Mysterious MINAMI security UV watermark on inlays (1 Viewer)

[upNdown]

Weird that I’m just noticing this for the first time, but when viewed under a black light, the Dunes Baccarat $100 and $500 both have the same word repeated over the entire inlay - MINAMI. (Interestingly, the $5 and the $20 do have a little hat and cane UV watermark on their inlays, but no mysterious word.)
What the heck is MINAMI??

Anybody have any other older high denoms Paulsons and a blacklight, to see if they have different words?

 

[Okku]

https://www.upi.com/Archives/1990/1...ent-Vegas-Strip-casino-license/1431661755600/

Masao Nangaku - one of the richest men ever to seek a Nevada gambling license...

"The commission also directed Nangaku Thursday to outline his complete business plan for rennovation and expansion of the Dunes Hotel-casino and development of his $90 million Minami Towers, a downtown Las Vegas office skyscraper which has been stalled since the billionaire broke ground on the project last Spring."

"Nangaku purchased the Dunes Hotel out of bankruptcy in 1987 for $157 million cash and initially was granted a two-year Nevada gambling license, which expired at midnight Thursday. He said the fact he had been granted only a two-year limited license when he bought the Dunes, rather than a permanent license, also deterred long-term financing because Japanese bankers knew other Nevada casino operators held permanent gambling licenses."

Minami was the group that Nangaku owned while owning the Dunes for a short period of time. "five-member Nevada Gaming Commission on Thursday granted the 72-year-old entrepreneur only a four-month limited license which allows operations to continue uninterrupted at the Strip resort while Nangaku supplies the state with more information about his international business empire." This is why the Dunes golf course chips all have the "MINAMI' text going across the inlays along with Paulson. These were all done for security reasons of course, but this is also why he had the $25k chips made.

 

[kmccormick100]

Damn, @Okku just summarized my 5min of googling

 

[upNdown]

That’s awesome Oscar, thanks. I had started googling and learned that it was a Japanese name, but not knowing that Dunes had been Japanese owned, I thought it was a coincidence.
I’m woefully short on high $ denom cash Paulsons these days - do other chips have UV words on them? All I can remember seeing on other chips are the UV hat and cane, which I see on lower denoms.

 

[Okku]

That’s awesome Oscar, thanks. I had started googling and learned that it was a Japanese name, but not knowing that Dunes had been Japanese owned, I thought it was a coincidence.
I’m woefully short on high $ denom cash Paulsons these days - do other chips have UV words on them? All I can remember seeing on other chips are the UV hat and cane, which I see on lower denoms.

All of the golf course chips have the MINAMI on them.

There's a handful of other chips in the world that I've seen that have different weird things on them. I think Wynn or something has something pretty crazy stuff along with others. Sands has a weird design, Planet Hollywood, Hooters, South Point, Red Rock and more. Some have the casino name, others have owners or company's, different designs and other weird things that would make it impossible or near impossible for someone to replicate.

 

[kmccormick100]

That’s awesome Oscar, thanks. I had started googling and learned that it was a Japanese name, but not knowing that Dunes had been Japanese owned, I thought it was a coincidence.
I’m woefully short on high $ denom cash Paulsons these days - do other chips have UV words on them? All I can remember seeing on other chips are the UV hat and cane, which I see on lower denoms.

A lot of chips have PAULSON UV printed on the inlays

 

[kmccormick100]

All of the golf course chips have the MINAMI on them.

There's a handful of other chips in the world that I've seen that have different weird things on them. I think Wynn or something has something pretty crazy stuff along with others. Sands has a weird design, Planet Hollywood, Hooters, South Point, Red Rock and more. Some have the casino name, others have owners or company's, different designs and other weird things that would make it impossible or near impossible for someone to replicate.

 

[Tonysquander]

 

[greenchip]

 

[BarrieJ3]

For security, I have “B”s put on all chips I own.

I’m just amazed that everyone I sell chips to has never placed their racks under a black light….

 

[Sprouty]

I'm too lazy to pull them out if the case but the 25 and up appear to be that way.

 

[upNdown]

I'm too lazy to pull them out if the case but the 25 and up appear to be that way.

Interesting that they did it to the $25, but not to the Baccarat $20.