nyah hah hah!! First time I visited the casino, I wandered into the poker room and asked about the $3 chips. "Not for sale, no no no!" screamed the Manager. So luck was definitely on your side to get even one from the Midnight Manager there. Perhaps they were a bit more inclined to sell to a player as opposed to someone who just popped in . . .

Yes, the big Civil War - came about, as I understand it, from an influx of Mi-Wuk going back to the 1930's when there was no work to be had around Jackson - tribal members drove (or took wagons) south to earn money picking fruit in the orchards. They heard of the Picayune Reservation and asked those Indians if they could live there - and were told yes. All went fairly well (poverty among all) until the casino and hotel opened. Then descendents of the "wanderers" put up rival candidates for Chief and Tribal Council. That did not set well with the original Indians (to put it mildly) and the war was on.

Chukchansi was closed for at least a year during which time, it was said, the tribe lost a million dollars a day.

I went up there the weekend after it re-opened - the chips were the same as before - poker room was closed by then, so no $3 chips. Played a "Moulin Rouge" slot game - 8 pink slippers showed up - machine went wild and I got a $300 jackpot. Grabbed the money and RAN back home. Well, Cat Trac Truck did the running, I was just sittin', stearin' and smilin'.