Casino Holland and Amsterdam - my home base in Europe.

I played roulette at Casino Holland 2 or 3 times, but I had no luck at all. As a matter of fact I had no luck at the Roulette tables at all on my entire trip across Europe. The Europeans love Roulette and are very agressive in placing their bets. They move from table to table and shove their way in to place bets at the last possible minute. I found a nice safe place at the far end of the table and calmly placed my bets and avoided the "crush". My play at he Casino Holland was totally uneventful. I won some money on the slot machines, but ended up giving it back on the Roulette table.

The weather in the Netherlands was very consistent - rainy and chilly. I was there on 3 different occcasions during my criss cross trip of Europe. My wife's daughter had a baby in Amsterdam on October the 15th, 3 days after we arrived. Nancy is still in Europe helping with the new baby and his 2 year old brother. She is planning to return home on november 30th.

My step daughter and her husband have been living in Amsterdam since January of 2010. They bought an apartment about a month ago. Like everything else in Europe space is limited. They have the 3 and 4 floor of their building with no elavator and four sets of very steep and winding stairs. When I got to the top level I asked "Where is the lighthouse keeper??' The fridge is very small and storage is at a premium so the shop everyday and sometimes 2 or 3 times a day - that's the European style.

Almost every houes and apartment has a large beam and a pulley attached to the roof and all large objects, furniture, etc have to be pulled up and swung into the apartment thru extra large windows because you can't get much up the winding stairs.

Amsterdam's central city area is very old city with lots and lots of canals (more than Venice), squares, the famous "red light" district with the girls in the windows, tons of coffee shops were pot is lrgally smoked and historic buildings. Too bad the weather was crappy or I would have seen more of the city. The crime rate in the Netherlands is very low - hardly any violent crime or murders only 4 or 5 a year in Amsterdam a city of 750,00 people.

Bicycles rule the road and the pedestrians in Amsterdam. There are about 2 bikes for every person in Amaterdam. You will see entire families riding on one bike - in the front on the back on the handle bars, being pulled in a wagon etc. Pedestrians have to be careful or they will get run over by the bikers - it is really something to see and experience - you have to see it to believe it. The trams, buses and trains are very plentyful and a good way to get around the city quickly.

Although violent crime is very low, theft especially of bicycles is the main crime. Over 500 bikes per DAY are stolen. My step daughter has already had one taken. Most are taken by "pot heads" who sell them cheap and go to the coffee house and smoke the day away. A lot of bikes also end up in the canals after they are taken and the city fishes all of the abandoned bikes out of the canals once a year.

Shown below are chips I picked up at the Casino Holland in Amsterdam. This is the only Casino in Amsterdam that has chips. There are lots and lots of slot parlors around the city, but this is the only place that has table games. They used generic numbered chips on the Roulette wheels.

The chips are priced as follows. Please note 1 Euro is about $1.50 US.
I have a limited number of these chips so please email me - jerrybirl@verizon.net - if you want to buy any of these chips. Flat rate shipping charge of $2.00 will be added to all orders.

e 0.5 = $3.00 - 3 available
e1 with red #1 = $4.50 - 2 available
e1 with gold #1 = $4.50 - 1 available
e2 with "clear Diamond" insert at the top of the chip - a really neat and unique looking chip = $6.00 - 4 available
e2.5 = $6.75 - 4 available
e5 = $10.50 - 5 available

I will be posting other chips from other Casinos that I visited and some more stories in the next few days.

Take care,
Jerry