MY TRIP TO THE CONVENTION – PART II
From Chicago to Wendover – "Heading West"

I pulled into Chuck Tomarchio’s driveway in Juliet, Illinois around 9:30 pm on Friday June 12th. It was good to see my old friend from Atlantic City, who had moved to Juliet several years ago. We talked for a while, (obviously about chips and chipping) and I gave Chuck a certificate from the A C Casino Collectibles Club to commemorate his 15 years as a Charter member of the club. I also gave Chuck as special chip to honor his 15 years of membership as A C Club Charter member – 009. I went to bed and slept well, it had been a long day which had started with my delay coming back into the US from Canada – oh well that was all behind me now – tomorrow was another day.

We got up on Saturday morning and headed for the Casinos in Aurora and Elgin, Illinois. We visited the Hollywood and Grand Victoria Casinos and I naturally picked up more Roulette chips and Slot Cards. On our way home we stopped at Chuck’s son’s home in Elgin and spent some time with his son and his wife and daughter. On the way home we came to a railroad crossing and were stopped as a train went slowly by. Chuck said – I know another way home and I’m not going to wait on the slow train. We spun around and zig-zagged around a couple of blocks and down another street to get away from the train. We were almost home and guess what – we came to another railroad crossing and got stopped by the SAME slow moving train. We both had a good laugh over that maneuver. That night I took Chuck and his wife to Harrah’s in Juliet and we enjoyed a great dinner – the Calamari and prime rib were excellent – just ask Chuck. We gambled a little with NO luck and then headed back to Chuck’s for the night. We shared some more memories of our chipping experiences over the years and discussed all of our shared medical problems – diabetes, cholesterol and high blood pressure – we joked that we could exchange medication bottles and never know the difference. Who was the joker that said retirement was your “Golden Years”. The next morning Chuck scrambled up some eggs and left over prime rib and onions for a great Sunday breakfast. I said my goodbyes to my good friend and his wife, turned on the GPS and headed for Iowa.

I stopped in the Quad cities area and hit the Casinos, except Jumer’s in Rock Island – they had moved the Casino and I missed the turn for it and just didn’t feel like turning around and going back – you can’t hit ‘em all. I made my way to Waterloo after stopping in Dubuque to visit a couple of new casinos – Diamond Jo and Mystique. I didn’t get any Roulette chips from Diamond Jo since the General Manager Todd Moyer had given me a complete set of the chips the last time I had visited the Casino and I promised him I would not harvest any additional Roulette chips. You see Jim Perlowski there is “Honor among thieves, ah, ah, I mean harvesters !!” Todd had worked in Atlantic City at Trump Marina and was a good friend of all the chip collectors. He arranged a free meeting room for the A C Club and issued a lot of neat LE chips – we sure wish he was still working in A C, but he has done a great job in rebuilding and expanding the Diamond Jo Casino. I spent the night at the Isle of Capri Casino in Waterloo, Iowa.

Monday morning I got up and headed for Harrah’s in Council Bluffs. Along the way I stopped in several small Indian Casinos in Western Iowa. None of the roulette tables were open when I stopped at the Indian Casinos (I already had ALL of the Roulette chips from them anyway), but I did pick up some more Slot cards. In Council Bluffs, I picked up some chips from the Ameristar Casino and then went to Harrahs to spend the night. The Casino was pretty busy and I could not get a comped room because the College Baseball World Series was being held across the river in Omaha, Nebraska that week. The best rate I could get was $125.00, but I used some of my Reward Credits to pay for the room, so I didn’t have to pay cash for the room. They had a nice Diamond Lounge and I ate in there and also picked up a neat Diamond Parking and Car Wash Card (see below). After dinner, I went and played some Roulette and left the table with a few Roulette chips. I have been harvesting Roulette chips for some time now and I know one of the Cardinal rules is “Get in, Get the chips and Get out.” But even “Mr. Roulette” screws up once in a while. The boat at Harrah’s has 3 levels and instead of going off the boat and back to my room, I went to another level and put my Diamond card in a slot machine and started playing – what a mistake that was !! I was playing for about 45 minutes when a Casino employee came up to me and said – Are you Gerald Birl?? I thought he was like a “greeter in Walmart” seeing if there was anything I needed – boy was I wrong !! I answered yes and he informed me that “Security” believed I had left the Roulette table with some NCV chips and that I had to return the chips. I said I was in the middle of playing a slot machine. He said that’s okay - give him the chips and he will take them back to the table for me – what service !! I gave him the chips I had and a few minutes later he came back and gave me $20.00 and said I hope you hit a jackpot and walked off. That is the first time in my life that I have had this happen and I’ll never again forget the Cardinal rule of Roulette harvesting “Get in, Get the chips and Get out”.

When I left Council Bluffs on Tuesday morning, I knew I had two days of NO Casinos so I had to make the best of it as I drove across Nebraska, Wyoming and Utah before reaching Wendover, Nevada. If you can’t get chips from a Casino you do the next best thing – stop at antique shops. After driving all day, I reached my destination for the day – Laramie, Wyoming at about 4:00 pm. I went downtown and found 3 or 4 antique shops and to my surprise actually found some old poker chips (see below) and also a couple of posters and some old license plates that I would use to decorate my booth at the Convention in keeping with the “Western” theme of the Convention.. After getting the chips and other goodies, I found a nice restaurant and had a real good Wyoming steak dinner with all the trimmings.

The next morning I got up and headed for Utah. Along the way I stopped at a few other towns and checked out the antique shops, but I didn’t find any other chips or gambling stuff. I stopped in Park City, Utah and visited the son of my best friend who recently bought a big beautiful log home over looking a golf course and the ski slopes just off of Interstate 80. It was getting a little late and I turned down an invitation for dinner and took off for Wendover, Nevada. It started to rain as I traveled West along the shores of the Great Salt Lake. When I pulled into the parking lot of the “Rainbow” Casino, I had to stay in the van for about 15 minutes until the rain tapered off. After checking in, I went to the buffet and then went to the other Casinos in town. I stopped by the Red Garter and found out that they were staying open – I had heard they might be closing but I guess they’ll be around for a little while longer. I picked up some slot cards, but I didn’t get any Roulette chips – they were all very well worn and I already had most all of them anyway. After losing a few dollars at a blackjack table, I called it a night.

I was now in Nevada for the next 11 days and I wouldn’t have to travel very far to find an open Casino with Roulette chips and Slot Cards – life is good.
Stay tuned for Part III of my trip report

Take care,
“Mr. Roulette”