www.SilverStrikers.com Silver Strikers Club C/O Jo Riefer—1st VP 2283 Panoramic Dr Concord, CA 94520 Issue # 66 Spring 2012 SILVER STRIKERS CLUB NEWSLETTER Silver Strike Machines 12 Casinos with Silver Strike Machines 6 Silver Strike Club Members 465 Check out our Website www.silverstrikers.com Inside this Issue Meet the Board 3 Board Meeting Minutes 5 Membership Update 6 Jeffrey Bitzer - SS Pioneer 7 Coin Contest 10 Club History 12 Membership Contest 12 June Convention/Tournament 13 Financials 15 Pam’s Corner 16 New Releases 17 Membership Application 17 In Memoriam 18 Classifieds 19 ARE YOU A “PASSIVE” MEMBER? Are you a “passive” member? I was for many years. I would scan the newsletter, pay my dues, go to a slot tournament every year, and that was about it. I didn’t participate in many club activi- ties. My main claim to Silver Strike fame was that Shirley and I got married around the slot tourna- ment two years ago. While everyone was very nice to us, the passive attitude remained. Now I realize that the person who lost out was me. The Silver Strikers Club is a silver strike play- ing, collecting and social club. If you leave out the social part, you are missing most of the fun. When I became President of the Club, I real- ized how many friendships I have that should have developed many years ago. I was such a “passive” member that after I became President, many long time Club members didn’t even know me. The Silver Strikers Club is your Club. The Presi- dent and Club Officers work for you. Become in- volved, step up, begin making new friend- ships. You have many wonderful people waiting for you. The Club is here for you. It is what you make of it. The Summer Slot Tournament at the Four Queens is coming in June. We will have our Fo- rum, Annual Meeting and our Club Party after the tournament. I look forward to seeing you there! Joel Slack, President
Transcript
SILVER STRIKERS CLUB NEWSLETTER ISSUE #66 Page 20
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Page 1 SILVER STRIKERS CLUB NEWSLETTER ISSUE #66
Issue # 66 Spring 2012
SILVER STRIKERS CLUB NEWSLETTER
Silver Strike Machines 12
Casinos with Silver Strike
Machines 6
Silver Strike Club Members 465
Check out our Website www.silverstrikers.com
Inside this Issue Meet the Board 3 Board Meeting Minutes 5 Membership Update 6 Jeffrey Bitzer - SS Pioneer 7 Coin Contest 10 Club History 12 Membership Contest 12 June Convention/Tournament 13 Financials 15 Pam’s Corner 16 New Releases 17 Membership Application 17 In Memoriam 18 Classifieds 19
ARE YOU A “PASSIVE” MEMBER? Are you a “passive” member? I was for many years. I would scan the newsletter, pay my dues, go to a slot tournament every year, and that was about it. I didn’t participate in many club activi-ties. My main claim to Silver Strike fame was that Shirley and I got married around the slot tourna-ment two years ago. While everyone was very nice to us, the passive attitude remained. Now I realize that the person who lost out was me. The Silver Strikers Club is a silver strike play-ing, collecting and social club. If you leave out the social part, you are missing most of the fun. When I became President of the Club, I real-ized how many friendships I have that should have developed many years ago. I was such a “passive” member that after I became President, many long time Club members didn’t even know me. The Silver Strikers Club is your Club. The Presi-dent and Club Officers work for you. Become in-volved, step up, begin making new friend-ships. You have many wonderful people waiting for you. The Club is here for you. It is what you make of it. The Summer Slot Tournament at the Four Queens is coming in June. We will have our Fo-rum, Annual Meeting and our Club Party after the tournament. I look forward to seeing you there! Joel Slack, President
Each year the club picks a “Strike of the Year” and a strike for the “Hall of Fame”. The “Strike of the Year” is selected from a list of all the Nevada strikes which have been released the previous year and the “Hall of Fame” strike will come from ALL the previ-ously released Nevada strikes minus the ones already in the “Hall of Fame”. The se-lection process starts with a committee of five, the chairperson and four volunteers. The selection committee will come up with four nominees for the “Strike of the Year” and four nominees for the “Hall of Fame”. The nominations for each category are put on a ballot form and published in the news-letter, and are also available on the web site. Ballots will also be available at the Janu-ary tournament. The voting period will be from mid January to the end of March. The winners will be announced at the June Silver Strikers meeting. And that my fellow strikers is how we do it I would like to get four more volunteers for next year’s committee. Let me know via e-mail [email protected] Thanks, Sue Cohenour Committee Chairperson
Non Email Club Contact Information: Al Lukacs, 5507 4th Ave NW, Bradenton, FL 34209
Page 19 SILVER STRIKERS CLUB NEWSLETTER ISSUE #66
Place Your Ad Here!
Advertise in the Silver Strikers Club Newsletter COST of the Ads: $15 per newsletter or $50 per year (4 newsletters)
DEADLINE for ads in the next newsletter is June 30, 2012 Send your Ad via Email to Becky Bottemiller: [email protected]
Mail Payment for the Ad to Judy Barton: 3917 Cartist Drive, Ft. Worth, Texas 76116-7703 Ad will be published in the issue following receipt of payment.
Classified Ads
4/17/12 7:30pm
Meeting So Cal Casino Collectors Club Jim Nool [email protected] http://www.freewebs.com/scaclub
Hollywood Park Casino 3883 W Century Blvd, Inglewood, CA (310) 330-2800 (800) 888-4972
5/15/12 7:30pm
Meeting So Cal Casino Collectors Club Jim Nool [email protected] http://www.freewebs.com/scaclub
Hollywood Park Casino 3883 W Century Blvd, Inglewood, CA (310) 330-2800 (800) 888-4972
6/18 - 6/19/12
Four Queens Silver Strike Tournament (800) 634-6045, (702) 385-4011 Rod, Alba, or Arlene
Locations with Silver Strike Machines Casino City State Qty Delta Saloon Virginia City Nevada 1 El Cortez Las Vegas Nevada 1 Four Queens Hotel & Casino Las Vegas Nevada 5 Johnny Nolon’s Cripple Creek Colorado 1 Mirage Las Vegas Nevada 2 Sam’s Town Hotel & Gambling Hall Las Vegas Nevada 2 Total Silver Strike Machines 12
Welcome New Members Date Name Member # Sponsor January 2012 Nardone, Joseph R. SS-1308 Club Webmaster
Place, Peggy M. SS-1309 Cohenour, Bill Granger, Ed SS-1310 Jollie, Jay Ezell, Tom SS-1204-A Ezell, Barbara Heagerty, David SS-1311 Cisneros, Marcus Heagerty, Kim SS-1311-A Cohenour, Bill
February 2012 Miller, Catherine SS-1312-A Miller, Ronald Draper,Linda SS-1312 Club Webmaster Roberts, Timothy F. SS-1312`` Place, Peggy Gutwiler, Sharon SS-1262-A Gutwiler, Patrick Romans, Charlene SS-0571-A Romans, Melvin Harvel, Greg SS-1314 Cohenour, Bill Anthony, Amanda SS-1315 Anthony, Whitney Kovalcin, Cortney SS-1316 Anthony, Whitney March 2012 Reigner, Donald SS-1317 Club Webmaster
IN MEMORIAM
Carol Heinz
By Pam Martin Carol Heinz, saying good bye to a dear friend, wonderful wife and mother and some-one who had a great love for Las Vegas and silver striking. The memories are many, it seems like yesterday we were participating in the first Silver Strike tournament at O'Shea's and chasing all those silver strikes. Then came the Silver Strike tourna-ments at the Las Vegas Club and our favorite Carol's Corner with the nickel video poker machines. Deuces Wild, Carol's favorite and she wouldn't leave without a few of those deuces paying her well and of course these last years at the Four Queens with all the wonderful tournaments we have continued to have. These last 12 years have gone by so quickly, but the memories are many, Carol was like a butterfly and she left a little of her kindness to each of us and she will be missed by many.
Page 3 SILVER STRIKERS CLUB NEWSLETTER ISSUE #66
Happy Spring & Happy Easter !!
Meet the New Silver Striker Board of Directors JOEL SLACK, President
My first trip to Las Vegas was in the Spring of 2005. A trip I made under protest, as I had no desire to go to Las Vegas. Shirley made me go. I found the Silver Strike machines at Caesar’s Palace by accident. A nice young lady explained the machine and showed me how to play. After I won my first strike, I was hooked. I think I stayed at those machines for three days! I was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. I was a firefighter for 23 years, and spent my last seven years as a Deputy Fire Marshal. I retired on January 31, 2008, after 30 years of service.
I live in Savannah, Georgia with my wife, Shirley, and our four dogs. I am employed with Moran Towing Company, which is a tugboat company operating in the Port of Savannah. Moran has tugboat operations in many ports on the Eastern Seaboard and the Gulf of Mexico. I am a Freemason, a member of Zerubbabel Lodge #15, F&AM in Savannah. I am a Noble of the Alee Shrine Temple, also in Savannah. I have three children: a son, Nathan, who is a Petty Officer in the United States Coast Guard and currently stationed in Alabama; a daughter, Jamie, who lives in Acworth, Georgia; and a stepdaughter, Kristin, who lives in Maysville, Georgia. I have two granddaughters and a grandson. JO RIEFER, 1st Vice President
I am retired from the Postal Service. I spend my time with my grandchildren, great grandchildren and of course Silver Strikes. I fell in love with collecting silver strikes in 1997. I was just passing by a Strike machine and thought they were beautiful and I just had to have one. But like potato chips I could not stop with just one. Before I knew it my collection had really grown. I be-came a member of the silver strikers club in 1999. My love of ma-nipulating pictures on the computer has transferred over to work-ing with the designs submitted for the contest. I enjoy working with the designs and hope to continue in the future. As 1st Vice
President I will keep the membership roster up to date and send the notices in a timely manner. Looking forward to working with all of you. Please help me with this job by keeping your information up to date.
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SILVER STRIKERS CLUB NEWSLETTER ISSUE #66 Page 4
(Continued from page 3)
JIMMY MAHAN, 2nd Vice President My name is Jimmy Mahan. I am semi-retired Auto Parts/Hardware Store owner. My wife Connie and I have been married 45 years, we have 3 grown children and 7 Grandchildren. I have been collecting strikes for over 20 years. I collect all denominations from everywhere. I am a charter member SS #065. I live in Topfield Mass.
G. ALLAN LUKACS, Secretary My life has been blessed by the presence of the most wonderful woman of all time, my wife Judy. This most patient gal has been putting up with my nonsense for over 42 years. We have two children, three grand children, two cats (Judy’s) and one American Eskimo. We are both retired. My business background is in industrial/commercial electrical construction, manufacturing and firearms. Hobbies include pistol and rifle shooting, shot gunning, hunting, fishing, camping and gambling. Being a long time collector of coins and currency, silver strikes were a natural fit. I started
collecting strikes in 2000, oddly enough Judy was the first one to find a strike machine, in the Venetian, and won one on her first try. When she showed it to me, I got the fever.
JUDY BARTON, Treasurer Hello, my name is Judy Barton and I am the Silver Striker’s Treasurer. My husband’s name is Don Barton and we have been members for several years. Just missed being Charter members by 50 members, with our membership numbers being SS-190 and SS-190A. We love being members of the club, visiting with everyone at club meetings, slot tournaments, and also PLAYING FOR COINS! We have pretty much narrowed our collection down to $200/$300 since we are both retired, not as much monies coming in as some of you know—so you have to cut down somewhere.
I worked for 4 1/2 years in Dallas in the purchasing department for a commercial contractor, doing take off on plans for pipe, vent systems, material and labor. I then moved back to Fort Worth and worked for Fort Worth Bolt & Tool, starting out as an inventory clerk for both tools and fasteners, worked some in the warehouse packing orders, did some purchasing, just about anything that had to do with the company. I worked a total of 29 years and 4 months for them, deciding to hang it up right after that—right after I turned 62. We enjoy playing with the 11 great-grandchildren, also their parents—grandkids that total 13. Now maybe you can see why we like to come to Vegas so much—ESCAPE!! We both love to go camping, fishing, and our latest love is visiting as many National Parks as we can now.
Page 17 SILVER STRIKERS CLUB NEWSLETTER ISSUE #66
Recent and Upcoming Releases
Complete the application below and send to:
Silver Strikers c/o Jo Riefer 2283 Panoramic Dr Concord, CA 94520 Check here if this is your annual renewal _____ Collecting Interests:
Name: _______________________________________________________ Address: _____________________________________________________ City: __________________________State: _____ Zip: ________________ Phone #: (____) ______-__________ E-Mail: _______________________ May we publish the above information in the Club Roster? ___ Yes ___ No Do you want the Club Newsletter e-mailed to you (no extra cost): ___ Yes ___ No I have enclosed my payment for: Annual Membership - $10 $_______ Optional Spouse Associate Membership Fee - $10 $_______ Name: _____________________________ SS Club Roster - $10 $______ TOTAL ENCLOSED (payable to: Silver Strikers) $_______ Membership sponsored by: ___________________________________
SILVER STRIKERS CLUB MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION
SILVER STRIKERS CLUB NEWSLETTER ISSUE #66 Page 16
Pam’s Corner By Pam Martin
20th Annual Casino Chips and Gaming Tokens Collectors Conven-tion takes place June 21, 22, and 23, 2012 at South Point Casino. Wednesday June 20, 2012 is set up for convention dealers at South Point and CC>CC Early Bird Dinner. Thursday, Friday, and Sat-urday there will be forums, meeting, trade sessions and the conven-tion floor will be open.
3rd Annual Four Queens Summer Silver Strike Slot Tournament June 18, and 19, 2012 on the second floor in the Royal Pavilion room. This includes two days of tournament play, release of their new $300, awards banquet, and trade ses-sion.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012 the Silver Strikers Club will have their annual Club Meet-ing and Forum from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Four Queens in the Royal Pavilion room. Our annual Club Party starts at 6:00 p.m. The party also features the Jimmy and Ed show which is very popular so please remember to bring something to give away. For any new first time convention attendees we have a little share and give away which makes the party extra fun and a lot of good laughs. If you bring a give away please be sure to take a raffle ticket. Its always nice for everyone to get something and its fun to think of something unique to bring. T-shirts, hats, books, casino related items, writing material are popular. I know you can think of something special.
STRIKES IN PLAY FOR JUNE 2012
MIRAGE
Two new characters which bring their total to 6 characters and a $300 available
SAM'S TOWN
has a new colorized $10 blue cap and a $300 will be available
EL CORTEZ
has two new $10's and one is a colorized blue cap plus a $300 available
FOUR QUEENS
has a tournament strike, a red cap, a colorized blue cap and a $300
The Four Queens will
RELEASE THEIR $300 SILVER STRIKE MONDAY JUNE 18,2012 AT 5:00 PM
When the scans become available we will have them posted on the club web site as well as updates for con-vention and tournament events. Looks like things are really going to be busy this year, hope to see everyone there.
Page 5 SILVER STRIKERS CLUB NEWSLETTER ISSUE #66
SILVER STRIKERS CLUB MINUTES 2-7-12 Members: Absent Present William Jollie, President X Cheri L. Jollie, 1st Vice President X Rebecca Bottemiller, 2nd Vice President X Al Lukacs, Secretary X Judy Barton, Treasurer X TOPIC DISCUSSION NOTES - Convene - Board meeting convened at 2:00 p.m. - No Old Business (Action Taken, none required.) - Hall of Fame and Silver Strike of the Year - Discussed format and timing for voting of Hall of Fame and Silver Strike of the Year. (Follow up by Joel Slack when he takes office.) - 1st VP Position - Bill discussed possible appointees. Cheri to step down as 1st VP as of March 17,2012. Cheri to continue to handle membership duties as needed. (Joel Slack to appoint/ nominate 1st V.P. when he takes office.) - 2nd VP Position - Jimmy Mahan appointed 2nd VP by Bill and approved by the board, effective March 15, 2012. Becky to step down as 1st VP as of March 17,2012. Becky will continue as Editor of the Newsletter as needed. (Bill will post letter on Club Current News page of the club web site. Followed by article in April News Letter.) - President’s Position - Bill had previously talked to Joel Slack about being President, he accepted, and the Board approved the appointment, effective March 17, 2012 (Bill will post letter on Club Current News page of the Club web site. Followed by article in April Club Newsletter.) Adjournment- Meeting adjourned at 3:00 p.m.
SILVER STRIKERS CLUB MINUTES 2-29-12 Members: Absent Present Joel Slack, President X Jo Riefer, 1st Vice President X James Mahan, 2nd Vice President X Judy Barton, Treasurer X Al Lukacs, Secretary X TOPIC DISCUSSION NOTES - Convene - The Board meeting convened at 3PM. All Board members were in atten-dance. With three new board members, general discussion of duties of each office. (Meet and greet.) - Club Coin Contest Rules - Discussed revised rules J. Mahan moved to accept new rules, Judy Barton seconded, Passed by 5-0 vote (Joel to forward rules to Jim Quinn to post on club web site.) - Club coin die initials - Discussed Logo winner’s initials on this and future club coins. J. Mahan moved to keep the initials on the club coin, Jo Riefer seconded, Passed 5-0
(Continued on page 8)
SILVER STRIKERS CLUB NEWSLETTER ISSUE #66 Page 6
Membership Update
Reminders were sent to 14 members that were due 1-1-12, 30 members that were due 2-1-12, and 20 that were due 3-1-12. Of those members who received the reminders 45 have renewed their memberships. We have enrolled 2 new members. The current roster is now at 465. The following members will be due for renewal during the April thru June quarter: Even though we are continuing to get new members, the club is not growing because existing members are not renewing their memberships. Please remember it is our membership that provides your Board members with the leverage they need when talking to casinos and trying to convince them to reinstate their Silver Strike Programs. WE NEED YOU! Please help to keep our club strong and renew today. Thanks for Striking, Jo Riefer CHSS- 0033 1st Vice President/Membership
APRIL MAY JUNE Last Name First Name Last Name First Name Last Name First Name
Chee Franklin Lykken Mark B. Kepner Norman D. Gliwa Frank S. Marrs Robert Kiyono Ann L. Hammes Robert Mazzola Carol Kiyono Ann L. Holmquist Scott P. Montez Tatiana L. Kiyono Ronald M. LaRock Ginger Roberts Randall J. Kratz, Jr. Donald A. Marciel April Schmidt Ronald E. Laird Jay Marciel Josh Selna Raymond J. Lighterman Mark Munroe Cheryl L. Spence Athey Lighterman Myrna Munroe Joseph T. Spence James D. Mahan James C. Payne George R. Tenley James D. Malani Lloyd Payne Margaret C. Watkins Michael E. Markley Ross E. Soluri Colleen Steinmetz Andrew Martin James B. Soluri Michael JUNE Martin Pamela S. Staat Geoffrey "Jeff" Anderson Paul H. Minsberg Ron Voller Jane Cahill Michael Moritz Raymond T. Wallenfelt Todd L. Sipe Stephen Niver David
Abramson Marc E. Quast W. Garry Barton Don Aiello Andrew J. Reed Dewey Barton Judy Andrae Rick Reed Dottie Cardillo Anthony P. Beckers Marty Reynolds Steve Corry Pamela Jo Bekoski Frank T. Rusch Martin B. Del Busto Juan Bigos Lawrence J. Sugai Edwin H. Fajardo Judy Bjornson Ralph Teichner Jacqlyn S. Fajardo Ralph Ciesla Ed Tenley Carlene Faria Paul Cisneros Marcus A. Tenley Scott Gaffke Diane M. Coppess Dennis Kiyono Ronald M. Gaffke Jeffrey J. Corrigan Don A. Kratz, Jr. Donald A. Gardner Laura K. DiCenso Peter Laird Jay Gardner Paul E. Figarotta Richard V. Lighterman Mark Gyde Mark Gersie Ann C. Lighterman Myrna Harkins Richard L. Gersie Michael H. Mahan James C. Jollie Cheri Gunter Douglas Malani Lloyd Jollie James Haddock Jack Markley Ross E. Kanno James N. Hawkins Freda Martin James B. Lindeman George D. Hawkins Kim Rusch Martin B. Lindeman Pat M. Heinz Gary Sugai Edwin H. Lukacs G. Allan Hoff Miles E. Teichner Jacqlyn S. Lukacs Judy Jung Lisa Tenley Carlene Tenley Scott
MAY
Page 15 SILVER STRIKERS CLUB NEWSLETTER ISSUE #66
Profit and Loss January 2012 - March 2012
Ordinary Income/Expense Income Income Advertisement 30.00 Donations 60.00 Total Income 90.00 Member Dues & Fees Membership Dues 1,200.00 Membership Roster 40.00 Total Member Dues & Fees 1,240.00 Total Income 1,330.00 Expense HRB Tax Group 345.00 Coin Production 887.75 Bank Service Charges & Fees 5.00 Postage 2.80 Nevada Dept of Taxation 25.00 Newsletter Expenses Postage 315.22 Printing 388.20 Total Newsletter Expenses 703.42 Office Supplies Copies 33.07 Postage 60.45 Supplies 100.78 Total Office Supplies 194.30 Silver Strike Tournament 910.84 Telephone 63.70 Total Expense 3,137.81 Net Ordinary Income -1,807.81 Net Income -1,807.81
Balance Sheet March 30, 2012
ASSETS Current Assets Checking/Savings Wachovia-7084 16,253.33 Undeposited Funds 10.00 Total Current Assets 16,263.33 Other Assets Deposit To Nevada 154.84 Total Other Assets 154.84 TOTAL ASSETS 16,418.17 LIABILITIES & EQUITY Current Liabilities Total Accounts Payable -131.55 Sales Tax Payable 40.64 Total Current Liabilities -90.91 Total Liabilities -90.91 Equity Retained Earnings 18,316.89 Net Income -1,807.81 Total Equity 16,508.08 TOTAL LIABILITIES & EQUITY 16,418.17
SILVER STRIKERS CLUB NEWSLETTER ISSUE #66 Page 14 Page 7 SILVER STRIKERS CLUB NEWSLETTER ISSUE #66
Jeffery Bitzer: Silver Strike Pioneer by Bill Metten
Fifteenth in a series of articles about club members who started collecting strikes in the early days and have contributed to the club’s success. Without knowing anything about silver strikes, Jeff Bitzer (SS291) and his wife, Sue, (SS291-A) started collecting them around 1995. “Sue and I would wander around downtown and stumble into a strike machine here and there. I would play for a few in each
machine every trip to Vegas, bring them home and throw them in a drawer,” says Jeff. There were only ten-dollar strike machines downtown at that time. Chicagoans Jeff and Sue soon caught the strike bug, for which there is only one cure – collect more strikes! “At that time I had an extensive HO train collection that had been packed away for years. I started selling off trains to support my strike habit. The same time I was selling trains I discovered strikes on eBay. Well, that was it. Our strike collecting was started,” says Jeff. Once Jeff found the Internet and eBay everything changed about his pursuit of strikes. “I stumbled upon Ralph Bjornson’s website with the list of all the strikes that could be had and I was really hooked,” he says. “I started by trying to collect one from every casino on the list. Well, that got boring, so I tried to collect the first one from each casino. I took the sixty strikes I had accumulated over the years and I bought and traded to get one from each casino, then used the same method to get the first one from each casino. In reality, I was selling and trading many strikes that I would have to find again later,” recalls Jeff. “Being the good salesman that Ralph was and also my mentor, he convinced me that I needed to collect the series from each casino. So, the selling of trains, the trading and buying of strikes picked up speed. Darn that Ralph anyway!!!,” Jeff says. “I was off and running, wheeling and dealing. What a blast! I found many websites of the older collectors and the dealers too. My main source was Val Katz. I think he had over ten thousand strikes in stock at one time. I bought many great strikes at very good prices from him. Many that I bought at the time were hard to find, but not considered rare. However, I was able to win a few of the hard-to-get strikes as well,” says Jeff. Jeff says that eBay has been a great platform for finding the “jewels” of one’s collection. “The fun of the hunt and of bidding can’t be beat. As long as you set your price ahead of time and stick to it you will come out a winner even if you don’t win the first one you see,” says Jeff. “Not really being a joiner at the time, I stupidly held off joining the club until early 2000, so I missed becoming a Charter Member by about one hundred and fifty members.
(Continued on page 9)
SILVER STRIKERS CLUB NEWSLETTER ISSUE #66 Page 8
SILVER STRIKERS CLUB MINUTES 3-28-12 Members: Absent Present Joel Slack, President X Jo Riefer, 1st Vice President X James Mahan, 2nd Vice President X Judy Barton, Treasurer X Al Lukacs, Secretary X TOPIC DISCUSSION NOTES - Convene - The Board meeting convened at 3PM. All Board members were in atten-dance. - Speaker for annual forum - Discussion about possible speakers. (Jimmy to call peo-ple about availability.) - CCGT&CC Convention - To date only 2 volunteers to man club table. Sunshine mint is going to mint 1 more of last years coin for the club for our display. Jo Riefer to loan club her club coin from last year for display, If mint can’t get it made by June meeting. (Jeff Bitzer and Board to ask for more members to volunteer.) - Club coin production - Coin production is on schedule. (No action necessary.) - CCGT&CC Program - Jimmy made motion to have ad in CCGT&CC program as has been done in the past, Jo seconded, past unanimously. (Jo to update ad and submit to CCGT&CC.) - Awards - Discussed moving awards presentation from meeting to party. Passed 5-0 Discussed appreciation awards for past officers, Club coin winner, SSOY etc. (Jo to
(Continued on page 9)
(Continued from page 5) vote (Jo will let mint know to reuse last year’s logo die.) - Club coin production - Discussed increasing order from 125 to 150. Judy made a motion to increase the total coins to 150 and authorize Jo Riefer to pay for the extra costs. Jim Mahon seconded, motion passed unanimously. (Jo to call Sunshine Mint and increase order.) - Club documents - Discussed filing of documents with NV. Sec of State by Secretary, any and all docs. have been filed and have been done on time. We are current with all. (No further action needed.) - Advertising rates - Judy Barton made a motion to make advertising rates for the club newsletter be $15.00 per issue, $50.00 per year. The same as those for the website. Jim Mahan seconded, passed unanimously. (Judy will have Webmaster post rates.) - Convention - Discussed up coming Club and Chip conventions, decided to devote next Board meeting to this. (Action taken, none required.) - Treasurer’s Report - Judy reviewed profit / loss statement and balance sheet. (To Becky for Newsletter.) - Newsletter - President Slack asked all Board members to write a short bio with pic-ture for the April Newsletter. (All members agreed to write a bio for the Newsletter.) - Open discussion - Discussed the recent rash of counterfeit silver strikes. - Adjournment- Meeting adjourned at 4:00 p.m.
Page 13 SILVER STRIKERS CLUB NEWSLETTER ISSUE #66
Greetings, ya'll
Four Queens is putting on their Annual Slot Tournament in June,
June 18 - June 19, 2012
Monday June 18, Signup from 7:00am until 9;00am 1st round 9:00am 2nd round 12:00pm 5:00pm release of $300.00 coin Tuesday June 19 1st round 9;00am Awards 2:00pm Trade sesion 6:00pm until 8:00pm
SILVER STRIKERS FORUM, MEETING, AND PARTY
JUNE 20, 2012
We will have our annual forum on Wednesday, June 20, 2012 starting at 2:00 pm. The Annual Club meeting will follow at approximately 3:00 pm.
We will break for approximately 1 hour with the
PARTY!!! PARTY!!! PARTY!! 5:00 pm ROYAL ROOM FOUR QUEENS
Food, food, food, cookies, soft drinks, tea and coffee with be furnished by the Club for all CURRENT Club members starting at 5:00 pm. Be sure and bring a
souvenir from your home state, free stuff that you may have gotten from casinos, or whatever. We will have the Jimmy & Eddie show after we have eaten, then a trade
session after the show. SEE YA THERE!!
Don't forget, June 20, 2012 2:00 pm
Annual Meeting Agenda June 20, 2012 3:00 PM
Call to Order
Welcome Opening Remarks
Reading of the 2011 Minutes Treasurer’s Report Membership Report Unfinished Business
New Business Adjournment
SILVER STRIKERS CLUB NEWSLETTER ISSUE #66 Page 12
Club History by Jeff Gaffke
Some Events from the Year 2011 March, 2011 The Four Queen’s Gypsy $300 coin was released on March 18. On Wednesday of that same week, March 16, two red caps for St. Patrick’s Day were released. June, 2011 The summer Silver Strike Tournament was held on June 20 and 21 at The Four Queens. Delta Queen River Boat strikes were available as red and blue caps, as well as a $300 Delta Queen. The annual convention of the CC>CC was held in June.
Some Las Vegas trivia: Vehicle traffic on Fremont Street in Downtown Las Vegas was officially stopped on September 7, 1994.
In 1966, Howard Hughes began his infamous stay at the Desert Inn. In 1968, Hughes purchased the Desert Inn after being asked to leave by hotel management.
Reminder for Our MEMBERSHIP CONTEST!!
Membership is still our greatest asset! Last year, the Membership contest brought in 33 new members. Let’s beat that total and grow our club in 2012!!
So far we have 15 new members this year. We still have 2 months to go so let’s get busy recruiting.
The 2012 Membership Contest will be conducted between 1-1-12 and 5-31-12. There
are two criteria for new recruits: 1) They must be new members (if they were previous members that had a lapse in their
membership, they are not eligible for this contest), and 2) they must list the sponsor’s name on their application for the sponsor to receive
credit.
Prizes will be awarded as follows: For 3 new members you will get a Free Roster
For 6 new members Free Roster and 1 year free membership 10+ new members Free Roster and 2 years free membership
In addition to the above awards, if there are members who recruit 10 or more people,
the top recruiter will be recognized during convention for their contribution to increasing membership and will receive a plaque commemorating their outstanding efforts. Again, help us make the club bigger and better – START RECRUITING TODAY!
Jo Riefer CHSS-0033
1st Vice President/Membership
Page 9 SILVER STRIKERS CLUB NEWSLETTER ISSUE #66
(Continued from page 8) follow up with award manufacturer.) - Annual meeting party - Discussed budget for party. Motion was made by Jimmy, Jo seconded. Passed unanimously. (Action taken, none required.) - Treasurer’s Report - Judy reviewed profit / loss statement and balance sheet. (To Becky for Newsletter.) - Membership - Current membership at 465. Suggestion made to encourage mem-bers that sell strikes to include Club application with merchandise. (Al to write note for newsletter.) - Newsletter - Discussed moving release date of spring newsletter closer to annual meeting. (Check with Becky about schedule.) - Adjournment- Meeting adjourned at 4:30 p.m.
(Continued from page 7) However, Sue and I have been to every tournament except the first one at O’Sheas and the June 2011 one at the Four Queens because of health issues,” he says. As many strikers know, Jeff has devoted many hours almost every year working with “my best friend” Jo Riefer (CHSS 033) running the club’s coin design contest. “We have a great time doing it,” he says. As for the future of strike collecting, Jeff says, “In one form or another, strike collecting is here to stay. We still have a large group of avid collectors with their collections intact. We have new collectors beginning to collect the older strikes and collectors who collect the clads. I have started collecting the red and blue caps and its still a lot of fun. And as long as the club has members willing to step up and become new officers the club will survive for a long time.” Through the years, Jeff and Sue built a large, almost-complete collection of strikes. They have many wonderful memories of collecting them and especially the many friends they made along the way. Last year Jeff and Sue made the difficult decision to sell their collection. “When you’re in your ‘Golden Years’ you need to make logical decisions about things such as your possessions. My grown children would have no idea what to do with my collection. The main reason I decided to sell the collection was because the price of silver was approaching fifty dollars an ounce,” Jeff says. “Sue and I are still working; she for a commercial auction company and I am working for a major big box company. We are both enjoying the people contact and staying young chasing many grandchildren around,” Jeff says. “Collecting. It started out all about the coins, the hunt, the chase, and the concur. Now it’s a different type of collecting. It’s collecting friends – friends for life. We can’t possibly describe our anticipation leading up to our trips to Vegas and all the little reunions without our striker friends,” he says. Jeff ended the interview, saying, “Don’t ever forget your striker friends in Vegas.” You can always find them. Their pockets rattle!”
SILVER STRIKERS CLUB NEWSLETTER ISSUE #66 Page 10
2012 CLUB COIN CONTEST THE WINNER
FIRST PLACE JIM MITZ
2ND PLACE 3RD PLACE 4TH PLACE PEGGY JOHNSON CHERI JOLLIE ROBERT LIKES 5TH PLACE 6TH PLACE JIM KINGWILL COLIN HIGHET Congratulations to JIM MITZ for his first place winning entry. A big thank you to all the club members who entered the contest. A very special thank you to Jo Riefer for her computer enhancing, her tireless help and support in my first experience with this contest. To the 15 Judges who had the difficult task of narrowing 49 awesome entries down to six finalists, thank you very much. Special thanks to last years first place win-ner, Jim Dalzell, for receiving and tabulating all of the mail in votes. Al Lukacs
Page 11 SILVER STRIKERS CLUB NEWSLETTER ISSUE #66
Silver Strikers Club 13th Anniversary Strike We are now accepting orders for the new 2012 Silver Strikers Club Strike. Please be aware because of the limited amount we will accept orders from Club members only for one strike per member until June 1, 2012, then it will be open to everyone and in whatever amount you want until there is none left. First Round: Only Club Members… Only one per member. First come first served. Your checks will be cashed right away but the strike will not be mailed until we receive it from the mint. Second Round: Open to everyone Members and Non Members. Any number you wish to purchase. First come first served. If we are sold out your check will be returned to you. Order forms can be obtained at the Silver Strikers Web site or in this newsletter. The price and where to send it is on the order form… 2009 10th Anniversary Club Coins: We still have a dozen of these for sale. They are available for $34.00 each and are on the order form. www.silverstrikers.com Thanks Al Lukacs Silver Strikers Design Contest Chair
Club Coin Order Form
Name ___________________________________________SS#_______________ Street Address:______________________________________________________ City ___________________________________ State ________ Zip ___________ Nevada County _______________________ for Sales Tax Payment by Club
Quantity _______2009 Tenth Anniversary @ $34.00 ea. Quantity _______2012 Thirteenth Anniversary@ $34.00 ea. CHECK OR MONEY ORDER MADE OUT TO: SILVER STRIKERS CLUB SEND TO: G. Allan Lukacs 5507 4th Ave. N.W. Bradenton, FL. 34209 10th Anniversary 13th Anniversary Issued 2009 Issued 2012
