The 4th Edition of The Official U.S. Casino Chip Price Guide lists this as a baccarat chip, although the chip itself does not specifically indicate such.

My only memories of Harrah's are actually of the New Orleans property, rather than the Las Vegas property. I was there for two weeks attending a school for the Navy. The first night I visited the casino I won $350 at the blackjack tables, the most I think I've ever won at a single sitting. Over the next few days I pressed my winnings up to $500 while visiting the other casinos in the area-- I was living the high life, baby .

Of course, as all good gamblers are wont to do, I kept going and eventually gave it all back. The memorable portion was not that I gave back most of my winnings in one night, but what was happening in the chair next to me. A guy sat down who seemed either drunk or demented, and quickly bought in for something less than $1,000 (and this was like a $10 or $15 minimum table). After a couple of smaller bets he was quickly playing for $500 a hand, the table maximum. He had a hard time even collecting his chips and indicating whether to hit or stand, and kept trying to bet $1,000 or more each hand. Every time the dealer would patiently give him back the extra chips and kindly remind him of the table limit.

The guy continually muttered to himself in incoherent but audible tones, and the dealer would constantly ask him if he was speaking to her-- to which he would give no indication either way. The rest of us at the table all kind of looked at ourselves as if to say "What is this guy even doing here? Does he even realise where he is and what's going on?"-- I'm not sure this guy would have been of a mind to even play according to basic Blackjack strategy. But, he knew how to put his money where he needed to place a bet, and that was really all he had to do: this guy couldn't lose. To every 15 or 16 I got, he got a 20 or 21, and after like 20 minutes he was up over $9,000. Finally he lost two hands in a row, and staggered up to leave. The dealer tried to color him up, but he seemed to want all of the chips. After some explanation of what she was trying to do, she let him just keep them all. After he pocketed them he turned to leave. Then he paused, turned around and took out 3 $500 chips. He paused again, then tossed them across the table to the dealer and semi-coherently muttered 'tip', and then turned back around and staggered off. He gave no acknowledgement of her profuse thanks, and of course the whole table went crazy. The astonished dealer then told a couple of other dealers at nearby tables what had happened, and they were all smiling, cheering, and high-fiving each other (I could only presume that they all split the tips).

Having lost money myself I wasn't in the best mood, and really just wanted to say to the guy, "Hey! How about sharing the love? I took all of the crappy cards for you!" However, I decided simply to cash out and go back to base to nurse my wounds-- realising that Lady Luck sometimes smiles upon you, and sometimes even comes to find you again, but then ends up finding the guy right next to you to be more attractive.

Brent J. Jensen
R-8007
orbis non sufficit