Author: vsafronov

It was only once I’d visited the Millennium Casino in Minsk. But it was a pretty remarkable case.

The Millennium Casino opened in the capital of Belarus in around 2007. And this was the best casino in Minsk at the time of the opening. Owners and management changed several times, but I’ve been in other countries all this time. When I finally reached the Millennium Casino, it was already living out its last days… I should’ve take this into account.

I remember coming to the Millennium Casino and sitting at the blackjack table without thinking twice. I’m good at blackjack and I’m always happy when the rules are on the player’s side. The game was good, but I quickly lost something about 500 US dollars. It didn’t scare me and I was going to continue playing. But suddenly the casino manager ordered to change the minimum and maximum bet limits on my table to 25$! Ie, without the possibility of spread. I was deeply disturbed. “I lost 500$, and you don’t give me a chance to recoup!” I said. But the casino representatives were adamant. Other players were also surprised by this decision. The manager whispered to them to go for the next tables, and leave me alone on this one. Then I called the police…

I called the police and said that the casino is cheating on me. And brave Belarusian guys’ve arrived with guns blazing. They entered the casino and I began explaining my position. The police didn’t understand a thing, but only the fact of the policemen presence was enough. Police presence in the casino is bad for public and, as a consequence, for the establishment prestige. The owner of the Millennium casino came, he began to bargain with me. As a result, we agreed – he returned all my lost money, and I dropped all charges, and the police left. And, of course, I didn’t came back…

Here is one of the chips from the Millennium casino:

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Read more about casinos in Minsk and Belarus on the news site: https://casinobelarus.ru/

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I do not often get into any tricky situations when I take chips for a collection. But I had to escape from Papanin casino…

I was in Papanin Casino in 2005. I came there by car with my friends. We made an evening tour through the casinos of Saint Petersburg. Papanin was probably the fifth casino on our list. My friends and I decided that we would not stay there for a long time.

The entrance to the casino was combined with the club. The guards especially searched all of those who go to the club, but casino players were not searched.

Inside was a quiet place with low ceilings and a small number of players. I decided to not play, but to buy chips for the collection at the casino cashier. My friends, having made a circle of honor for the casino, left first. I bought a few chips and went out too. When I was leaving the casino, the guard received instructions over the microphone. They were talking about me! And that I was taking chips out of the casino! The guard quickly started to call me, but I did not respond as I was already walking down the street to the car. And then they chased after me! I did not expect that. And I ran too. Of course, I ran to the car first. The guards ran up and politely asked to return the chips. One of my friends (by the way, he is the CEO of another casino in Saint Petersburg) said that we do not have chips. We started the car and left.

It is not very good when you take away the chips from the casino, and they do not agree with it. But I’m a collector. And I apologize to all of the casinos from whom I “stole” the chips. And the chips from the Papanin casino are actually some of my favourite ones in my collection. One of the several chips from this casino:

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My hobby for collecting casino chips is supported by a lot of my friends. And such friends work in the Imperium casino in Gomel city, Belarus. I came to visit them in the summer of 2017. Friends showed me their casino, treated and gave chips.

It’s hard for me to judge the level of the Imperium casino. Of course, I liked it there. But I did not play in this casino. I hope my friends are as attentive to all their guests.

I also took a few photos inside the Imperium casino. I like to take pictures in the casino and it was my lucky day.

The chips in the Imperium casino are simple, made by the SET company.

Here is one of the chips from the Imperium casino:

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Read more about casinos in Belarus on the news site: https://casinobelarus.ru/

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Altai is a territory rich in beautiful places, nature reserves and vast areas. In the summer of 2017, my friends invited me to visit Altai. I walked through the mountains, swam in the mountain rivers, admired nature, and examined the excavations of antiquity. In 2009, the government of Russia has closed all casinos and has left only special gambling zones. One of them – “Siberian Coin” was located in Altai. And today, one of the few legal casinos known in Russia is Altai Palace.

I noticed advertisements of Altai Palace casino all around the Altai. In fact, it’s difficult to attract people to play casinos in Russia, if it is in the middle of forests and hills. Many Russians do not even know that in Russia there are legal gambling establishments…

My friends and I spent a couple of evenings at the Altai Palace casino. This is a small casino with quality service and good games. I participated in one of the poker tournaments that take place in the casino every day. On the way to casino, we have seen performance of Dr. Alban at the open air main stage, and had a chance to take a picture with him later on. “It’s my life!”

I walked around the Altai Palace casino – hills covered with flowers, birch groves, fresh air, and the smell of freedom! This is a pleasant place. I’m glad that I visited Altai and I am sure that I will come to see these places again.

One of several chips from this casino:

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This casino is the most pathos and luxury gambling establishment that I have ever seen. Wynn Palace Casino was opened on August 22, 2016 and I was there for the next month after its opening. Wynn Palace impressed me. It had colourful and musical fountain with cruising funiculars, installations of fresh flowers in the lobby of the entertainment complex, and the decorations of the casino gaming hall were outstanding. And of course, the service in Wynn Palace is at the highest level.

I often visit Macau and every time I visit Wynn Palace. It’s a wonderful place. I show it to all of my friends; we take photos and play few card games.

One of the several chips from this casino:

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When in December 2017, I first came to the Northern Mariana Islands, there was only one casino. It was called Imperial Pacific and was located in the center of the tourism industry of ​​the island – Garapan village. Imperial Pacific was a new casino, which opened earlier in July 2017. This was a grandiose project of a Chinese company, which decided to open casino in the Northern Mariana Islands like gambling houses in Macau and Las Vegas. The company spent more than $ 7 billion on this project! Although the Imperial Pacific has not yet been completed when I saw it, it has already become the tallest building on these tiny islands.

The main players in the casino were the Chinese and Koreans. I met some players. In general, this place and its visitors left  positive memories for me.

I was pleased with the chips from the Imperial Pacific casino – they were executed by one of the best chip manufacturing companies – Bourgogne et Grasset. I successfully played games of blackjack and poker at the casino and took chips for the collection.

I did not take $1000 chip for the collection. A bit expensive 🙂

One of several chips from my collection:

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I visited Du Liban Casino in autumn of 2016. It seemed to me that Lebanon at that time didn’t experience the best time, there was a war at its neighbors that affected this country as well. Despite the fact that Beirut was a relatively safe place, European tourists didn’t feel quite comfortable here.

There was only one casino in Lebanon for a long time and it seemed to me that it would be something like Monte Carlo, only in the Arab world. I was somewhat mistaken. The casino opened in the 80s of the XX century and has never been renovated since then, as it seemed to me.

The casino was 20 kilometers away from Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, and one could get there only by taxi or by car. I like to walk, especially in new places, and like to search for casinos in the city, just like doing a quest. I had to hire a driver with a car in Lebanon who was waiting for me all the time I was in the casino.

Yes, the casino is located in a picturesque place where the city fits in the urban landscape and touches on the azure smooth surface of the Mediterranean Sea. There are stunning views! But Casino Du Liban seemed grey and unsightly at the background of all this nature. Not at all photogenic, more like a factory or a farm.

Armed soldiers stopped us before we reached the casino and checked my passport and the driver’s one. Several soldiers also stood right at the entrance of the casino. They checked our passports again. Amid the gray building of the casino it already seemed that we found ourselves at a secret facility. I realized the troops guarded the casino from terrorists but the entire atmosphere was quite oppressive due to it. Finally, it turned out that it was not allowed to take photos of Casino Du Liban! Not inside, but outside! I learnt about it from one of the soldiers once I tried to take several photos near him. He demanded that I should delete photos in his presence. I did a trick and did not delete all photos. I wonder if I risked my freedom doing so. 🙂

I managed to take some good photos, including the casino employee who drinks coffee during a break from work.

Inside Casino Du Liban corresponded to its external appearance. Large premises were poorly equipped; there was no gloss and design as such. One feels void there. I’m sure that some time before Casino Du Liban was one of the most interesting places in the Middle East but its best days are far behind. Despite it, Arabs continued to play excitedly and did not notice that it was already the 21 century while their casino remained in the 20 century. I myself did not play in the casino; I only bought a few chips for the collection and went to explore other places of interest of Lebanon.

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