Here is the best card in my collection, in terms of rarity and what Jim Munding would really want to get for his collection. The Cotton Club was only open in Greenville, MS from '93 to early '95, and not many of these blue cards exist in collectors hands. In the Guide, Steve and Pat know of five. As they were about to move the boat to another location and re-name it, the place got in different cards, the white "E. Z. Money" types. It is thought they never got to issue these, but a good supply of the blanks were found and moved to the collectors' market. Circus Circus was located up at the Tunica area (NW corner of Mississippi near Memphis) but it was open from '94 to '97 when is became the Gold Strike. This is the first card they had, there was a second issue (also hard to get) that had a magnetic strip and a PPC manufacturer's mark.

Some of you may be saying, "Golly Jerry, how did you ever get these great MS cards?" Well, I just went to the casinos and asked for two of them. The trick was to do so the last week of December in '94. When I first got interested in casino collectables, I was into dollar chips from all over, and visiting as many different casinos as I could. I went out to Las Vegas in mid-1994 and got chips (and cards) as well as weekend drives to see the midwest casinos and riverboats. I was getting chips to collect, but the signing up for cards was a sideline just to get on their mailing lists and to get any freebies for signing up. And back then, I never thought cards would be a big collectable! I never even asked or looked for extras. The week between Christmas '94 and New Years '95 I used up the vacation time I had left at the plant and decided to drive down to see the Mississippi state casinos, as well as locations there and back.

Tuesday the 27th, I took off and stopped at the Alton Belle, President and Casino St. Charles in the St. Louis area, and stayed near there. Next day I stopped at the Casino Queen right over the river and drove down to Memphis area where I check into a motel. I still had time to go down to the Tunica area (where at that time there were no or practically no places to stay - the hotels have been added since.) and hit the boats. I got to Treasure Bay, Fitzgeralds, Sam's Town, Splash, Bally's, Circus Circus and the Sheraton that night before I went back to the West Memphis, Arkansas Motel 6 (only a 35 mile backtrack) at 5:20AM. On the 29th, I got up at 11AM and back on the road. I stopped again at Circus Circus and the Sheraton that morning, because I think the card centers at those two had been closed the night before when I was up. At that time the Horseshoe was being built right between Circus Circus and the Sheraton. It opened just months later, I think. Then I went just 50 miles down the river to Coahoma where I hit the Lady Luck (Rhythm and Blues) boat. One hundred miles further south I found Greenville where I was to visit the Cotton Club and the Las Vegas Casino boat. At the time I thought I was lucker at the latter, since I had an awesome run on the craps table that was the luckiest spot on the trip. But that may not be so, because at the other place I got that great little blue card. From Greenville I swung east to go to Gulfport, and got into a Motel 6 at 2:30 in the morning. (have any of you ever heard the expression, "this night life is killing me?")

The next day I hit the Grand and the Copa in Gulfport and then on to the President, Treasure Bay, Biloxi Belle, Gold Shore, Grand, Lady Luck, Casino Magic, Isle of Capri, Palace and Boomtown in Biloxi. I think I didn't get a card at Boomtown because the booth was closed. Near Boomtown I saw the Imperial Palace being built. Back to the Motel by 2:30AM. Yawn.

Now, I make all kinds of plans before I roadtrip, figuring time between stops and how long I will be at each place. I always underestimate and the day stretches. On Saturday the 31st, I was going to stop at Casino Magic in Bay St Louis on the way to New Orleans, but I just could not squeeze it in. I got to New Orleans and flew around town, getting to the Star Casino, Boomtown and Treasure Chest before I ran up to Baton Rouge and a Motel 6. I went to the Belle of Baton Rouge, where I had to pay ten bucks for the New Year's Eve Cruise, and the Casino Rouge, where I had to stand in line awhile to get on. Back to the Motel 6 at 2:30AM. Yaaawwwn.

The next day it was a New Year and time to start back home. I hit the Lady Luck in Natchez and the Rainbow, Harrah's, Isle of Ca[ri and Ameristar in Vicksburg on the way to a Motel 6 in West Memphis (yes, the same one!) at 11:55PM. Wow, I got to bed early.

On the 2nd, I made one stop at the Players boat in Metropolis, IL as this was the one boat in the southern tip of Illinois and I wanted to have been to all the IL boats. I got home by 10PM and had to be up early to get to work the next day.