The Official Mail Showcase Thread (poker related) (177 Viewers)

Awesome refinements with the added weight and movable wind up

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The rest of the mail I was waiting on actually arrived today. Without further ado:

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Even more additions to the 'south 100-block of Fremont Street' collection. :LOL: :laugh: 'Diamond Jim' was the last owner of the Nevada Club before it was sold and that space taken over by the Golden Nugget. They had a bunch of free-play chips in their run. Maybe trying to get folks through the door as the strip was starting to take hold as the place to be as opposed to downtown??

Really, the best part of this is the matched pair of dovetails. The solid chip arrived a couple days ago, but it was worth waiting to show these off as a matched group.
 
Single-casino collecting is a strange beast. It's no secret that the long-gone California Club on Fremont Street has long been my collecting focus. Any more, I keep seeing the same handful of relatively common items show up on eBay and in random searches, but every once in a while, an oddball will appear.

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A flat lighter with artwork that was used in the 1950s. The standing bear on the burgundy background was used on a matchbook from that time and the "girl in the fishbowl" was on the matches in the book with that cover.
I'd never seen this lighter before, but the style is of the era and agrees with other lighters that had advertisements from the club around that time.

Once again, just when I think I've seen it all, some little random piece like this appears!



* As a note, the "girl in the fishbowl" was an illusion that used lenses and mirrors to create the illusion of an actual living woman swimming in a fishbowl, either behind the bar or in a corner. My research only brings this illusion up a few times at most, with a semi-famous version being at a club in San Francisco called Bimbo's 365. That place still exists and "Dolphina" can be scheduled to appear if desired.

https://www.kqed.org/news/12063643/...behind-san-franciscos-quirkiest-nightclub-act

Bimbo's 365 and "Mona" as the girl in the fishbowl was featured in the three-season "The Chris Issac Show" from the early aughts.
 
I've been generally unimpressed with portable chip cases since getting into chipping. I think this mainly stems from cheaply made cases with buckles that break, crummy interiors, etc... "good enough" cases that will be holding spectacular chips, when surely there must be spectacular cases too. Sure the Nanuk plastic shells are nice, but left me unsatisfied.

This arrived today. Aluminum shell Zero Halliburton "Attache" case, which is about half as thick as a standard suitcase. New they are something like $600 but eBay is full of options around $100-150 shipped for vintage cases with minor cosmetic wear.

Fits 8 Justin racks wonderfully, so I just need to tinker a bit with securing them.

Very sturdy in the hand, should have no problem taking the weight, and nice smooth aluminum that won't scuff wooden tables.

Rimowa cases look even better but even used ones mostly start at $300+

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Speaking of Rimowa, this endeavor was partly inspired by seeing their poker offering. It is terrible... but looks great!

$4700 for 350 ceramic chips!
https://www.rimowa.com/us/en/bags/attache/poker/90090041.html

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Last edited:
Wh
I've been generally unimpressed with portable chip cases since getting into chipping. I think this mainly stems from cheaply made cases with buckles that break, crummy interiors, etc... "good enough" cases that will be holding spectacular chips, when surely there must be spectacular cases too. Sure the Nanuk plastic shells are nice, but left me unsatisfied.

This arrived today. Aluminum shell Zero Halliburton "Attache" case, which is about half as thick as a standard suitcase. New there's something like $600 but eBay is full of options around $100-150 shipped for vintage cases with minor cosmetic wear.

Fits 8 Justin racks wonderfully, so I just need to tinker a bit with securing them.

Very sturdy in the hand, should have no problem taking the weight, and nice smooth aluminum that won't scuff wooden tables.

Rimowa cases look even better but even used ones mostly start at $300+

View attachment 1649981

View attachment 1649982

Speaking of Rimowa, this endeavor was partly inspired by seeing their poker offering. It is terrible... but looks great!

$4700 for 350 ceramic chips!
https://www.rimowa.com/us/en/bags/attache/poker/90090041.html

View attachment 1649991
What size is your case?
 
Wh

What size is your case?
What size is the one pictured? I think it’s the same as this, dimensions shown in CM
https://ebay.us/m/UkGLaF

as to other cases, I had a die slug 500 case forever, and then the Nanuk that can hold 600 or 800, and then a bigger Nanuk and a big Apache which each hold 1200+ I think, and basically become hazardously heavy

Big fan of the Curious Cask “deposit box” case that failed to kickstarter, but I got one. 500 chips; sturdy. Only problem is its pointy in a way that could accidentally scuff furniture
 

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