My Set Collecting journey began with The Riviera!

[Dan M R-9148]

As a young kid My mom and dad would often visit my uncle who came up in gaming, at that time he was the "boss" of casino operations at the "Riv", if it was to happen in the casino it had to come to Frank!   I always asked him to tell the old stories of the days past, gamblers he met, and would listen entranced!

I loved the Riviera, it felt like home, as a young kid my folks would take us to Las Vegas for a visit always staying at the Riviera. I often reflect on how many security guards may have been silently following me and my young nephew around the hotel as we explored!! Even shooing us off the gaming floor as we listened to the coins and tokens dropping into the trays of all those slots!

Once old enough to actually play, Frank would always "tease" about "the gambling bug", little did I know he wasn't just warning of the danger or making fun of the guy that came with $500 and was now cashing in his plane ticket to "make the big come back". He was teaching a lesson.

The Riviera was the place where the chip bug bit me.  I needed a set of casino chips at home, real ones!  While my journey started with the Paulson store and fantasy chips at home, yep, they were real chips! not worth much, but "real", My Riv chips were the passion.   Who'd have thunk that grabbing a few chips from my dads drawer would have led to one day being my passion set along with some sorted singles!
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