The "White Whale" Wish List

[montecarlojoe]

After seeing 3 mint sealed decks go for $300+ each I finally landed my whale:

It's a USPCC printed Bee Casino deck as used in Monaco in mid to late 70s.

There's a couple of dents and the cellophane is torn, but is sealed and in really very good condition for its age - and it was a real steal at $30 shipped.

$_12.JPG (27.78 KiB) Viewed 2347 times

(But that's not to say I won't be looking for a better one!)


no where the hell do I find that Gallifrey One deck???

[Eoghann]

Very nice! Congrats!

[volantangel]

YAY Joe got his Montecarlo deck !

[dazzleguts]

Patience pays off eh Joe?
You may have some competition for the Gallifrey

[montecarlojoe]

Thanks guys

We'll have to have a sonic screwdriver duel!

[Mike Ratledge]

That's awesome, Joe! I know you have been chasing that for a while...

[Mike Ratledge]

Has anyone seen this? My first reaction was it was photoshop'd but after close examination maybe it's the gaff cards add on? IHNI

[MagikFingerz]

They're so stealthy nobody saw them coming

[Slavich]

Has anyone seen this? My first reaction was it was photoshop'd but after close examination maybe it's the gaff cards add on? IHNI

Found this:

http://www.playingcardforum.com/index.php?topic=3802.0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

and

http://www.unitedcardists.com/viewtopic ... lit=blaine" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[ryansworld4]

Question, does anyone know anything about this Bee deck, I haven't received it yet, but what I have been told that its from a casino in Maryland (don't no which one) and that its from 1980-present, that's all the information I got. Been collecting cards for a few years and I have never seen this deck, is this a rare deck or common? any information would be much appreciated, thanks

[Eoghann]

They didn't mention what casino? As far as I can tell that's a Chinese New Year (goat/lamb zodiac) with the traditional greeting up top. I've never seen it before to be honest. Interesting find.

[vasta41]

It has something to do with the Chinese New Year (Year of the Goat/Lamb). Best I got.

[ryansworld4]

im waiting to here back from her, her add said it was from a local casino in Maryland, from 1980-present, in perfect condition not opened, that's it, I thought this might be rare, I have never seen a modified bee deck like that, so I took a chance and bought it, well if I hear anything ill post an update, thanks for replying

[montecarlojoe]

Does it have a copyright date on it? 1980 is an odd date for this deck as the closest Lunar year of the goat to that was in 1979 and then every 12 years hence (including this year).
It might well be very new indeed! (But like the others I've never seen it before...)

[Aussie888]

Does it have a copyright date on it? 1980 is an odd date for this deck as the closest Lunar year of the goat to that was in 1979 and then every 12 years hence (including this year).
It might well be very new indeed! (But like the others I've never seen it before...)

There's also the issue that (according to wikipedia) the oldest casino in Maryland opened in 2010 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ca ... n_Maryland" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[LouCipherr]

Does it have a copyright date on it? 1980 is an odd date for this deck as the closest Lunar year of the goat to that was in 1979 and then every 12 years hence (including this year).
It might well be very new indeed! (But like the others I've never seen it before...)

There's also the issue that (according to wikipedia) the oldest casino in Maryland opened in 2010 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ca ... n_Maryland" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

Agreed. I live in Maryland (have my whole life, 44 years now), and I know there were no casinos here in the 80's, 90's or even the early 2000's. It wasn't until the past 5 years or so that casinos were opened here, and only recently (maybe the past two years max..?) have they allowed table/card games. When the casinos were first opened, it was nothing but slots.

No idea where that deck came from, but if it came from a casino in Maryland, it's probably less than a few years old. If it's older than that, definitely not from a MD casino.

[ryansworld4]

I still haven't gotten a reply from her yet, as soon as I hear from her I will give an update, when I receive the deck, probably sometime next week ill see if it has any information on it, it should have sometime on the bottom of the deck. Ya I checked out the wiki page looks like casinos have only been in Maryland since 2010. I'm assuming its new then, they released the goat deco this year, and when I look at the picture looks like it has red or pink foil, I don't think they used foil in the 80s, but might be wrong.

The reason I posted hear is because I don't have a white whale, but my white whale is something rare that no one has seen, lets just say I enjoy the hunt. (like bigfoot, no one knows what he exactly looks like but people look for him all the time)

Thanks for all the info, much appreciated

[ryansworld4]

I got a replay from her, so she lives in Maryland and said it comes from the Palace Casino (Maryland casino) in La Center (http://www.nwcasinos.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;). She said these decks were specially ordered for there 2015 Chinese New Year party.

[montecarlojoe]

All becomes clear! Probably fairly difficult to find in that case

[Eoghann]

Well that settles it! Very nice find! I wonder why she couldn't have added that to the description instead of keeping it so cryptic.

[badpete69]

The deck is from Washington state a few hours drive from where i live... I should take a day trip one of these days

[PrincessTrouble]

The deck is from Washington state a few hours drive from where i live... I should take a day trip one of these days

Let me know if you do!

EDIT: Sorry for deleting my post. I meant to PM it to Ryan and deleted it before I saw your reply. Glad I mistakenly posted it. Thanks for the info.

[CBJ]

Today I was able to secure one of my White Whales. It took me almost 3 years.


I'll post pics when it arrives.


I'm a happy man today


Jay

[Bikefanatic]

Question, does anyone know anything about this Bee deck, I haven't received it yet, but what I have been told that its from a casino in Maryland (don't no which one) and that its from 1980-present, that's all the information I got. Been collecting cards for a few years and I have never seen this deck, is this a rare deck or common? any information would be much appreciated, thanks

In The "Hey, look what I added to my collection!" thread , you'll see me (I posted on May 14th) and a few others who have this deck that was on ebay. It's called Kung Hei Fat Choi.

[th4mo]

The deck is from Washington state a few hours drive from where i live... I should take a day trip one of these days

Yeah, I recognized that name too. If you decide to head down this way, hit me up first. It's a short drive from Portland!

[PrincessTrouble]

I'm looking for the Defcon 21 deck (from 2013). Not the plastic id badges that look like cards but the actual deck of playing cards. If anyone has a lead, I'd be grateful.

[chach]

I'm looking for the Defcon 21 deck (from 2013). Not the plastic id badges that look like cards but the actual deck of playing cards. If anyone has a lead, I'd be grateful.

And so is everyone else now.


As evidenced by my rant in the general section, I lost out on an eBay listing for one of my white whales, the zippo card & lighter gift set. Anyone has one that wants to trade I'm jiggly with it. And of course, always looking for an OG Vietnam Secret Weapon deck.

[CBJ]

This hobby is strange sometimes. You can look, search, beg, plead, e-mail tons of requests, contact anyone who will listen, and still... never find your white whale... until...

one day you log onto Ebay, and see someone has listed 10 of them. That's right ... TEN.


I had searched for the Bicycle New Era (Gold Edition) for years. It was the only deck I had never seen in anyone's collection, and I actually started to think it really didn't exist.
I had messaged my contacts at USPCC, my contacts at Matsui gaming, and I even reached out to NewEra multiple times by e-mail and phone calls... no help.

So, only July 6th when I woke up and did my regular Ebay searches.. BOOM! Needless to say, I was leery. Come on.. they have 10 of something that I can't track down???!
I was going to instantly buy all 10, but I thought I should investigate more. I used the buy-it-now option, picked up one deck, and then shot the seller a message.
I wanted assurances that these were the decks in the actual pictures, and that they were all the same (no white decks). WHile I waited for a response, another buyer bought 2 decks..

I heard back from the seller, and we shot back and forth a couple dozen messages where she explained how she came upon these. Her husband had done work for NewEra a couple years back at a trade show in LA, and the rep gave him a brick of cards as a gift. They opened up a couple to use in card games, but finally decided to sell the rest online. She really had no idea what she had here, and I wasn't about to tell her. Time to buy... but after some thought.. I decided to only get 2 more (3 total)
I order the 2, and reached out to some friends to let them know.
Pierre - ordered one, and my other friend asked me to order 3 for him because he was overseas. This would only leave one left... so I decided to pick it up for myself... bringing my total to 4 of them.

And here are the 7 decks....









I'm very happy.



So... white whales.
I had the 2nd post in this thread where I listed my white whales.
Bicycle Green Label
Bicycle Stussy Rummy Set
Bicycle Suncity
Bicycle New Era gold.


I'm happy to say that I have all of the above decks! My new white whale is once again.... a Bicycle New Era gold ... but the 2015 Edition.










at least this time I know they exist.


Jay

[Eoghann]

congrats and the catch and good luck with the hunt!

[badpete69]

Ahhhhh I see you picked them up have fun with that lot