The world’s largest casino collectibles show is scheduled for June 12-14 at the South Point Casino in Las Vegas.
With the tagline of Catching the glitz and glamor of the past, present and future of casino gaming, the 32nd annual show will feature collectibles like chips, tokens, dice, strikes, slot cards and glass, matchbooks, swizzle sticks, cards and many other items.
“No where else can the public come and view more casino memorabilia in one place,” said Brad Smith, director of public relations for the Casino Collectibles Association that holds the event. “There are more than 40 of the most knowledgeable experts on gaming history artifacts on hand at the show. These are dealers from all over the world who display their collections and offer collectibles for viewing, sale or trade. Anyone from the public can come browse around. There’s a lot of history on display.
The show is at 9777 Las Vegas Boulevard South in South Point’s Exhibition Hall D. It runs from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. June 12 and 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. on the final two days.
Attendees will see antique gaming machines and a lot of memorabilia that casinos put out that the public doesn’t see a lot of, Smith said. Things like branded gaming table felt, liquor bottles, advertisements and postcards from today’s casinos and from casinos that no longer exist.
“It all started when a group of chip collectors got together and put a framework around their hobby,” Smith said. “Now, we have more than 1,000 members as an educational organization with a broader mission of preserving gaming history. We serve as a resource for casino gaming memorabilia. Anything with a casino name on it, we collect it. Dealers are more than willing to entertain purchase of anything they think is valuable. They will give you an honest and fair analysis of what you have and how rare it might be, along with approximate value.”
For members of the CCA on the Wednesday before the show, Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley will kick off the Early Bird Banquet by honoring the ChipGuide’s 25th anniversary with a proclamation from the city of Las Vegas. The ChipGuide is a free resource available online through its sister organization, the Museum of Gaming History. People can click on any country or state to learn about casino chips and their history. There are 322,000 items in the guide.
Smith said they will host several seminars during the show to highlight the history of casino gaming. The seminars are across the hall from the show floor and free to the public. The show will feature Michael Clifford, director of casino operations at Caesars Entertainment. He oversees the Table game operations at Caesars Palace and Cromwell. Clifford will speak at an educational seminar at 8 a.m. Thursday and do a meet-and-greet for attendees from 11 a.m. until noon.
CCA members Tom McEvoy and Smith will talk about the book they co-wrote, “Poker Pioneer,” that was nominated for a Global Poker Award for Best Poker Book of 2024. It’s the autobiography of McEvoy, and he will relate many stories of the casinos and poker rooms he played in over the past 40 years. It’s scheduled for 3 p.m. Thursday.
Pam Ashlund, aka the “Swizzle Queen,” the founder of the Swizzle Stick Collectors Club whose mission is to celebrate and preserve the humble swizzle stick as both collectible and an art form, will meet and greet attendees Friday from 11 a.m. to noon. Ashlund will also be an educational seminar speaker at 3 p.m. on Friday.
Dr. David Schwartz, an UNLV gaming history professor, who has a new book out on the history of Las Vegas Casinos titled “Something for Your Money.” He will meet and greet attendees from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday.
Matt Savage, executive tour director of the World Poker Tour and the founder of the Tournament Directors Association, will do a meet-and-greet for attendees on Friday from 9 to 10 a.m.
Charles Kaplan will talk about the significant 25-year history of the ChipGuide, and how valuable it is to the chip collecting community. He will host a seminar at 8 a.m. Friday.
Dustin Marks, a famous blackjack cheater who never got caught, will demonstrate his successful sleight-of-hand swindling moves with demonstrations Saturday at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Admission is $10 on Thursday, $5 on Friday morning and free Friday afternoon and all day Saturday.
The show will feature a raffle and a live auction at 7 p.m. Friday in which CCA members have donated rare memorabilia. There’s a silent auction as well.