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News From the Dutch Caribbean

by Ralph Pollack
CC&GTCC LM-749-13

News From the Dutch Caribbean, May, 2001


NEWS FROM ARUBA 2001: UPDATE


The following new information is from my recent experiences and to add to my past books that were published. It will serve as an update to those of you that are interested in Aruba and to add as addendum to the 2000 edition of the book on 'The Casinos of Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, St Maarten & Suriname - The Dutch Caribbean'.

The Casablanca Casino in the Wyndham Hotel removed their Black $100.00 Hat & Cane chips and substituted the Chipco gray 'Bs. 100' chip with the PRC # CAS - 100 CPO.1. This particular chip was previously used for their Spanish South American clientele.

AUA-CAS- 100 H&C.1 AUA-CAS- 100 CPO.1

They also removed their regular issue $25.00 green chip, AUA-CAS- 25 H&C.1, and replaced it with their previous lime green 'credit chip' with the PRC # AUA-CAS - 25 H&C.2.

AUA-CAS- 25 H&C.1 AUA-CAS 25 H&C.2

The Excelsior Casino has issued a new $1.00 Chipco chip with a PRC # EXC - 1 CPO.3 and the word 'Aruba' at the base of its rim.

AUA-EXC-1 CPO.3

AUA-EXC-2.5 CPO.1

They also have a novel $2.50 Chipco chip. This very attractive chip has a hot pink color with yellow writing and has a PRC # AUA-EXC - 2.5 CPO.1.

Royal Cabana Casino:
On Monday March 5, 2001 the Government of Aruba closed the Royal Cabana Casino under the ownership of Mr. Nathan Katz. I was in this casino just two days prior to that date and everything seemed to operate as usual.

The Crystal Casino issued a new series of Silver Strikes with the 'S' mint mark and the new PRC # AUA-CRY - 10 SS.2. The previous issue was minted at the Gold Duck Company with the 'GDC' mintmark both on the obverse and the reverse side.

The Stellaris Casino in the Marriott Hotel also re-issued their Silver Strikes with the 'G' mint mark instead of the previous 'S' mint mark from the Sunshine Mint. They also issued a new $1.00 Bud Jones Plastic Inlay chip with a new PRC # AUA-STE - 1 BJP.2. This color is white while the former one with the PRC # STE - 1 BJP.1 has an 'off white' color.

The Copa Cabana Casino in a momentous move actually has two casino tokens bearing its name. In all the years I have gone to Aruba, this is the first time the casino name ever appeared in any of the Hyatt Regency Hotel Casino gaming items. They issued new 5 cent and 25 cent brass-like tokens from the 'WRM' mint. These tokens are struck with such great detail that one feels that they should keep them rather than use them in the slot machines! Both of these tokens are dated '2000' and were issued on November 20th, 2000. The 25 center reminds me of the sound and feel of a $5.00 Dollar gold piece when one places it on a hard table. The PRC # of the 5 center is, COP - .05 T.1, while the 25 center is COP - .25 T.1.

AUA-COP-.05 T.1 AUA-COP- .25 T.1

The Casino at the Radisson also has a series of great looking tournament Chipco chips and a $5.00 'Match Play'. The PRC #'s of the Tournament chips are: PRC - AUA-THE - 1- CPO.2, PRC # AUA-THE - 5 CPO.2, PRC # AUA-THE - 25 -CPO.2 and PRC# AUA- THE - 100 CPO.2.. The $5.00 match play is the 3rd 5 Dollar chip in the Chipco series and has a PRC # AUA-THE - 5 CPO.3

AUA-THE- 5 CPO.3

Palace Casino's hidden treasures:
The Royal Palm Casino, which previously was the Palace Casino, has a .999 Pure Silver $25.00 token that is absolutely stunning. The newly discovered token has a PRC # of AUA-PAL- 25 T.1.

They also removed the great 5 cent tokens and is using US nickels. Therefore the old 5-cent Royal Palm Casino tokens are unavailable.

All the PRC code numbers Pollack's Reference Code Numbers and are derived from Ralph P. Pollack's third book, "The Casinos of Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, St. Maarten & Suriname ~ The Dutch Caribbean" published in 2000.

'Til next time, Ralph.


Visit Dartmouth Chips, Ralph Pollack's website


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