There is no place than I would rather spend my vacation than the Caribbean. I like going to the different islands and visiting the casinos when I'm on the island. I just spent a week in Turks & Caicos and it was absolutely great. Friendly, laid back, great weather, uncrowded beaches (in fact 1 day we were the only ones on this isloated beach by Dick Clarks house), restaurants overlooking the beach, and beautiful beaches.

I was in the one casino on T&C a couple nights and it was quite different with the hip/hop music playing and the pit boss dancing around in the small pit area. Only a couple BJ tables and everyone dressed in their island clothes. A refreshing change from AC or Vegas. On the other hand, I was in a casino in Martinique a year ago and what a difference. After getting past the low life in the parking lot that I wasn't sure if they were going to attack me or my wife or both, the casino was quiet, small and had touch of class to it. We sat and sipped a free Amaretto in some lounge chairs and enjoyed the atmosphere. I'm counting the days to the next trip to the Caribbean. My only problem is when my wife wants to try a British island like Barbados that has no casinos and doesn't approve of topless bathing. That's when I step in and say, let's go back to St. Maarten or Bonaire - they seem to have everything you would want on a vacation.

I found this NCV chip in Bonaire several years ago at the Casino Bonaire. I asked several people working in the casino several nights if they had more, but it was the only one they had. It's not listed in Ralph Pollacks book of the Dutch Caribbean, so I wonder how many are really out there? Although it probably doesn't have a whole lot of value to more than a few people, it's special in my collection. It brings back memories of that vacation.

Scott