Las Vegas Adventures

My uncle, Lou Hickock, loved Las Vegas and visited twice a year from 1996 through 2017. He loved the slots. After staying at the Aladdin, the first year, he stayed at the Imperial Palace in 1998 after they imploded the Aladdin. In later years, he enjoyed staying at the Plaza and the Four Queens.

Lou kept a little black book where he kept track of his Las Vegas visits alphabetically. Betty Boop and Humphrey Bogart were under the B’s. John Wayne, Betty Davis, W.C. Fields, Clark Gable, Laurel and Hardy, and Groucho Marks appeared on the appropriate pages. Marilyn Monroe was under the M’s. Each name was accompanied by a casino and a dollar amount. Marilyn Monroe and Betty Boop were both listed as “Four Queens $300”. The others that I looked at read “Plaza $10”.

Unfortunately, he was a victim of the pandemic in 2020 and could not survive all the continuing effects of the disease. I was honored that my uncle named me, Priscilla Fox, his executor. I took possession of the little black book and smiled at what I assumed were his adventures with celebrities or their look-alike counterparts while he was in Las Vegas.

Several weeks later, I was cleaning out Uncle Lou’s apartment and found a safety deposit key in his desk drawer. I called the bank to confirm that he did, indeed, have a safety deposit box with them. The bank manager assured me that he did. I explained that Uncle Lou had passed away and that I was the executor. He outlined the procedure for my obtaining access to the box, which entailed providing the bank with a death certificate with an original seal. I assured him that I had the appropriate paperwork, and that I also had the key to the safety deposit box. We arranged to meet the next day.

Imagine my surprise upon opening the box and finding all of Uncle Lou’s “adventures” in the box. It turned out that he was collecting silver strikes from the casinos. I was able to find a website online which described exactly what these were. They were not for playing the slots, they were tokens created by the casinos and distributed in special “Silver Strike” machines for collecting and exchanging with other collectors. There was even a club listed online with over 400 members around the world who met twice a year to enjoy a slot tournament and receive special silver strikes commemorating the events. One such $300 token is issued by the Four Queens in a limited number on the day of each event. To receive one, a collector must turn in thirty $10 silver strikes they have collected from the regular silver strike machine throughout the year. The Four Queens also issues special tokens for holidays like St. Patrick’s Day and Halloween.

Uncle Lou listed his collection in his little black book with their face value and the casino that he won them from. I was able to match all his entries with individual tokens that I found in the safety deposit box.

Even better, I was able to contact the President of the Silver Strike Club and he remembered my uncle Lou. It was fun to hear stories about his adventures playing the slots at the tournaments and collecting his prized tokens. The Club President was able to give me a website where the members buy and sell tokens. With uncle Lou’s little black book, I can create a complete list of the tokens I have to sell. I am looking forward to finding someone who will enjoy them as much as my uncle Lou did.