As you, and others, may know, the previous "Coast Casinos" group (under Michael Gaughan) (as with many casinos) rewarded locals that cashed their payroll checks at the casino cage with a free play token. Coast Casinos had special slot machines that accepted these tokens at each of the properties; Barbary Coast, Gold Coast, The Orleans, Suncoast and South Coast. While the payout could be upwards of $25,000, at a minimum every one won a free drink coupon (or $1 match at the tables).

Each property used an aluminum token that was the same size in thickness and diameter, but had different logo designs and colors, as follows (to the best of my recollection):

Babary Coast - aluminum (silver)
Gold Coast - aluminum (silver) and anodized red (several different shades)
The Orleans - anodized green (several shades)
Suncoast - anodized blue (several shades)
South Coast - anodized gold.

Again, the tokens were interchangable between the properties and all of them were identified as a part of the "paycheck party" program (except the earlier Barbary Coast tokens, I believe.

When Boyd Gaming bought Coast Casinos and later on when the South Coast was traded back to Michael Gaughan (and re-named South Point) and the Barbary Coast was sold to Harrah's, the program continues at the Gold Coast, The Orleans and the Suncoast and from time to time the different colored tokens end up in the cages to the respective properties for handing out when a payroll check is cashed. (the Southpoint still uses the tokens made for South Coast.)

Anyway, since the Paycheck Party concept existed under Gaughan, it is possible that the Plaza (under Gaughan Sr.) may have had Paycheck Party machines as well, but I just don't recall seeing them. And the funny thing here is that this "Plaza" token was from The Orleans. I suspect that someone who had the "Plaza" token figuered out that they also fit (and worked) in The Orleans machine and when it was processed through the count room, it looked like an old Barbary Coast token (a silver version) and was not culled out. If you stop by The Orleans, each window at the cage has an old plastic coin bucket filled with the green tokens (ready for handing out) and it is common to see a few mixed in red, blue and silver tokens.

I ask for those and was surprised that what I thought would be an older Barbary Coast token turned out to be this Plaza token which I've not seen before.

Whew... Thanks for reading!

Jim