I spoke with a friend of mine and fellow club member Rigo Villarnovo who worked at the Sahara to learn about some history of the piece and the game. For those of you that may not know Rigo worked the Baccarat Game at the Sahara when they were using the Plaques that I like to collect. After Baccarat He moved over to Black Jack and was one of the dealers that dealt to the final table of players during the Sahara World Champianship of Black Jack. That was in 1978. The Fisher Brothers put together the game at the property. He indicated there was quite a crowd at the event. Many celebrities were invited to attend and watch the final table game. Among those were John Broady, Billy Carter, Jimmy Carters brother, and Tennessee Ernie Ford. There were a few others but he could not remember. ABC Wide World of Sports was there filming the event for Television. Unfortunately it never aired due to the fact that there was a big story that was unfolding. Kenny Stabler, the left handed Quaterback from the Oakland Raiders .was busted for drugs. So instead of airing the the black jack tournament ABC did an hour special on Stabler.
Rigo, from what he could remember, the Champagne Bucket was used at the conclusion of the game for the celebratory toast. Where it ended up from there in anyones guess. I was fortunate to track this down from the person who acquired it who lives in Florida.