11/18/2025
𝗛𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗣𝗦
(or: How some World Series of Poker chips came home...)
Those who have played our occasional Friday evening Sons of the American Legion poker tourney may have noticed something. Or, what is printed on the chips used for it. No, your eyes are not deceiving you, nor are they cheap imitations... they're the real deal. Actual World Series of Poker "Circuit Event" chips used at the Horseshoe Southern Indiana Hotel/Casino from 2009 to 2019.
And in fact, they were manufactured right here... just down the road a piece.
Not many people are aware that at one time the largest casino chip manufacturer on the planet was known as ChipCo International. And it was located right on Rt302 in Raymond, Maine.
The "ceramic" chip that became the most popular style of casino chip throughout the early 2000s was an innovation born right here in Maine by ChipCo. An innovation that put it on top of the casino chip world for more than a few years... over half a decade at least.
If you'd like a little (and some rather interesting) history, grab a cup of coffee and dig in...
This story all starts in the mid 1990s. Caesar's Entertainment (owners of the "Caesar's" casino/resort brand) thought that the Louisville Kentucky/Clarksville Indiana area would be a good place for a casino. Problem was that casino gambling was not legal in either Kentucky or in Floyd County Indiana.
However, there was a loophole.
Riverboat gambling WAS (and is) legal on the Mississippi River and its major tributaries... like the Ohio River, which just happens to run right between Louisville and Clarksville. Also, the tiny town of Elizabeth, Indiana (population 137 as of the 2000 census), which is right next door to Clarksville, just happened to be on the other side of the Floyd/Harrison county line. And you COULD dock a riverboat casino in Harrison county.
So, land was purchased and construction began on a Hotel/Riverboat Dock complex. Now all they needed was a riverboat, which they commissioned. But not just any riverboat. What they had Service Marine Industries of Gibson, Louisiana build was, at the time, the largest riverboat in all of North America, and the largest riverboat casino on the entire planet! At a reported cost of $50 million dollars.
The vessel that would be christened the M/V GLORY OF ROME would be delivered on November 15, 1998. With her grand opening being a VIP cruise 5 days later on Nov. 20.
Four years later, in 2002, the Indiana legislature voted to allow casino riverboats to dock permanently. From 2002 to 2019, the M/V Glory of Rome never left her dock. Except for once per year, just to prove to the United States Coast Guard that she was indeed seaworthy and could move under her own power.
The only real excitement she had in those years was the time she was struck by a runaway barge in 2008, causing some minor damage to her bow.
In 2005, Caesar's was purchased by Harrah's Entertainment. Harrah's had purchased the Binion's brand, along with the rights to the World Series of Poker a year prior, and the first WSOP Circuit Event tournaments at Caesar's of Southern Indiana were held beginning on November 2, 2005, with the $437,760 Main Event top prize going to Vinny Vinh. Poker legend Men Nguyen was the runner-up collecting $243,200. 127 players created a prize pool of $1.2 million for that initial Main Event with Ron Hargrove, Sam Whitt, Douglas Carli, Bill Edler, Marlowe Rowe, John Smith, and Clinton Keown rounding out the final table.
For those who don't know. Harrah's acquired the Binion's brand and the WSOP right in the middle of what was called the "poker boom" of the early 2000s. They then created a series of WSOP "Circuit Events" held at various casinos across the country. In addition to the cash prize, the winner of a Circuit Event Main Event also received a free buy-in to the WSOP Main Event held yearly in Las Vegas.
Following a $53 million renovation and land-based casino expansion, Harrah's re-branded the hotel/casino complex as Horseshoe Southern Indiana in July 2008, and this is when the WSOP Horseshoe Southern Indiana chips were born at the ChipCo facility in Raymond. First use was the 2009 Horseshoe Southern Indiana WSOP Circuit Event held from October 23 to November 2.
The facility was re-branded back to Caesar's in 2020 following a land-based $85 million dollar, 100,000-square-foot casino expansion & retirement/sale of the riverboat, which was purchased by Caribe Ventures of Orange Beach, Alabama for a reported $3.5 million dollars.
The M/V GLORY OF ROME made her final departure on August 11, 2020, bound for the port of Pensacola, Florida.
Original plan of the new ownership was to convert it to a floating restaurant/conference/event center. However, the vessel is currently listed as for sale on the website of the brokerage firm Stomar Inc. (Storti Marine Services) of Chiefland, Florida for a listed price of $10 Million.
It was after the re-branding back to Caesar's in 2020 that the chips came up for sale. They were interesting enough, having both a WSOP and local history that I bought what would make a set I designed for a tournament of 50 players.
So, yes, the chips are real. Genuine WSOP casino used chips. They also just so happen to have been manufactured right here in Raymond Maine.
If you're ever traveling up Route 302 in Raymond, take a look to your right just before you get to the Route 85 traffic light (Webbs Mills Road). Right next door to Swift River Coffee is a long white building. That was the old ChipCo location. 1281 Roosevelt Trail in Raymond.
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M/V GLORY OF ROME
Built: Keel laid – 2 Dec 1996
Delivered – 15 Nov 1998
Builder: Service Marine Industries
Place Built: Gibson, LA
Price: $50 Million
Length: ABS – 442.0 ft.
Registered Breadth: ABS – 88 ft.
Total breadth with decking – 100 Ft.
Passenger and Crew Capacity: 5030 total persons
Passenger Decks: 4 (Poker room on stern end of 1st deck)
The M/V Glory of Rome riverboat, a four-story boat that was the largest riverboat in North America.
It was also the largest riverboat casino in the world.
It cost $50 million to construct.
It is 452 feet (138 m) long, 100 feet (30 m) wide, with a total area of 173,200 square feet (16,090 m2).
It has four 1,000 horsepower (750 kW) Z-Drives.
The smokestacks rise 100 feet (30 m) from the waterline, with eight feet below the waterline.
The riverboat had 93,000-square-feet (8,600 m2) of casino space with a maximum capacity of 5,030 "persons" (passengers and crew combined), with 3,600 gaming positions, 2,800 slot machines, and over 140 gaming tables.
