Tropicana Las Vegas and Aztar Missouri casino chips
Two chip sets that collectors trade today share a corporate parent. The Tropicana Las Vegas house-mold cash set is a large Paulson set from a Strip resort, and the Aztar "MO" fractionals and $1 chips come from Aztar's riverboat-era casino in Caruthersville, Missouri. Aztar Corporation owned both for a time, so this article puts the history of the two together, then covers what collectors say about each chip set.
In this guide
Tropicana Las Vegas
The Tropicana opened on 4 April 1957 as the most expensive Las Vegas resort to that date at $15 million, billed as "the Tiffany of the Strip". Ownership changed many times: J. Kell Houssels took majority control in 1959, Trans-Texas Airways bought it in 1968, Ramada Inns purchased it in 1979 after an FBI investigation of mob skimming, and in 1989 it was spun off as Aztar Corporation. Columbia Sussex acquired it in 2007, Onex Corporation became owner after bankruptcy in 2009, Penn National Gaming bought it in 2015, and Bally's Corporation acquired it in 2022. The resort closed on 2 April 2024 and its towers were imploded on 9 October 2024 to make way for an Oakland Athletics stadium and a new Bally's resort.1
Chips from the Tropicana therefore span several ownership eras. A chip described as a "house mold" Tropicana chip is a standard house design, not a custom collector issue.
The house-mold cash set collectors trade
A seller listing a 1,200 chip Tropicana Las Vegas set described it this way: $1, $5, $25 and $100 chips on a Paulson house mold dating from the 1970s, with fractional chips added later and made more recently from hot-stamped Paulson diamond-mold chips. The seller's wear notes were that the $5s are the most worn, the $25s less so, and the $1s and $100s the least, with the fractionals in the best condition. He also said he had swapped a stray Flamingo $1 chip out of the set for a genuine Tropicana house-mold $1.2
This is useful to a buyer for three reasons:
- Expect mixed provenance. A set of this size is often assembled, and the fractionals here are explicitly described as made later by stamping other chips, so they are not original Tropicana house chips.
- Check for foreign chips. The seller found a Flamingo chip hidden among Tropicana chips, which shows how easily house-mould chips from different casinos can be mixed.
- Wear varies by denomination, as you would expect from casino use.
All of this is one seller's description; it is not a manufacturer's record, and the decade of manufacture is the seller's statement.
Aztar and the Missouri casino
Aztar Corporation was formed in 1989 as a spinoff from Ramada Inns and expanded into riverboats in Missouri and Indiana in 1995. When Columbia Sussex completed its $2.75 billion acquisition in January 2007, Aztar's five properties were Tropicana Atlantic City, Tropicana Las Vegas, the Ramada Express in Laughlin, Casino Aztar Evansville and Casino Aztar Caruthersville.3
Casino Aztar Caruthersville opened on 28 April 1995 at 777 East 3rd Street in Caruthersville, Missouri, built by Aztar for $55 million. Isle of Capri bought it in 2007 and rebranded it Lady Luck Casino Caruthersville on 10 June 2008; Century Casinos has operated it since 2019, with Vici Properties owning the real estate.4 Chips marked Aztar from that site therefore date from 1995 to 2007.
A collector on the forum has offered Aztar "MO" fractionals and $1 chips as trade inventory, calling the $1 "the most awesome $1".5 The pages read do not describe the chip's mould, colours or makers. Because "Aztar" was also the name of the Evansville, Indiana casino, the "MO" in the trader's wording is what distinguishes the Missouri chips; check the chip's text or a catalogue entry to be sure which casino you are holding.
Telling the sets apart
| Tropicana Las Vegas | Aztar Missouri | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Las Vegas Strip | Caruthersville, Missouri |
| Years | 1957-2024 | 1995-2007 as Aztar |
| Chips discussed | House-mold cash set | Fractionals and $1 |
Keep original chips and added fractionals in separate inventory rows
A playable Tropicana cash set can combine original house chips with custom fractionals. That can be a sensible table arrangement when disclosed, but it is different from a period-matched collection of casino issues. Mark every added fractional or replacement inlay individually so a later buyer can tell which chips belong to the historic series.
For a large lot, request a count by denomination and a list of substitutions. An overhead photograph helps verify quantity; close-ups of each value help identify the actual design. Do not let one denomination's condition stand in for all of them, especially where the source listing reports uneven wear.2
Search by state as well as the brand
Use Tropicana Las Vegas house mold chips, Tropicana Las Vegas Paulson cash set, Casino Aztar Missouri $1 chip and Aztar Caruthersville fractional chips. Keep Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Missouri and Indiana wording distinct. A shared corporate parent does not make chips from different properties interchangeable.
What should a listing say about a custom fractional?
It should identify the base chip, the added value or design, and any removed original markings. If those details are unknown, record the uncertainty. A casino-style stamp does not make a later customization an original house issue, even when it matches the rest of the set attractively.
Sources and further reading
- Tropicana Las Vegas, Wikipedia: history, ownership, closure and implosion.
- Tropicana house mold Las Vegas cash set, 1200 chips, Poker Chip Forum: seller's description.
- Aztar, Wikipedia: corporate history and property list.
- Casino Aztar Caruthersville, Wikipedia: Caruthersville casino history.
- Looking for ES pri tourney chips, a few PS, have stuff to trade, Poker Chip Forum: trade request mentioning Aztar MO chips.