Back in 2012, I was very fortunate to be able to speak at the annual convention of the Casino Chip and Gaming Token Collectors Club. There was an expo associated with the convention, where people were selling casino collectibles of all sorts. My interest was in obtaining a collection that had a single card representing each distinct design used by each U.S. casino, as well as casinos worldwide. There was one vendor who was selling exactly what I was looking for (and much more): a collection of 750 distinct playing cards along with six books that cataloged these cards. These are a must-have for the card collector. Though it took me a while to buy the full set of cards and books (until last week), I am completely satisfied with the purchase. One glance will tell you that putting together this collection was an act of love.
Here is a picture of the collection (click for larger image):
The playing card guides were put together by Sandi Steffner and Janice O’Neal, and were printed and published by Jim Steffner from Eagle Creek Gaming. Here are the titles for the six guides:
- Nevada Casino Playing Card Guide
- Casino Playing Card Guide, Book 2, Atlantic City, California, Colorado, Detroit, South Dakota, Washington
- Indian Casino Playing Card Gide, Book 3
- Riverboat and Cruise Ship Playing Card Guide, Book 4
- Australia/New Zealand, Canada, Canadian Riverboats, Caribbean, Foreign, Racetracks, Book 5
- Nevada Casino Playing Card Guide Addendum
I went through the 750 casino cards and selected one card of each type. Note that I did not include cards with a blank back or unusual collector cards. Also, the cards I selected are for use on table games on the main casino floor, and are not designed for the poker room.
Using the guides, I was able to identify the manufacturer for these cards. I also have included some cards not in the books that I found from my own travels.
The images are presented as thumbnails. Click on the image to view it full-sized.
Here is the survey:
The United States Playing Card Company (USPC) sells cards under several different brands, including Hoyle, Fournier, Bee and Aristocrat.
Aristocrat
Aristocrat Diamond
Aristocrat Diamond Fade
Aristocrat MGM Custom
Aristocrat Montbleu Arrows
Bee
Bee Diamond
Bee Diamond Fade (Stinger)
Bee Fan Blade
Bee Harrahs Stars
Bee Horseshoe Fade
Fournier
Fourier Carnival Logo
Hoyle
Gaming Partners International (GPI) sells cards under the brands Gemaco and Paulson.
GPI
GPI M Grand Pip Fade
Gemaco
Gemaco Cowboy Hats
Gemaco Gemback
Gemaco Harrahs Stars
Gemaco Jax
Gemaco Large Gemback
Gemaco Mini Diamond
Gemaco Pinwheel
Gemaco Sentinel D Fade
Gemaco Sentinel Hooters Fade
Gemaco Swirl
Gemaco Tulalip Fade
Gemaco Weave Fade
Paulson
Paulson Circle Back
Paulson Circle Back Fade
Paulson Honeycomb
Paulson Palm Tree
Paulson Web[/caption]
Angel
I do not have any images of Angel cards with an imprinted logo.
Angel 01
Angel 810
Liberty Playing Cards
Liberty Crusader
Liberty Small Diamond
Carta Mundi
Carta Mundi D Fade
Carta Mundi Grand
Cartamundi 8 Negative
Cartamundi 8 Positive
Cartamundi Diamond Single Line
Cartamundi Circle Negative
Cartamundi Circle Positive Fade
Sun Pacific
Some Website Links
Card companies:
