Today was one of those days that I just didn't really feel all that inspired to write up a post. Yesterday was a bit of the same only I was much busier and had a good excuse to put it off. Today it would have been pure laziness! So I dug through some of my old pictures of Silver Striker tokens I've collected over the years and saw this one bringing in a flood of inspiration!
The image wasn't what inspired me, but more the casino itself. It's now a defunct casino which is why I bought it in the first place. It was established in the 1950's back in the early day of Las Vegas. It was also the birthplace of the World Series of Poker! First off, here is the silver commemorative token:
About the token:
silverstrikers.com
The fellow on the horse is none other than Benny Binion who is a bit of a Las Vegas legend. I like this token because it's from a defunct casino and it's part of Las Vegas history. It's also 0.6 Troy ounces of pure silver surrounded by a brass ring which make me really love it! Silver is running around $41 per Troy ounce currently!
Binion's Horseshoe
pinterest.jp, the hotel/casino in the late 1950's
Binion's Horseshoe Hotel and Casino was opened in 1951 in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. It was founded by Benny Binion who ran illegal gambling operations in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, but relocated to Nevada where it was perfectly legal. Unlike most casinos that focused on big name entertainers, the Horseshoe was focused on gambling and had some of the highest limits on gaming tables in Las Vegas. This drew in some of the biggest high rollers around.
Benny, however, had some legal issues including tax evasion that put him in prison for four years from 1953-1957. Over the years there also connections to organized crime, after all, the mob ran much of Las Vegas in the 1950's.
In 1970 Benny and his son Jack started hosting a little event called the World Series of Poker. They invited seven of the best poker players to compete, and it's now a huge yearly event today. But it all started thanks to Benny Binion!
The casino survived through many long decades and persisted until 2005 before the family sold the business.
The Famous $1 Million Dollar Display
One of the most interesting displays in Vegas history was at the entrance of the casino in the 1950's. The famous $1 million dollar display contained 100 $10,000 bills. Here you can see Binion with his daughter Wendy in front the all those valuable pieces of fiat. And back then $1 million dollars was much more valuable than today, as one dollar then is worth $11.99 today. So in today's terms it was a $12 million dollar display! Inflation at it's finest...
texasobserver.org
Eventually the family sold off the bills from $112,500 and up to $188,000 a piece. This one below sold for $188,000!
numismaticnews.net
Heritage Auctions
That is one expensive piece of paper! In case your wondering, the fellow on front on the bill is Salmon Chase. He was the Secretary of the Treasury under President Abraham Lincoln and later became a justice of the United States Supreme Court. But is probably best known for his portrait on the most valuable bills ever created for public use. Currently the $100 is the largest to prevent money laundering per the government. It would be nice to have a larger one in my opinion as $100 isn't worth all that much anymore...
That will do it for this Friday's post. I hope you enjoyed it and it was fun to put together! Please feel free to leave any comments or questions below. As always, thank you for all of your support, it's deeply appreciated. Have a great weekend everyone!
References:
https://www.silverstrikers.com/Web/Catalogs/SilverStrikes/Nevada/HorseshoeLVnv/Horseshoe-LVnv-Page-01.php/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binion%27s_Gambling_Hall_and_Hotel
Disclaimer
I am not a financial planner and this isn't financial advice. Please always do your own research before investing your money. You worked hard enough to earn it!
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