Legendary Chips, Shitty Card Room (3 Viewers)

[acezag]

One of the really interesting contradictions of this hobby is that some of the most desired, rare or collectable "grail" chips often came from anonymous, run-down, shithole card rooms that barely kept it together. (And I say "shithole" fondly - my love of poker was born through countless hours in an Eastern Washington truck stop's run-down, shit-hole card room, rubbing elbows with long haul truckers, farmers and winos).

Nobody barely noticed when many of these places finally breathed their last - often we as chippers are the first real celebration of anything about them, years or decades after the doors closed.

I love discovering their hidden stories, especially after a good online dig.

Here's one: Stockton's Delta Club.

The chips (the club also had a different oversized inlay set later) (picture credit: @JWC ):

The Club: https://poker.fandom.com/wiki/Delta_Card_Room

LOOK AT THAT HOT BITCH

Player highlights / quotes:

• "If it wasn't for the house players there would be no game. Since the kitchen burned down there hasn't been food service there for a while."
• [Yet....] "FREE Breakfast EVERY DAY, between 10am-Noon"
• Pay $20 to get $40 in chips (2 hour min play required), between 10am-11am everyday.
• Their nearest competitor is 60 ft away, run by a widow who's just biding her time for an offer...

You can see the cigarillo smoke, hear the gravelly voices of Old Man Coffee, and smell the short stack buy-ins. I love it.

Anybody else stumble on a good one?

 

[JeepologyOffroad]

Indio Bingo Palace seems to be another shit hole

 

[toothpic]

Indio Bingo Palace seems to be another shit hole

We need pictures! Especially ones you've taken

 

[joeyshin]

I used to have some delta Clubs. Green $5s were awesome

 

[Thomacetti]

Can't beat the OMC smell....a nice mix of nicotine, old spice aftershave, beer, hooker juice and 5 day old laundry

 

[FullSet]

I like the financial decisions they made.
In a way they much resemble us.

I sure know I’ve said ‘who really needs a kitchen? Let’s get those nice chips’.

Right?
No?

 

[ekricket]

One of the really interesting contradictions of this hobby is that some of the most desired, rare or collectable "grail" chips often came from anonymous, run-down, shithole card rooms that barely kept it together. (And I say "shithole" fondly - my love of poker was born through countless hours in an Eastern Washington truck stop's run-down, shit-hole card room, rubbing elbows with long haul truckers, farmers and winos).

Nobody barely noticed when many of these places finally breathed their last - often we as chippers are the first real celebration of anything about them, years or decades after the doors closed.

I love discovering their hidden stories, especially after a good online dig.

Here's one: Stockton's Delta Club.

The chips (the club also had a different oversized inlay set later) (picture credit: @JWC ):
View attachment 1617196

The Club: https://poker.fandom.com/wiki/Delta_Card_Room

LOOK AT THAT HOT BITCH
View attachment 1617197

Player highlights / quotes:

• "If it wasn't for the house players there would be no game. Since the kitchen burned down there hasn't been food service there for a while."
• [Yet....] "FREE Breakfast EVERY DAY, between 10am-Noon"
• Pay $20 to get $40 in chips (2 hour min play required), between 10am-11am everyday.
• Their nearest competitor is 60 ft away, run by a widow who's just biding her time for an offer...

You can see the cigarillo smoke, hear the gravelly voices of Old Man Coffee, and smell the short stack buy-ins. I love it.

Anybody else stumble on a good one?

There are ongoing negotiations for some of these shit holes chips…… not going to alert the competition.

 

[RadicusScout]

Just goes to show you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. I personally think that place looks rad.

And come on, Song Hay Restaurant is right next door. What do they need a kitchen for?!

 

[elPadroni]

That place looks like such a dump. The grimey Chinese restaurant right next door. Plus, it IS Stockton. I would've loved to play there

 

[Thomacetti]

I know Majestic Star in Gary was a huge dump (or two) with nice chips (when they were mint).

But nr 1 must be PCA.....a real boat casino dump with the best secondary set in the poker universe.
I can still remember how toxic those primary chips were...you got herpes just by looking at them.

 

[RocAFella1]

Lake Elsinore

 

[Thomacetti]

Lake Elsinore
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That's no dump....they even have matching chairs and the dealer is wearing a white shirt.
Mid tier at best....but chips are hawt

 

[toothpic]

Was the Lakeshore Inn a dump?

 

[jamesjkim]

Kelly’s?

 

[RocAFella1]

Kelly’s?

 

[acezag]

Lake Elsinore
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Lake Elsinore Player Reviews:

• "Is anybody working on this like a general manager? I don't know the people work here they think that they are the kindest people in the world. They don't have a good communication with the people we came in here to play. We are not their soldier we don't work for them. We having fun with our own money, they don't let us do that. I don't know somebody's hearing this or not please we want to changes."
• "Never have been there will never go back. The house wins 99% of the time, I saw really no one winning."
• "I use to like lake Elsinore casino but I was bared because the manger named pat his son disrespected me by yelling at me when I asked him to move his hand away from the machine so I can see the green light and I did not cuss him out."
• "This place sucks The restaurant part has the worst food I've ever eaten in my life... about five months ago I was walking past the casino and the gardener blew all kinds of dust in my eyes two days later I ended up in emergency room with infection in my eyes did they do anything about it nope they did not do shit"
• THE PCF'er - who was it? "First of all there was like 2 tables, not even filled up, the chips and cards were ghetto, I've been to home games with better quality. I ended up not even wanting to play, but I drove all the way over here so I hit up the 2/3 no limit game, max buy-in $300. Again, the chips were so worn and the cards all bent, it was really annoying. I can't play under these conditions"

 

[RadicusScout]

"Never have been there will never go back. The house wins 99% of the time, I saw really no one winning."

...never been there... did not see anyone winning...

It kinda makes sense?!

 

[JeepologyOffroad]

So basically all the Cali cardrooms lol

 

[ekricket]

So basically all the Cali cardrooms lol

Give Texas five more years….

 

[acezag]

Give Texas five more years….

Unfortunately, there will be zero legendary chips coming out of a Texas card room anytime soon.

 

[RocAFella1]

So basically all the Cali cardrooms lol

Except Vineyard which is now a church lol.

 

[jayfiggy]

Comstock

 

[joeyshin]

Pix club

 

[RocAFella1]

Waiting for @kmccormick100 to send me a picture of the outside of his Bicycle Shack...

 

[acezag]

Comstock

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Player comments from 2006 - sounds like a home game moved to a storefront :

• Off-duty dealers will run service on the weekdays, servicing drinks from the connected bar, or other beverages and snacks from the new vending machines that have been installed (or, get up and walk to the machines yourself - it's fifty cents a can). Thursdays through Sundays there is usually be a service girl running all the service for the players if you don't wanna get up. Every now and then, enough people get hungry that someone goes on a McDonald's run (or similar) to bring back food.
• At one point, the owner ("Joe!") came in and sat down - he's apparently a regular at his own club, and is well known and liked. In front is a comfy sofa and chair to relax in while waiting for a seat, if there's a wait.

 

[CacheCreekCollector]

A couple of smaller card rooms that I managed to harvest from in the past were Casino Real in Manteca and The Palace in Hayward.
Both have been rebranded and/or changed ownerships. Post-pandemic these two establishments migrated from Paulson THCs to some kinda plastic crap that were definitely NOT Bud Jones

Around November of 2020 California allowed card rooms to re-open but operations had to be outdoors in an "open air environment" so
Casino Real put up a tent in their parking lot.

As for The Palace in Hayward CA, I pretty much pocketed all of the stand-on-edge $1s from the 4-8 limit game that I could get my hands on by 2001. I attempted to harvest two racks but fell short at 9 barrels (simply wasn't interested in the remaining bike tires).

Back in early 2021 I visited The Palace for the first time in probably 2 decades trying to acquire an orange $100 for @leo822 but sadly I was too late.. it had been re-branded as The Palace Poker Casino and I nearly puked when I walked in and saw what appeared to be metal sluggos on the tables.

(Pics below courtesy of google search)

 

[elPadroni]

Mannn, the Palace. I haven't been there in YEARS! I used to live right up the street and would frequent their morning tourneys before I went to "work." Those chips bring back some memories

 

[mike32]

I rememeber hearing that Crystal Park in Compton, CA was not very nice. They had some cool chips!

 

[toothpic]

I rememeber hearing that Crystal Park in Compton, CA was not very nice. They had some cool chips!

These?

 

[ef28]

Growing up in the area (but not old enough to have played at), Huntington Park casino and Club Caribe in Cudahy would probably make the list. HP chips are awesome!