Sad day for casino roll hunting

[Immy]

Pardon me if I get melodramatic here, but the end of an era has just occured for a major part of my coin roll hunting.

I walked into my favorite penny casino today, returned a cupful of zincs, had my usual $2.50 breakfast (pretty good too!) and went to the cage to get another $10 in pennies to take home...and got the news - they no longer sell them and have phased out the machines that pay off in actual pennies. NOOOOOOO!!!!!

I must have looked stunned walking around after that. There was no indication that it was imminent, at least not the last time I visited. I knew this day would come but I thought the change over would be gradual rather than instantaneous.

This is a lethal blow to my penny hunting. I've been coming here since Nov. 1985 when I first noticed their marquee screaming "Come Try Our Penny Slots" and have pulled hundreds of wheats, and a handful of Indians, from their machines. To think that I'll never do that again, at this casino or any other, hits me at my very core.

I love roll hunting but I'm not a fan of re-rolling. Casinos have spoiled me by allowing me to simply return buckets of coins. That day is over, at least for pennies. Yes, some banks have counting machines but Las Vegas has been slow to employ this technology at most banks. And with the casino there was never a chance of getting a whole box of brand new coins, the searcher's nightmare.

So I gave my favorite local casino one last look around before I walked out for the final time. Yes, they still have nickel and quarter machines but so do many other smaller places that are closer to my home. I still have many fond memories of jackpots I've hit there, time spent with my father side-by-side playing poker, plucking wheats as I noticed them in the dim lighting and lugging home rolls of copper, eager in anticipation over what they contained.

I'm glad I concentrated on pennies over the last several months. It became the last hurrah at my favorite local source for pennies. Maybe I knew the end was near...

P.S. I'm keeping the casino anonymous for my own silly reasons. Maybe some of my fellow roll hunters will stumble across it by accident if the visit my fair city.

 

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[GunFarce]

Well, the next step will be coming to a casino near you!.. The Machines at most Canadian Casinos don't pay out 'anything' hard anymore.. when you cash out, it prints a barcoded slip of paper that if valued at less than $400, can be fed into another slot machine, or a machine that looks like a ATM, and it spits out your cash winnings.. The only time coins, or tokens come out now, is when there is a computer problem or a power failure.. So, you can look forward to losing ALL slots that pay out real cash, or tokens.. I expected this to happen in the u.s.a. first, seeing that you folks are taxed on winnings.. There are no taxes of any kind on winnings in Canadian Casinos.. Sort of makes up for the lessor value of the Canabuck.. And I just KNOW everyone heading back from the Niagara Casinos to the U.S. ALWAYS tells uncle Sam about their winnings eh!!

 

[HobBob]

Having never been in a casino, I guess I don't know what I have been missing out on so far.
Nevertheless, I am truly sorry to hear of your misfortune, Immy. You were indeed fortunate to have had that luxury for so long!!! As I read your post, I couldn't help but look at the two boxes of pennies that I just finished going through (and re-rolling).

Really, it's not that bad. It's a nice activity to engage in while watching TV.

But on the other hand, I have never found IH's from bank rolls (although I did manage to snag a 1929 Lincoln from a roll this afternoon).

Happy hunting always, and I'm sure you'll adapt another method to keeping our crazy obsession alive. This board just wouldn't be the same without your posts!
Bob

 

[Immy]

Thanks for the kind words Bob. You've become a great contributor as well. I'll still list my nickel and half finds, or quarter and dime if I feel the need for diversity.

GunFarce, coinless machines have infiltrated Vegas with a vengeance. I've been told that the major casino where I work will be coinless by next year, so I've gotten used to the idea that "Ticket In Ticket Out" (TITO) machines are the New Way. However, the smaller casinos have always been a refuge from the TITO revolution. They're generally slower to adapt new technology which benefits roll hunters. I've resigned to the fact that some day, banks will be the only source for rolls. It just stings as it slowly becomes a reality.

 

[Postalrevnant]

Sorry for you loss Immy. I hope banks in your area make it up for you

Postalrevnant

 

[AFModell]

Ugh, Immy. Thats terrible, and the banks are unreliable. And what stinks even more, is that I think slowly but steadily we are going coinless (probably not in our lifetime) eventually. Our poor kids!

 

[RatRacer]

Can't stop PROGRESS, even if it ruins the experience. I've only gone to casinos 3 times, but the sound of those coins hitting the tray is one of the great things. I kept cashing out just to see and hear $50 in quarters come pouring out. I guess there's a lot less labor involved with the paperspitters, but it won't be the same. They've been discussing slots licenses here in PA for about 10 years (and have already SPENT the tax money the state will recieve if they decide to allow slots) but if they're going to be coinless, I'm not going.
Good luck with your halves and quarters, Immy, and hope they keep those machines for a long time!

 

[goldinmypan]

Didn't the casinos use halves on the Black Jack table to pay off a black jack or have the limits gone up high enough that its no longer the case.

 

[Immy]

Didn't the casinos use halves on the Black Jack table to pay off a black jack or have the limits gone up high enough that its no longer the case.

Casinos still use halves for the poker tables but I'm not sure about blackjack. I think halves aren't on the critical list as I had originally thought.