Back in 2012, I was very fortunate to be able to speak at the annual convention of the Casino Chip and Gaming Token Collectors Club. There was an expo associated with the convention, where people were selling casino collectibles of all sorts. My interest was in obtaining a collection that had a single card representing each distinct design used by each U.S. casino, as well as casinos worldwide. There was one vendor who was selling exactly what I was looking for (and much more): a collection of 750 distinct playing cards along with six books that cataloged these cards. These are a must-have for the card collector. Though it took me a while to buy the full set of cards and books (until last week), I am completely satisfied with the purchase. One glance will tell you that putting together this collection was an act of love.

Here is a picture of the collection (click for larger image):

 

Collection 1


The playing card guides were put together by Sandi Steffner and Janice O’Neal, and were printed and published by Jim Steffner from Eagle Creek Gaming. Here are the titles for the six guides:

  • Nevada Casino Playing Card Guide
  • Casino Playing Card Guide, Book 2, Atlantic City, California, Colorado, Detroit, South Dakota, Washington
  • Indian Casino Playing Card Gide, Book 3
  • Riverboat and Cruise Ship Playing Card Guide, Book 4
  • Australia/New Zealand, Canada, Canadian Riverboats, Caribbean, Foreign, Racetracks, Book 5
  • Nevada Casino Playing Card Guide Addendum

I went through the 750 casino cards and selected one card of each type. Note that I did not include cards with a blank back or unusual collector cards. Also, the cards I selected are for use on table games on the main casino floor, and are not designed for the poker room.

Using the guides, I was able to identify the manufacturer for these cards. I also have included some cards not in the books that I found from my own travels.

The images are presented as thumbnails. Click on the image to view it full-sized.

Here is the survey:


The United States Playing Card Company (USPC) sells cards under several different brands, including Hoyle, Fournier, Bee and Aristocrat.

Aristocrat

Aristocrat-Diamond

Aristocrat Diamond

Aristocrat-diamond-fade

Aristocrat Diamond Fade

Aristocrat-mgm-custom

Aristocrat MGM Custom

Aristocrat-montbleu-arrow

Aristocrat Montbleu Arrows


Bee

Bee-diamond

Bee Diamond

Bee-diamond-fade

Bee Diamond Fade (Stinger)

Bee-fan-blade

Bee Fan Blade

Bee-harrahs

Bee Harrahs Stars

Bee-horseshoe-fade

Bee Horseshoe Fade


Fournier

Fournier-carnival

Fourier Carnival Logo


Hoyle

Hoyle-diamond-broken
Hoyle Diamond Broken Line

Gaming Partners International (GPI) sells cards under the brands Gemaco and Paulson.

GPI

Gpi-grand

GPI M Grand Pip Fade


Gemaco

Gemaco-cowboy-hats

Gemaco Cowboy Hats

Gemaco-gemback

Gemaco Gemback

Gemaco-harrahs

Gemaco Harrahs Stars

Gemaco-jax

Gemaco Jax

Gemaco-large-gemback

Gemaco Large Gemback

Gemaco-mini-diamond

Gemaco Mini Diamond

Gemaco-Pinwheel

Gemaco Pinwheel

Gemaco-sentinel

Gemaco Sentinel D Fade

Gemaco-sentinel-hooters

Gemaco Sentinel Hooters Fade

Gemaco-swirl

Gemaco Swirl

Gemaco-tulalip-fade

Gemaco Tulalip Fade

Gemaco-weave-fade

Gemaco Weave Fade


Paulson

Paulson-circle-back

Paulson Circle Back

Paulson-circle-back-fade

Paulson Circle Back Fade

Paulson-honeycomb

Paulson Honeycomb

Paulson-palm-tree

Paulson Palm Tree

Paulson-web

Paulson Web[/caption]


Angel

I do not have any images of Angel cards with an imprinted logo.

Angel-01

Angel 01

Angel-810

Angel 810


Liberty Playing Cards

Liberty-crusader

Liberty Crusader

Liberty-small-diamond

Liberty Small Diamond


Carta Mundi

Carta-mundi-d

Carta Mundi D Fade

Carta-mundi-grand

Carta Mundi Grand

Carta-mundi-8-negative

Cartamundi 8 Negative

Carta-mundi-8-positive

Cartamundi 8 Positive

Carta-mundi-diamond

Cartamundi Diamond Single Line

Carta-mundi-circle-negative

Cartamundi Circle Negative

Carta-mundi-cicle-positive

Cartamundi Circle Positive Fade


Sun Pacific

Sun-pacific
Sun Pacific 01 Fade

 Some Website Links

Card companies:

Received his Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Arizona in 1983. Eliot has been a Professor of both Mathematics and Computer Science. Eliot retired from academia in 2009. Eliot Jacobson