I have a neighbor who is very into salt water aquariums. He has some really beautiful fish in a few tanks, some of which I haven't seen since diving in the Caribbean. It's a lot of work to maintain and clean the entire setup, but it's a labor I love I suppose. The prettiest fish in his tanks are the angel fish. They are tropical fish that are gorgeous and extremely colorful. The colors and stripes act as camouflage in a coral reef which is why they are so abundant in tropical waters around the world.
Recently I picked up a lot of silver striker tokens off of eBay, one of which had angel fish proudly displayed on the token. Normally I try to collect these silver tokens from defunct casinos, and this one will soon fit the build. It's from the Tropicana in Las Vegas, Nevada which will be shutting down operations for good in the next two weeks only to be demolished to make way for a new baseball stadium for the Oakland A's who are relocating to Las Vegas.
You may ask what are silver striker tokens? They are tokens made of silver or brass that are paid out on silver striker slot machines. These have been in casinos for decades around the world but now are very hard to find. I haven't seen one in many long years so they may now just be just a defunct as the Tropicana soon will be. Here is one of the first tokens that the casino produced:
About the token:
https://img.inleo.io/DQmSGLHhGYZCTeAmGUEhDcwAueYvZRFS1egLfVNsbYbcKVG/Screenshot%20(1037).png From silverstrikers.com
Silver striker tokens are great because they have 0.65 Troy ounces of silver in them surrounded by a brass ring. Also since they are not being produced anymore for most casinos they are becoming more collectible and valuable. They are great to invest in as a stacker if the price is right, or as a collector because they will likely continue to increase in value as silver prices rise and they become harder to find.
The Angel Fish
Since the token has the angel fish on it I decided it would be fun to share some pictures. I have seen some angel fish while diving but not many since they aren't a strong presence in the Caribbean. There are many species of angel fish and all beautiful creatures. They are popular with aquarium owners because of their stunning colors. Here are a couple seen in nature.
petponder.com
commons.wikimedia.org
When I saw a couple of these in my neighbors tank it made me consider getting a tank myself. They are colorful creatures. I shared a post a few months back about the emperor fish which is a type of angel fish. If you want some more information on them you can look at my older post in the link below.
https://ecency.com/hive-140084/@thebighigg/cayman-islands-silver-emperor-fish
The Tropicana
The Tropicana Hotel and Casino is a Las Vegas icon. It opened in 1957 and at the time cost $15 million to build. it was originally slated to cost $4.5 million but it came in way over budget and way behind schedule. Seems like that's how all construction jobs work out anymore... At the time it was the most expensive project built in Las Vegas and was a top end luxury hotel. It was discovered that some of the construction money had come from the mob, and the responsible investor was forced to sell his shares in the casino as the Nevada Gaming Board was forcing organized crime out of casinos in the state.
Up unit the 1970's it did very well at at one point legendary entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. owned eight percent of the casino. However, once Caesar's Palace opened the competition started to make it less profitable. As always in the casino industry a newer, nicer place opens and the older ones begin to struggle. Here is a picture of the Tropicana as it looked when it was first built.
mcall.com
The mob wasn't quite done with the hotel. In 1979 it was discovered that the Kansas City mob had been "skimming" the proceeds from slot machines by altering the scales used to determine the coin profits. This forced the sale of the casino to continue operations. Throughout the 80's new towers were built and improvements done to make the hotel more profitable but it continued to struggle.
casino.org
In 2010 the original tower was renovated to the current look above. However it continued to struggle financially with all of the other grand Las Vegas resorts taking in the largest market share of tourists. It was decided to demolish the hotel so a new stadium could be built. Another Las Vegas icon will be no longer, but it's not surprising as something new is constantly popping up there where the older casinos once were!
That's part of the draw of Las Vegas. Always something new and exciting to see every time you come to visit sin city!
That will do it for me today! I hoped you enjoyed my post today. I love the silver striker tokens, and I have a few more to share out of the lot I picked up awhile back in the coming weeks. If you have any suggestions, questions, or comments feel free to leave them below and keep on stacking!
And since I am posting in the #freecompliments community I just wanted to remind everyone to take some time today to be kind. A little kindness can make a huge difference in someone's life. Please check out the community and consider joining us!
And my disclaimer:
Gold and silver collecting and stacking can be a fun hobby but isn't for everyone. You can lose money. I'm not a financial advisor and this isn't financial advice, please always do your own research before spending your hard earned money.
All pictures are mine unless otherwise noted.
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropicana_Las_Vegas
https://www.silverstrikers.com/Web/Catalogs/SilverStrikes/Nevada/TropicanaLVnv/Tropicana-LVnv-Page-01.php/
If you are interested in precious metals or even want to learn more about them feel free to come join us #silvergoldstackers
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