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A great post Pam! My Colorado Belle items & storys

For many years, my Pam and I would go to Laughlin, and we only stayed at the Belle, then owned by Circus Circus Enterprises. In fact, it was at the Belle where I first got the collecting bug! A single, $1, CIC gaming chip that I vowed to keep and not let the casino get the last of my blackjack stake!!! Over the years, we spent many, many weekends at the Belle, where I then only played poker, and while sitting there, I would examine the many $1 chips that passed around the table. Occasionally, I would find an error version of the Bud Jones manufactured , CIC $1 chips, sometimes spotting one in the pot of a hand I was not in. Dealers and players alike would allow me to swap out the chip for a non-error version and at one point, I placed a bounty on error chips that players and dealers would hold for me, awaiting my next trip. In doing so, I was able to put together this chart of $1 Colorado Belle CIC gaming chips.

On one occasion, I spotted what appeared to be an error version of the $5 CIC gaming chip and pulled it from play. By that time, I had gotten to know the night-shift cage manager and asked him if he could look through the racks of $5 chips, looking for other similar chips. He found 2 more, but we could not determine if they were an error or a purposeful design, where the samples got mixed in with the others. I sold one at an ccgtcc Auction and still hold the other 2, one is damaged.


The above 2 images courtesy ChipGuide. Chip on the left is the correct version.

Below is a very special find from a thrift store in Tucson, AZ. A commemorative Opening Day Fog Horn. This is the only one I have seen, and while I doubt that it is unique, I can't imagine a bunch of these being out there.

And last, but not least, there were two Colorado Belles on S. Casino Drive in Laughlin. The "Original" Belle was at 2020 S. Casino Drive, which is the current address for the Edgewater. The Original Belle was purchased by Circus Circus Ent., and they built the Edgewater on that property. In fact, the South Tower of the Edgewater was built around the Original Colorado Belle, in the same manner that the MGM Grand used the iron-beam skeletal structure of the Marina Casino. After they built the Edgewater, they then built the Colorado Belle at 2100 S. Casino Drive. To the best of my knowledge, neither property (the Belles) had the same owners on a gaming license.

I do not have Harvey Fuller's data, but does anyone know who owned the Original Belle?

Shown here is the plastic No Cash Value "1 Token" from the Original belle. It ii 38mm in diameter.

Thanks for looking! Jim

Messages In This Thread

Laughlin (part 1 of 3) grin Small town day 36
OH MY Look at all those Riverboats ! grin
Re: Rolling on the River... vbg
left a good job in city.... vbg
Re: Nice stuff! grin Working for the man... vbg
LAUGHLIN RIVER RUN RALLY
Re: LAUGHLIN RIVER RUN RALLY
Laughlin, Nevada..... grin
Re: Laughlin (part 1 of 3) grin Small town day 36
Re: Thanks, Eric! grin
A great post Pam! My Colorado Belle items & storys
Re: Great history! Thanks, Jim! grin
Yes, all are from the Original Belle...
Re: Yes, all are from the Original Belle...

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