Used playing cards from Aria Casino

[Alan Mendelson]

Canceled decks of used playing cards from the Aria Casino in Vegas are now at some of the 99-Cents Only stores. Yep, 99.99-cents a pack. On eBay they're selling for $4-$5 a pack. What was curious is that they came in larger boxes marked "Harrah's LV" so I think these came from a supplier or liquidator that works with the casinos. The packs had a seal indicating they were used at Aria. In hindsight I should have bought a pack to see what the "cancellation" was. Usually they put the pack into some kind of cutting machine and a corner of the deck is cut off.

I have a lot of canceled casino dice and a small circle is pressed into the side with the four pips. I've heard about dice being drilled through with a hole but haven't seen that. I think that's too much trouble -- the circle in the center of the four pips is obvious enough.

The cancellations are of course needed to prevent a cheat from introducing "extra cards" into a game or switching dice when, for example, one goes off the table. But besides looking for cancellation marks when a die goes off the table, the floorman or boxman is also checking the "serial number" as serial numbers change with various shifts, and he is also checking for damage such as a chipped corner.

[Vegas Vic]

I have collected (for my son-in-law) dice and cards from every casino which offers them ..probably up to 50 LV locations by now as well as Reno & Lake Tahoe area casinos. Nearly all of the card decks just have a hole drilled in them rather than a corner cut off. My trip to LV in September will now hopefully include Aria & Cosmopolitan additions to his collection.

[Alan Mendelson]

I also have a collection of "players cards" from the various casino slot clubs-- some "first editions" like the original New York New York player's card. What I regret not taking home with me were the "wet naps" that they used to have at the "change booths" before "ticket in - ticket out." I think those might be very "collectible" some day. I remember going to the McDonald's Museum here in Southern California and I was told that one of the most valuable McDonald's collectible was an original strip of four McDonald's moist towelettes. Why so valuable? Because no one thought to keep them.

I'm sure that there are many room key cards, and players cards, and plastic coin buckets in the hands of collectors, but did you save the moist packaged towelettes that have the casino's name on them?

Harrah's Rincon in San Diego still has towelettes that say "Harrah's" but at other casinos they have "generic brands," like you get from a local sushi joint.