Today I stopped by a local coin show and looked for casino items. Talk about a stranger in a strange land!

But I did manage to find a couple of things, like these Silverbird and Silver City $1 slot machine tokens in unused condition. I asked the seller about them and he said that they came from a "dig" in Las Vegas, which from his description was the old El Rancho (previously Silverbird, previously Thunderbird) locations. When I said that it was unusual for them to be in such good condition (although stained) yet without concrete residue, he said that while they were buried, they were not dumped into concrete.

Instead, they were in bags and that the bags were then buried, he continued.

I love chips (OK, tokens in this case) with a story! However, it helps to verify the story. So, has anyone heard of unearthed tokens from the El Rancho site? And, were the Silverbird and Silver City related? (Something in the back of my mind said they were, but I can't recall why I have that feeling.)

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Thanks for looking!

Jim