I spent a couple of days this weekend out on the Mississippi River at the Wisconsin/Iowa/Illinois border checking out some of the riverboats to see what if anything is new. Haven't been to this area in a couple of years, but not much has changed in the chip arena. The driving was a problem in a few spots. Holiday traffic. Plus in Clinton the "Riverboat Days" weekend set up a fair along the riverfront, which cut off nearly every road that went to the Mississpiip Belle II. Had to find the places they were running shuttles to the boat. Waiting for the shuttle in 90 degree heat was no fun. In Bettendorf I had to find a hole in the parade route to get to Lady Luck.

I did find some slot cads news for people who follow those. Same old cards in place witha couple of changes. The President in Davenport used to have a red "Captain's Club" card, and have switched to a black "Privileges Plus" card. I also found a white "Captain's Club" version. Not much at the Mississippi Belle II, heck they still have not replaced to grungy old H&C $1 chips on the craps table that say "MBII" on one side. And those things are really dirty and chipped all over. I found a red "Tour Card - Seniors" on a machine that was different. In Marquette, Iowa at the Miss Marquette, when I asked for a card, I got another of the old green cards with my name imprinted in the upper left corner over the logo, instead of the open space below. The lady at the booth said they had a new card that they ran out of, and sure enough I found some of those. The new cards have space in the upper left corner, but they are using that placement on the old cards, which looks unusual. The Diamnod Jo in Dubuque has replaced their gold "Diamond Club Card" with a green "Diamond Players Club." Finally, at the Lady Luck in Bettendorf, the card has dropped the jester from its face in a redesign. There were all kind of cards to be found there. I guess you have to have a place that is busy and where people use the cards.