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Sunday, September 05, 1999
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Four Queens gambles, wins with Goodman chip
By Joan Patterson
Review-Journal
There's just something about the mayor of our fair city, Oscar Goodman, that turns people's heads -- often through sheer curiosity. His latest coup is becoming the first local politician to grace a Las Vegas casino chip, no small feat in a town clutching its limited edition chips, or "checks," like Linus hugging his security blanket.
The Goodman chip, which features a head-and-shoulders photograph of the former mob-hired attorney, was released Aug. 13. The Four Queens made the mintage as follows: 2,500 of the $5 chips and 250 of the $25 chips. By the end of the first day, 800 $5 chips were swept up by serious and novice collectors, according to Mark Karoll, the casino's senior financial analyst. With the help of some television publicity, all of the $25 chips were purchased by Aug. 16. Less than 100 of the $5 chips are remaining, he noted.
It seems even out-of-towners are interested in Goodman or at least know enough about his background to understand that a chip with the mayoral mug could be worth something one day.
"I'm kind of surprised of the appeal the chip has. I thought it would just do well here but people from all over the country have been ordering it," said David Harber, who sells chips through his business, Cheques in the Mail Inc.
Within the first week, Harber had sold 25 Goodman chips to out-of-state residents. Whether their value will hit the roof is uncertain, particularly for the $5 versions since there are more than 2,000 circulating. Besides, it's hard to predict the value of celebrity chips since public perception can play a part. The MGM Grand's Mike Tyson chips, for example, have quickly deflated in value because of the boxer's highly publicized troubles within the past few years, Harber said.
Were Four Queens executives astonished at the Goodman chip's success, what has probably been the fastest-selling limited edition release in the casino's history? Well, the casino started promoting a "surprise" limited edition chip for mid-August on a popular Internet site for collectors days before the release, Karoll said. The hotel also has a four-member "chip committee," created in 1995, devoted to selecting celebrities, historical events and holiday illustrations that will spark the public's interest.
Because of the success of the Goodman chip, he added, the casino will be releasing a $100 version in a few weeks. What was Goodman's appeal? "He's a very colorful figure, and charismatic," Karroll explained.
Every day someone calls the casino cage to find out when the newest chip will be available, Karoll said. Next to Goodman, some of the fastest-selling chips have been a set of four released one year for Halloween, last year's Chinese Year of the Tiger chip, and an April Fool's Day edition. The casino releases about 25 limited edition chips each year, he said.
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1999 Best of Las Vegas Results.
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Printable version of this story
The Mayor Oscar Goodman chip has become one of the Four Queens' fastest-selling limited editions.
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