Why did TRK close in 2006? (2 Viewers)

[MD Mike]

I read through the history of TRK here http://www.trking.com/history.htm and learned why they were banned in the 70s in Nevada and that they closed in 2006 but it doesn’t mention exactly why they closed or what happened to all the equipment and the formula for their chips.

Anyone know any more information?

 

[rowlin]

I think when the lease expired, Dennis was ready to retire. Or, that was the public story anyway.

I am unsure of his specific motivation for not wanting to teach someone new how to keep the business going.

 

[FDLmold]

I would also guess that the cost and time and effort of reformulating the chips to remove the lead was also a factor.

 

[Blaster]

I recall something about the owner at the end refusing to sell the company, equipment or molds, & some or all of it may still be stored somewhere ...

 

[upNdown]

I would also guess that the cost and time and effort of reformulating the chips to remove the lead was also a factor.

Ugh, I would hope that’s not the reason. What a ridiculous scare. I think the majority of us would prefer lead in their chips, and we’re not stupid or suicidal.

 

[rowlin]

I think Cali has more restrictive laws about the use of lead and other toxic substances than many other states.

 

[PAZ]

It was time to get the lead out. The word is they are still making dice there.

 

[MD Mike]

Ugh, I would hope that’s not the reason. What a ridiculous scare. I think the majority of us would prefer lead in their chips, and we’re not stupid or suicidal.

Lead is what makes it soft! And buttery goodness is always better than rock hard goodness... unless you’re a lady... then you might prefer ...

Well, you get the idea

 

[rowlin]

There are good times to be had in at least a couple of the old “should I be concerned about leaded chips” threads.

 

[MD Mike]

There are good times to be had in at least a couple of the old “should I be concerned about leaded chips” threads.

Is it even possible to get lead poisoning by handling lead chips? I don’t think so. Does it absorb through the skin?

Honestly unless you’re eating it, I don’t think there is anything to worry about.

 

[allforcharity]

And lead is sweet, too! They used to add lead during wine production in Renaissance times to enhance its sweetness. Those crazy Europeans.

(This is one way, in the old days, that kids got lead poisoning. Some would eat chipping/flaking lead-containing paint because it was sweet.)

 

[FDLmold]

Unless you ingest it or breathe it, lead is essentially harmless. Once you get lead out of plumbing, paint, and gasoline, it is very difficult to get lead poisoning. If you had the formulation, you could make and sell leaded chips. Casinos and California would probably shun you, and that is most of your market right there.

 

[EventHorizonVII]

Interesting reading, also neat how Paulson became Paulson in there.

 

[WedgeRock]

I recall something about the owner at the end refusing to sell the company, equipment or molds, & some or all of it may still be stored somewhere ...

TRK's number dies went to BCC, for sure.

 

[MD Mike]

I was surprised to find out the TR meant Teddy Roosevelt

 

[krafticus]

quick aside..

As a kid (14-16 year old at the time), a friend of mine had an uncle who was a dentist. The uncle gave the nephew (my friend) the old x-ray vests that contained lead plates. We had the GREAT idea that we would take the lead, melt it in the un-ventilated basement, and create body armor for clay figures. we would then place the figures on the wood pile on the other side of the basement and shoot at with the pellet guns. once the armor was riddled with holes, we would re-melt it and form new armor. we also created copies of a local arcades tokens (they had 3 slots on each side) using the melted lead. it worked in some games, but not all.

Of course, we also did lots of model building in that basement with glue, model paint, etc...

Oh, and we also ground up rocket engines, black powder, firecrackers, and anything else that could explode.. and merged it into one plastic straw with a fuse in the middle (wax caps on each side). They were pretty cool.

But, yeah, I'm fine (I think), and we melted a lot of lead. ..

 

[EventHorizonVII]

quick aside..

As a kid (14-16 year old at the time), a friend of mine had an uncle who was a dentist. The uncle gave the nephew (my friend) the old x-ray vests that contained lead plates. We had the GREAT idea that we would take the lead, melt it in the un-ventilated basement, and create body armor for clay figures. we would then place the figures on the wood pile on the other side of the basement and shoot at with the pellet guns. once the armor was riddled with holes, we would re-melt it and form new armor. we also created copies of a local arcades tokens (they had 3 slots on each side) using the melted lead. it worked in some games, but not all.

Of course, we also did lots of model building in that basement with glue, model paint, etc...

Oh, and we also ground up rocket engines, black powder, firecrackers, and anything else that could explode.. and merged it into one plastic straw with a fuse in the middle (wax caps on each side). They were pretty cool.

But, yeah, I'm fine (I think), and we melted a lot of lead. ..

You were very....krafty

 

[PAZ]

Interesting reading, also neat how Paulson became Paulson in there.

Thanks...if I ever finish the site I may do the same thing with the BCC domain. Right now it's sending traffic to CPC.

 

[AfterTheFact]

Thanks...if I ever finish the site I may do the same thing with the BCC domain. Right now it's sending traffic to CPC.

I think the gallery section could be taken care of by the members here

 

[BGinGA]

what happened to all the equipment and the formula for their chips

owner at the end refusing to sell the company, equipment or molds, & some or all of it may still be stored somewhere ...

TRK's number dies went to BCC, for sure.

Besides hot-stamp dies, BCC also got the dies for cutting edge spot patterns and inserts. TRK also sold their vibrant color palette to BCC, who used it with their own clay formula to create expanded BCC color choices.

Denis refused to sell the actual molds or clay formula, preferring that they die off rather than have the TRK name tarnished by someone producing a sub-standard product. Last i heard his nephew has the molds. TR King Co. still produces dice.

 

[MD Mike]

Maybe we can convince TRK to make circular dice, about 39mm in diameter, and very short, preferably with a clay texture and stamped with a crown all along the outside edge instead of pips.

 

[FDLmold]

Did the large crown mold crap out?

 

[rowlin]

The last run of orders Dennis ran were the King's Crown hotstamp semi-custom group buy in the spring/summer of 2006. Nanook organized it, and the plan was to do a similar, inlaid, group buy after the hotstamps. It was only during/after delivery of the hotstamp sets, which occurred over the course of some weeks in late summer, that it was known (to plebes like me, at least) that it would be the last run of chips ever.

The final method for ordering - after posting interest/intent/breakdowns on the boards - was to call Dennis and tell him which colors, spots, and stamps, and how many of each chip you wanted.

After he stopped producing chips, he was still available by phone and had a bunch of solids from inventory that he sold. The ordering process was the same... call Dennis, mail a check, wait a week or two, and then chips showed up.

 

[DJ Mack]

Oh, and we also ground up rocket engines, black powder, firecrackers, and anything else that could explode.. and merged it into one plastic straw with a fuse in the middle (wax caps on each side). They were pretty cool.

Did you ever dissolve Styrofoam in gasoline?

 

[krafticus]

Did you ever dissolve Styrofoam in gasoline?

no, but we did have a chemistry set that we took into the back field. We added a little of this, and a little of that... poured it onto the styrofoam container ... and the next thing we know, the fire department showed up.

 

[mike32]

Did you ever dissolve Styrofoam in gasoline?

We used to mixed welding sticks called "solid ox" with sugar 3:1 and eventually made very potent pipe bombs, I even blew up a 55 gallon drum. One of my buddies is missing 1/4 of his finger, I'm lucky to be here. New member @Boother36 can attest to our wackiness, and show you some other scars from an unrelated pipe bomb incident I also witnessed. That one blew out my hearing for a while. We did some crazy shit that would get you in a lot of trouble today. I'll stop now.

Talk about a thread derail...

 

[Boother36]

@mike32 isn't lying.....I still have the scars and shrapnel in my hand to prove the pipe bomb incident......you can get the full story at the next home game....ask about it!!!

 

[Blaster]

Since this thread seems to have morphed into a "What did I blow up as a kid" topic ...
... We used to get the small metal CO2 cartridges, the type that would install into soda/seltzer machines, & probably air rifles, & then make/hand mold a "cup", out of a few layers of aluminum foil..
The CO2 cartridge was laid in the bottom of the "cup" , an then lighter fluid would be squirted in to cup, to cover all but 1/8th or so of the cartridge ...
Toss in a match and run like hell & get behind cover.. The anticipation was nerve wracking, since it seemed like it took a while for the flame/heat to build up to critical temp....
The resulting explosion was very loud , put out the fire (CO2), & the metal cartridge with it's hole blown out of 1 side would often fly very far or high ( seemed like it could go thru someone or inflict serious injury) ...

 

[krafticus]

uhhh .. we also created a shoulder mounted rocket launcher (for model rockets) out of PVC pipe and an attached battery. we would build the rockets and see how far they would go. we were not good at getting the fins on straight, and they didn't fly far. we wanted to then shoot one up and see if we could get it to explode.. so we soaked it gasoline first. ... not the result we were looking for....

Mark

-- edit -- I am very glad, and yet kind of sad, cell phone cameras were not around back then ..

 

[dennis63]

The whole "lead scare" thing was generally bogus.

By the time the television reporter from KNXV TV in Phoenix,AZ, did her report in 2007, Paulson had already reduced the level of lead in its chips to an average of 50 parts per million. The EPA allowed 14 ppm in drinking water. The TV station actually tested chips produced 20 years before in order to "find" those higher levels of lead -- up to 47 percent, or 470,000 ppm.

Even then, handling an undamaged casino chip that contained lead likely posed virtually no health risk.

You'd probably be at greater risk from the dirt and germs from the other players' hands. .