100s as well for those who get tired of the same chips every game, including the lovely 8-spot hundred. One of the nicest chips out there. Just stunning. If you get married to another set, they certainly aren't offering a hundo-menage-a-trois by putting both of them into play at the same time! <---shamelessly soliciting the French, single, and open-marriage voters
View attachment 32164

And no nomination should even be considered without a splashed pot picture, so "BAM!" Get you some of that, I'm OUT! *drops microphone and walks off stage*

View attachment 32170

You forgot one important point about the Vineyards though... They have absolutely hideous giant inlays!

So there's that

 

[inca911]

That's crazy talk. : The Vineyard inlays blend flawlessly with the rest of the chip, since they are matched to the clay and color gradient. I agree that other poorly-matched giant inlays are horrible (see below for a giant inlay splashed pot nightmare, sorry @Mr. Cheese for using your example), but not the Vineyards!

 

[ChaosRock]

You forgot one important point about the Vineyards though... They have absolutely hideous giant inlays!

So there's that

Eye of the beholder brother!

The only thing I don't like about that set is that I don't have one! I wish I had jumped on the Vineyards bandwagon when they wouldn't brake me... Big fan here!!

 

[RainmanTrail]

Eye of the beholder brother!

The only thing I don't like about that set is that I don't have one! I wish I had jumped on the Vineyards bandwagon when they wouldn't brake me... Big fan here!!

Haha, Ya I was just teasing. Glad we all have different tastes. Otherwise none of us would get what we want!

But playability and access to multitudes of various denoms shouldn't be taken for granted. Definitely an important factor!

 

[12thMan]

I'm with Trail, I'm just not a giant inlay fan (still laugh a little when I remember a post Trail made about giant inlays, "Oh, what are these, little circular pictures??"" or something like that, made me lol)... That being said though, Incas post has turned me into a believer!!! GREAT post!!!

 

[RainmanTrail]

Ya, I do have to admit. The Vineyards are one of the least offensive giant inlay sets out there in my opinion. I also don't mind the giant inlays on the first gen Bellagio's for some reason.

 

[RainmanTrail]

Those purple and orange Vineyard $100s are pretty sick though!

 

[pltrgyst]

You forgot one important point about the Vineyards though... They have absolutely hideous giant inlays!

Then among custom chip sets, you must also hate the Duy's Palace chips, which some of us think are the most beautiful chips ever made. :

I'd say that's a widespread form of kennel blindness, because PCF is so Paulson-centric. Somehow, though, your personal experience has led you to appreciate the Groves, so you must be capable of overriding Paulson mania. :

So, in an effort to combat Paulson-centricity, My unordered short list of most beautiful casino sets is:

1. Divi Carina, St. Croix, by Bud Jones:
View media item 4207
2. Surfside Casino, Freeport Texas, by Chipco (sorry, the $1s aren't in the pic):
View media item 4206
3. Silver Bird CICs, Bud Jones, already pictured.

4. Paulson Vineyards, already pictured. (Yeah, I know they're Paulsons. )

5. Treasure Casino, Renton Washington, also Paulson:
View media item 1295
6. Oceans Eleven, Oceanside California, Paulson:
View media item 1285
7. Grand Casino, Mullet Bay Sint Maarten, Bud Jones:
View media item 1284
8. Ho Chunk Casino, Baraboo Wisconsin, Paulson -- giant inlay series:

9. Luxor, Las Vegas, 1993 Series Chipco:

10. Luxor, Las Vegas, 2005 Series Paulson:

Yeah, I'm prejudiced -- I own sets with/of all of them except the Silver Birds.

It also surprises me that none of my very favorite single denom chips come from these sets. They all comes from sets that contain at least one denom that IMO disqualifies them from consideration, like the Aztar MO $5s.

-- Larry

 

[RainmanTrail]

Then among custom chip sets, you must also hate the Duy's Palace chips, which some of us think are the most beautiful chips ever made. :

I'd say that's a widespread form of kennel blindness, because PCF is so Paulson-centric. Somehow, though, your personal experience has led you to appreciate the Groves, so you must be capable of overriding Paulson mania. :

I just checked out the Duy's Palace chips. Ya... definitely not a fan. But that's ok We all have our preferences. I have OCD, and giant inlays generally make me feel like I'm going to have a seizure!

I do like the Treasure Set you posted though. Those are pretty sweet.

I've bought a little more than 11,000 chips in the past couple months and not a single one of them was a Paulson.

Pick Hobson's Riversides (TRK)
Nevada Club/Lodge 1s (TRK)
Mapes (TRK)
The Grove CICs (Bud Jones)
Rounders CSQ (CPC)
Pharaohs (China Clays)
& the currently in transit... Riverboat web molds (BCC)

I may get a set of Paulsons eventually. In fact, I almost certainly will, but I just haven't come across a set I like enough yet. The PCAs are close though. I might pull the trigger on those someday. But then I look at the cost of a set of minty casino Paulsons vs the cost of a set of minty TRKs and it's a no brainer every time for me. The TRKs win hands down.

My set of Pick Hobson's probably costs about the same amount as some of the more highly desired sets of Paulsons out there. It blows me away when see people paying the same ore more as I did on my Pick Hobson's on a set of PNY (some of the ugliest chips I've ever seen for my tastes), and Grand Vics (a close second in my ugly duckling race - every time I see those chips, I swear I can smell that sewer water that the sun is setting over on the inlays!).

But... to each their own. As you can see, there's much more love around here for PNYs and GVs than there is for my Pick Hobson's (which have only received one nod I believe). So I'm clearly in the minority here.

I'm just glad you guys are buying up the sets that I'm not interested in, otherwise none of us would be able to get the chips we want!

 

[RainmanTrail]

sorry, I misread the rules... edited post

 

[RainmanTrail]

sorry, I misread the rules... edited post

 

[joker80]

A couple more to add to the mix (some TRK love)
1) Milton Prells Aladdin Las Vegas


2) The Mint Las Vegas


3)Nevada Lodge Lake Tahoe


4) Nevada Club Reno and Crystal Bay

 

[joker80]

5) Union Plaza Las Vegas

 

[jbutler]

Okay this shit is closed down. Tabulation to follow with the first round of polls.

Thanks for all the great nominations! Psyched to see how it shakes out.

 

[RainmanTrail]

A couple more to add to the mix (some TRK love)
1) Milton Prells Aladdin Las Vegas
View attachment 32257 View attachment 32258 View attachment 32259 View attachment 32260 View attachment 32261

2) The Mint Las Vegas
View attachment 32262 View attachment 32263 View attachment 32264 View attachment 32265 View attachment 32266

3)Nevada Lodge Lake Tahoe
View attachment 32267View attachment 32268View attachment 32269View attachment 32270

4) Nevada Club Reno and Crystal Bay
View attachment 32271View attachment 32272View attachment 32273View attachment 32274

These are some fantastic sets

 

[jbutler]

Well the votes are in and the bracket has been created. We had just over a hundred unique entries and I did my best to determine which nominations referred to which sets notwithstanding my OCD rules. Some nominations could not be salvaged, unfortunately, but where it was obvious which set was nominated, I counted the entry.

Some interesting facts re: the sweet sixteen.

- It includes 13 Paulson sets, 2 T.R. King sets, and 1 Bud Jones set
- It includes 4 designated tourney sets (ACF, Aztar, and both WSOP sets)
- It includes sets from Vegas (6), Cali (3), Missouri (2), Reno (1), New York (1), Connecticut (1), and Puerto Rico (1)
- It includes 4 live sets (Bellagio, Foxwoods, and both WSOP sets)
- Other than those live sets, all sets are currently available in quantity in the collectors' market (and some enterprising members have even collected very nice quantities of a couple of those live sets)

The set with the most nominations by far was the Mapes TRK set. No giant shock as that set seems to have had even more interest over the past year than usual. The PCA secondaries saw a lot more interest than I'd have thought and the Aviation Club tournament set was a big hit as well. I was a bit surprised that the Tropicana 2nd edition didn't make it into the top 16 and that the classic Dunes set didn't get more nominations.

So without further ado, the bracket:

I will create the first 8 threads as soon as I have enough time to do so. I will look through this thread and elsewhere to find good photos of each set and will do my best to present them in as balanced a manner as possible within each thread. If anyone has any photos in addition to those here in this thread, you are more than welcome to post them for use in the voting threads.