Geno Munari learned the casino business from the inside, working at the Dunes casino for over eight years. He parlayed that experience and his personal contacts into the only book about the famous Las Vegas landmark, The Dunes Hotel and Casino: The Mob, the connections, the stories. Munari graduated from employee to proprietor as owner of Cowboy Gene’s casino in Henderson. His resume includes stints at the California Club, Flamingo, Bourbon Street, and Imperial Palace. For five years, he taught others about his passion for the casino industry as an adjunct casino operations professor at UNLV. Munari looks forward to sharing his vast repertoire of gaming experience with visitors to the Casino Collectibles Association’s 31st annual show. He will greet those attending on Thursday, June 13, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. in Exhibit Hall C at the South Point Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The show runs Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, June 13 -15, 2024.
For those who would like to know more about the Dunes, Munari will also deliver an hour-long seminar on the subject at the show on Thursday afternoon, June 13, at 3 p.m. in the Joshua Room at South Point. His presentation will feature stories of some of the Dunes Hotel’s characters, their connection to organized crime, and the “chip-cup” scam that pilfered millions from the major casinos and led to a high-profile mob killing.
The World’s Largest Casino Chip and Collectibles exhibition is open to the public and a must-see event for anybody fascinated by gaming history. The show features the greatest single-location collection of the iconic artifacts and mementos that bring casino history, and memories, to life. Many are symbols of past gaming grandeur that are gone or becoming rare, souvenirs from when the casinos wanted customers to pocket their branded keepsakes as reminders of a memorable experience. Things like gaming chips of all denominations, gaming tokens, dice, slot cards, playing cards, matchbooks, ashtrays, menus, dinnerware, swizzle sticks, casino photos, postcards, signs, table felt – just about anything a casino could put its name on. Over 50 worldwide dealers will be on hand to offer attendees the unique opportunity to examine, buy, sell, or trade casino collectibles.
The exposition is the annual educational effort of the Casino Collectibles Association, a non-profit club with hundreds of members who passionately share the hobby of collecting and preserving the past. Show hours are June 13, 10 AM – 5 PM (admission $10), June 14, 9 AM – 4 PM (admission $5) and June 15, 9 AM – 4 PM (admission is free). Admission is free every day for First Responders, Active Military, and all casino employees with appropriate ID.
