From the Casino Owner

Our November VIP Club Contest

10/31/2012

It's November 1, and time for our first VIP Club contest. If you're a club member, you can enter the contest by sending your response to our contest question to me at [email protected].

My favorite movie is Casablanca, the classic tale of lost love, intrigue and loyalty at Rick's Cafe during World War II. Our contest question comes from the film. And if you haven't seen it, it's worth buying or renting.

In Casablanca, Humphrey Bogart's character, Rick Blaine, decides to "help out" a down-on-his-luck patron at Rick's roulette table, suggesting he play a specific number ... twice. What number (and color) does Rick tell the man to play?

The contest winner will be drawn at random on December 1, 2012, from among all correct answers e-mailed to [email protected]. Your winnings will be the number that is the correct answer to the question, in U.S. dollars, on account at the Key West Resort & Casino.

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Welcome, from the casino owner...

10/28/2012

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My name is Dennis Sandusky. About a year ago, I became the owner of a "fantasy" casino.

You're here now, at the Key West Resort & Casino. As your host, I should explain how this all happened. Like all good stories, it has romance, risk, some luck, and a happy ending.

Eight years ago, my wife and I spent our honeymoon in Key West, and fell in love with the beautiful island town. A few years later, it was a nod to romance that led me to buy a small set of nice casino chips called "Key West Resort & Casino." They're the real thing -- clay casino chips made by the old American company ASM, maker of casino chips since the early days of Las Vegas. They look and feel like table chips from the 1950s or 60s, with a great "retro" look to them, and my wife liked them, too.

In the high-end world of casino chip collecting, the Key West chips are classified as "fantasy," because the casino never existed anywhere. Key West was a name, made up to make chips that looked real. The chips are popular, and well-known among collectors worldwide.

Soon, I wanted to add some chips to my home game table, and called the retailer, Apache Poker chips in Las Vegas. I learned the chips would be discontinued. I asked about making a special order with the manufacturer. After some negotiation, Apache agreed to sell me the line of chips and the artwork used to make them, and ASM agreed to make the chips for me, as the new "casino" owner.

Suddenly, I was the "owner" of the Key West Resort & Casino. And since owning a casino has always been on my list of dream jobs, I decided to have some fun with it and see what we could accomplish.

I worked with John Faulhaber, the artist who designed the inlay of the original Key West chips, and with Jim Blanchard of ASM, a legend in the casino business. We added denominations to the set and sold thousands of the chips to collectors worldwide. (They'd have a face value of $5 million, if they were only real.)

Dealer buttons and, of course, playing cards came next, with one simple requirement -- whatever we're making, it has to look and feel like it came from a real casino.

As more people became involved, it was clear that this hobby was becoming a business. Just a few weeks ago, I formed the Continental Card & Game Company in Delaware to sell our Key West items.

So why not just call the business, "The Key West Resort & Casino?"

People in government offices have quite a reaction if you try to open a business with "casino" in the name, and it soon became clear we should name the company something else, and operate the "casino" as a part of the business. And in case you're wondering, no -- we don't operate any real gaming operations, on the web or anywhere else.

The company's mission is simple: connect with casino industry manufacturers to make high-quality gaming supplies that look and feel like they came from a real Key West Resort & Casino, and promote the casino as if it really existed. This website is the place you can come to buy those items, much as you could buy chips at a casino and walk out with them. (And we don't charge face value for most of our chips.)

You can find our chips, cards and dealer buttons at the "Cashier's Cage --" our casino store -- and we have a VIP Club page, where members can buy products not available to the public, see specials, earn discounts and see what's coming to our "casino floor" in the months to come.

I'd like to use this blog to discuss the site, what's available, what's next, and what you would like to see here, as well as the casino chip and playing card industries, casino gaming and other things. And just like a real resort or casino, I sincerely hope you enjoy your visit, and plan to return again soon.

Dennis

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Our November VIP Club Contest

Welcome, from the casino owner...

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