I had this Thunderbird chip in my collection for over 12 years. I believe I bought it from Bill Paine an old time Vegas collector. Up until that time I had heard of one other recently selling for over $1,000. There was a set actually with a $25 & a $100. Those I believe sold for 2 & 3 thousand dollars. Others apparently believe the strong possibilities to them being from Vegas.

The logo of the sideways bird was an early logo soon after they opened. Could another club of been open in 1948 elsewhere, & they hauled these to Vegas to outfit a huge club at the time? Doubtful.

Did the other club in Illinois exist before 1948. Let me know.

I have an old postcard in my collection from about the mid 40's of a motel in Utah showing a lit neon sign with the same Las Vegas bird! Did the mob guys that came from back east to open a casino in Vegas stop along the way at a little motel & after going over a name to call their casino stumble upon a sign in a small town, in Utah of all places, & say "this is it" "Our new casino name". When they arrived in Vegas they built & opened the Thunderbird. Another bit of trivia is that for about a year the tower where the huge neon bird was to be perched, sat empty. Were they making this elaborate sign? Or did they go buy the motel, close it down, & have the neon sign brought to Vegas?

Or ,or. or, if, if, if. We will probably never know. As for Rene & Nevada Mint who bought these from myself & 3 other partners who found these through one of the many hundreds of calls we received to buy chips; when we ran 4 national ads in major publications in a year & a half time. Rene & partners did what they thought best. Pick out worthwhile chips to sell in somewhat still collectible condition & offer them at a fair price. The people buying them seemed happy & Rene told me they sold a lot & were happy overall.
What we kept were 16 of the 20 $25 green with 4 red chips that were with these. Also we each kept one of the $5's. I quickly looked at a box, saw most were worn the same, grabbed 4 & we divided them up. Rene got all the rest but one cracked one that had been set aside when found in the box. Rene & friends, I believe got 4 of the $25's that we included. It may of been 3 but really doesn't matter. We still have 4 for sale at $300 each. I see a $5 which looks rather decent is on ebay right now at over $75.

As for where they came from I dont recall. If I can find a note I will let you know. I remember the people had bought them at a thrift store. I recall now. It was Elko, Nevada.

Why isn't the $5 yellow 4th issue arrowdie never questioned? I bet if Rene came out with even one tomorrow it would suddenly be disputed. Is there reason for this? That I say would be up to people who really know Rene & not by people who hear things about him. Facts are one thing & heresay is another. Thunder Bird Hotel (in 2 words) with a bird looking totally different than the neon sign. Do you now doubt that? Go ahead. So I can show facts about it. See page 154 of my second edition price guide. What you don't have it? You are missing out on so much information! I really enjoy sharing information when I can find the time.