detroitdad
Royal Flush
Dibs on 2 racks of ones and two racks of fives. Please and thank you!
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An Adventure Was Had - Adolfo's (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter BarrieJ3
- Start date
Dibs on 2 racks of ones and two racks of fives. Please and thank you!
OP
OP
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2018
- Messages
- 15,111
- Reaction score
- 32,437
- Location
- 129 West 81st Street, Apartment 5B
Shoot. Wouldn’t you know it?! Dummy ol Barrie just misplaced them.
Check the yard or the hot tub.
OP
OP
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2018
- Messages
- 15,111
- Reaction score
- 32,437
- Location
- 129 West 81st Street, Apartment 5B
joeyshin
Royal Flush
found them. Royal Flush Casino right?
You kidding me? We’ll gladly take better photos of the chips and countless shots of th stacked on your table. Would also love to hear the story behind the man & his card room.
FDLmold
Royal Flush
Love the chips, and especially love those minty card setups.
FDLmold
Royal Flush
Gawd how I love chipguide, there is no end to the comedy. I can almost guarantee the first chip here does not exist, it's just a turd-burger scan of the second chip lol. But somebody submitted it anyway, and somebody accepted it.
RDeL
High Hand
Wow I need a single $100 chip is it rude to make an offer for 1 chip?
club back with jumbo?........that is extremly rare
bernielomax
Full House
louBdub
4 of a Kind
Seen a few things purchased out of the trunks of cars in parking lots back in the day.... but never chips..... nice!
Would love to own a sample or set! Looking forward to seeing these in the community!
OP
OP
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2018
- Messages
- 15,111
- Reaction score
- 32,437
- Location
- 129 West 81st Street, Apartment 5B
Again want to preface with, not a huge score or scintillating story, but the one thing I enjoy about PCF is the detailed threads like following PantelonesdeGato's WSOP tourney run, a crazy story surrounding the longtime home game cheat, or the hush hush relegation behind a NAGB. So wanted to provide some context/background around another chip find.
What seems like months ago (month-ish ago in real time), a general lead was sent this direction to casa de KMC. Didn't know too much other than that there were chips in quantity, and that chip guide made it seem like a worthwhile excursion (praying for good condition).
Definitely passes the eye test! Let's go get em! So they say Adolfo's out of Lemoore....are we talking Adolfo's Lounge? Liquor Store? Bar? The man has a couple of buildings with his name attached. There are outgoing phone calls, no joy.
Eventually, @kmccormick100 is able to connect with the number at the Liquor Store and talk to the man himself. Confirmation of the existence of chips, despite some issues with communication and some very limited hearing on his behalf.
I received the news while putting my children to bed. All I saw was "Jeff jeff jeff!" - told my kids to stop getting ready, that we might be going on a car ride, and connected with @kmccormick100.
But, apparently he works Fridays and Saturdays from 7 PM to 3 AM, so we can just head out over the weekend. I'm busy Friday unfortunately with important family concerns and can't assist. Some other chippers offer to head over on Friday, but nothing materializes. I'm coaching early Saturday, have some family committments, but I can head over afterwards...
The team assembles and it appears @RocAFella1 and I will be driving down Saturday afternoon. Taking a look at the route, it appears this is not going to be a short trip. Whelp, the plan is to get there as close to Adolfo arrive to work, 7ish, and hopefully load up, head back home, and have heads on pillows by 11ish.
Time to get ready to go! We pack up the goods for a road trip and head on out.
Bad flop. @RocAFella1 hitting traffic. We call this picture "Barrie blasting music and answering work emails while snacking on watermelon in the Target parking lot while he waits for Roc to show up".
But alas, we're on the way! Couple hours later......
We get to meet Mr. Adolfo! He is a 90 year old entrepreneur, owner of a myriad of businesses, including what was previously a card room. It's a tiny room, maybe 30 feet by 20 feet, connected to his Bar & Lounge by means of an industrial kitchen, with his Liquor Store connected on the far end (different building, but shares a common wall).
Looks as though everything but the Liqour Store and Bar is under lock and key, doesn't look like anyone has been in there in quite some years. Mr. Adolfo Martinez is quite sprite for his age, and begins to open up drawers, pulling out boxes, lifting boxes, etc. to show us the goods. He's sharp witted and straight forward, appears to be honed through decades of dealing with vendors, clients, and customers. Not particularly gruff, but very matter of fact.
All cards, chips, racks, etc. are stored on the other side of a window from the card room, which happens to be the industrial kitchen. Everything sealed and put away, great condition, but......maybe there's something in that box. Did someone check the top of that cabinet? Anything sitting on that stove? What about underneath all those Budweiser freebies for the bar? While I'd love to report that we found additional treasure troves or an unexpected huge find, unfortunately I cannot. Just enough to support his card room back in the day, which looked to be a 2ish table card room.
You can see that the case for chips was right behind the window, sitting in a stainless steel ktichen.
Adolfo claimed that his card room was successful because people were tired of losing money to all the rake at local spots. He was proud of every venture he had set out on, including his card room. He spoke to only ever ordering the best of the best, because he knew his chips, cards, chairs, etc. would last. Went as far as to point out the amazing lighting he had for the tables.
His license said it was for 2 tables, he said he ran up to 4 tables and spread varied games. He let the room come to a close as it just wasn't worth his time any longer - having to run the room, finding people he could trust to help, and that he had many other ventures that were lucrative.
Mr. Martinez returned from the war decades ago with $20 in his pocket. As he said we all must do, he bet on himself and ventured forward. Today, he owns many establishments, including Westwood BBQ & Spice Co as well as Pizmos. He considered himself to be extremely lucky, I think today it would be akin to the kids saying "#blessed". He shared that everything he touched turned to gold, but also shared that it was his hard work and focus that made that happen.
Whether it was having no previous experience and turning into a successful restaurateur, or heading to Vegas and taking em for $20k in double deck 21, he put in the work and found great results. Father of 2 with 3 grandchildren, he has turned away from work to enjoy family.
So we came to an agreement on price and got to work. Lucky for us, it was only 180 degrees in that place. Cue being absolutely drenched working to get everything loaded up.
I'm big on "stories" obviously, which means we had to try and get anything "Adolfo" to go with the chips. Unfortunately, no branded felts, signs etc. We pushed for his license and rules sheet, and after asking multiple times he wistfully agreed. You could tell that it was a tad difficult letting go of his connections to a previous life, but also was happy to see everything going to folks who would enjoy it.
We certainly didn't need it, and probably offered too much, but decided to purchase, uninstall, and take with us the chip cabinet, because why not. Lol there wasn't too much non chip stuff to take, so we really took everything we could off the wall, literally.
Well I told you at the beginning it wasn't all that much, but feels like it's worthwhile to share a bit of Adolfo's story. I'll share with you one thing he felt was worth sharing, and that's if you want to do something go do it. He recounted guys sitting as his bar telling him, "Adolfo, one day I'm going to own a beautiful bar just like you". And then said that they annoy the hell out of him because they've been sitting in that chair saying the same thing for decades.
So, that's that! I haven't played poker for several months now since the meetup (neither have several others), so it'll be fun getting these on the felt at our game this Sunday. Will share some photos and splash pots.
Have a great week y'all!
4 AM transition of chips from car to car after spending hours with Adolfo and buying a round for his bar as a goodbye/sendoff. 5-6 AM home, hour of sleep, and then up and at em! (Chris off to Pebble Beach, Barrie off to the beach with wife and kids).
What seems like months ago (month-ish ago in real time), a general lead was sent this direction to casa de KMC. Didn't know too much other than that there were chips in quantity, and that chip guide made it seem like a worthwhile excursion (praying for good condition).
Definitely passes the eye test! Let's go get em! So they say Adolfo's out of Lemoore....are we talking Adolfo's Lounge? Liquor Store? Bar? The man has a couple of buildings with his name attached. There are outgoing phone calls, no joy.
Eventually, @kmccormick100 is able to connect with the number at the Liquor Store and talk to the man himself. Confirmation of the existence of chips, despite some issues with communication and some very limited hearing on his behalf.
I received the news while putting my children to bed. All I saw was "Jeff jeff jeff!" - told my kids to stop getting ready, that we might be going on a car ride, and connected with @kmccormick100.
But, apparently he works Fridays and Saturdays from 7 PM to 3 AM, so we can just head out over the weekend. I'm busy Friday unfortunately with important family concerns and can't assist. Some other chippers offer to head over on Friday, but nothing materializes. I'm coaching early Saturday, have some family committments, but I can head over afterwards...
The team assembles and it appears @RocAFella1 and I will be driving down Saturday afternoon. Taking a look at the route, it appears this is not going to be a short trip. Whelp, the plan is to get there as close to Adolfo arrive to work, 7ish, and hopefully load up, head back home, and have heads on pillows by 11ish.
Time to get ready to go! We pack up the goods for a road trip and head on out.
Bad flop. @RocAFella1 hitting traffic. We call this picture "Barrie blasting music and answering work emails while snacking on watermelon in the Target parking lot while he waits for Roc to show up".
But alas, we're on the way! Couple hours later......
We get to meet Mr. Adolfo! He is a 90 year old entrepreneur, owner of a myriad of businesses, including what was previously a card room. It's a tiny room, maybe 30 feet by 20 feet, connected to his Bar & Lounge by means of an industrial kitchen, with his Liquor Store connected on the far end (different building, but shares a common wall).
Looks as though everything but the Liqour Store and Bar is under lock and key, doesn't look like anyone has been in there in quite some years. Mr. Adolfo Martinez is quite sprite for his age, and begins to open up drawers, pulling out boxes, lifting boxes, etc. to show us the goods. He's sharp witted and straight forward, appears to be honed through decades of dealing with vendors, clients, and customers. Not particularly gruff, but very matter of fact.
All cards, chips, racks, etc. are stored on the other side of a window from the card room, which happens to be the industrial kitchen. Everything sealed and put away, great condition, but......maybe there's something in that box. Did someone check the top of that cabinet? Anything sitting on that stove? What about underneath all those Budweiser freebies for the bar? While I'd love to report that we found additional treasure troves or an unexpected huge find, unfortunately I cannot. Just enough to support his card room back in the day, which looked to be a 2ish table card room.
You can see that the case for chips was right behind the window, sitting in a stainless steel ktichen.
Adolfo claimed that his card room was successful because people were tired of losing money to all the rake at local spots. He was proud of every venture he had set out on, including his card room. He spoke to only ever ordering the best of the best, because he knew his chips, cards, chairs, etc. would last. Went as far as to point out the amazing lighting he had for the tables.
His license said it was for 2 tables, he said he ran up to 4 tables and spread varied games. He let the room come to a close as it just wasn't worth his time any longer - having to run the room, finding people he could trust to help, and that he had many other ventures that were lucrative.
Mr. Martinez returned from the war decades ago with $20 in his pocket. As he said we all must do, he bet on himself and ventured forward. Today, he owns many establishments, including Westwood BBQ & Spice Co as well as Pizmos. He considered himself to be extremely lucky, I think today it would be akin to the kids saying "#blessed". He shared that everything he touched turned to gold, but also shared that it was his hard work and focus that made that happen.
Whether it was having no previous experience and turning into a successful restaurateur, or heading to Vegas and taking em for $20k in double deck 21, he put in the work and found great results. Father of 2 with 3 grandchildren, he has turned away from work to enjoy family.
So we came to an agreement on price and got to work. Lucky for us, it was only 180 degrees in that place. Cue being absolutely drenched working to get everything loaded up.
I'm big on "stories" obviously, which means we had to try and get anything "Adolfo" to go with the chips. Unfortunately, no branded felts, signs etc. We pushed for his license and rules sheet, and after asking multiple times he wistfully agreed. You could tell that it was a tad difficult letting go of his connections to a previous life, but also was happy to see everything going to folks who would enjoy it.
We certainly didn't need it, and probably offered too much, but decided to purchase, uninstall, and take with us the chip cabinet, because why not. Lol there wasn't too much non chip stuff to take, so we really took everything we could off the wall, literally.
Well I told you at the beginning it wasn't all that much, but feels like it's worthwhile to share a bit of Adolfo's story. I'll share with you one thing he felt was worth sharing, and that's if you want to do something go do it. He recounted guys sitting as his bar telling him, "Adolfo, one day I'm going to own a beautiful bar just like you". And then said that they annoy the hell out of him because they've been sitting in that chair saying the same thing for decades.
So, that's that! I haven't played poker for several months now since the meetup (neither have several others), so it'll be fun getting these on the felt at our game this Sunday. Will share some photos and splash pots.
Have a great week y'all!
4 AM transition of chips from car to car after spending hours with Adolfo and buying a round for his bar as a goodbye/sendoff. 5-6 AM home, hour of sleep, and then up and at em! (Chris off to Pebble Beach, Barrie off to the beach with wife and kids).
Last edited:
Nice work, gents. My only question is: How many hours did you spend on the old man's front porch?
OP
OP
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2018
- Messages
- 15,111
- Reaction score
- 32,437
- Location
- 129 West 81st Street, Apartment 5B
Not a small amount lol. We were there for about 6ish+ hours.
My favorite part is the trips, stories, and talks with the old man on the porch. The chips are, well, chips, but everything else adds an intrinsic value. I guess that's why I don't own many chip sets but hundreds of custom samples.
I actually plan on heading to Fresno with the fam and stopping by his restaurants to grab food. He said they were the only XYZ star places in the area, and looking online, they do appear to be widely appreciated.
If only license was still valid, and transferable. 
RocAFella1
Royal Flush
They're watching. Looks like someone updated it.
FDLmold
Royal Flush
Progress!
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2020
- Messages
- 10,388
- Reaction score
- 16,322
are there any $25 chips? chipguife claims there is
RocAFella1
Royal Flush
FDLmold
Royal Flush
chipguide batting 1.000 on Adolfo's
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