07-002 Prayer cards

07-002
Prayer cards

At the beginning of 2023, I did a little research on prayer cards.

Prayer cards

What are prayer cards?

Prayer cards are small pocket-sized cards that usually depict a saint or symbolic Christian scene, such as Jesus on the cross. The back side of the card has a prayer to encourage the owner to recite. These cards are used in the Christian tradition as devotional pictures for the use of the faithful.

Different Christian denominations have different traditions upon prayer cards. The circulation of prayer cards is an important part of the visual folk culture of Roman Catholics. Protestants are less devoted to religious items but prayer cards in Protestant theme do exist. Orthodox Christians used to be more devoted on small-size wooden icons. But things have started to change in recent decades.

I am not a Catholic. But I know what a prayer card is. I got one from a nun many years ago. It was in a book fair. The nun was distributing prayer cards to visitors at a Catholic booth. Since then, I keep the card in my wallet, treating it as my protection charm.

If you have read through my blog, you will find my sharing on American and German card games that I have enjoyed playing with my kids. Further, I have written about traditional playing game decks. I personally purchased a deck of each traditional playing cards and they are now sitting quietly on the little bookshelf in my bedroom. Kids don’t like traditional card games.

Why Prayer cards?

After finishing my research on traditional card decks, I moved on to other cards that are not for gaming but for something else, such as popstar photo cards. But one day when I was browsing through religious items on Etsy, some prayer cards drew my attention to.

The cards are nicely printed, with a similar size as a playing card. They are collectible and each bears an image of my religion. I decided to walk around local Catholic churches and bookstores to see if I can add some prayer cards to my collection.

My date with prayer cards

On the very first week of 2023, I started my adventure on collecting prayer cards. There is a Catholic bookstore just right next to my office, the Bonfire, which serves as an easy starting point of my adventure. To my surprise, I only managed to find 2 prayer cards in the whole bookstore. One is “The Lord’s Prayer” from a local publisher Rock Petrus. The other one is “St. Pio” from CBC, United Kingdom.

The first two prayer cards in my collection

One is from a local printer and the other is from UK.
Both cards are paper and sold in plastic sleeves.

“Prayer cards are not popular in Hongkong. These are all we got. And both of them were on the shelf for many years.” The storekeeper was correct. Rock Petrus was liquidated for more than a decade. CBC is still functioning though.

The Catholic Center in Central
These are only holy pictures, not prayer cards

Only a handful of prayer cards are sold there

On the same day, I went to the Catholic Center in Central after work. It is the only other and also the largest Catholic bookstore on Hongkong Island. “St. Cecilia”, “St. Lucy”, “St. Patrick”, “St. Anthony”, “St. Peregrine”, “St. Rita of Cascia”, “St. Pio”, “Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows of Mary”, “Our Lady of Mt. Carmel” & “Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal”… I found 10 different cards with images of a biblical figures or Catholic saints. In addition, 4 more cards are in prayer theme, “Confirmation Prayer”, “Communion Prayer”, “The Motorist’s Prayer” & “Magnificat”. With only 14 in total, I couldn’t say that’s a lot.

Cromo N.B. cards are plastic and in credit card size

Cards from the Catholic Center are either printed by Cromo N.B. of Italy or by Regina Press of the US. At the time of purchase, I had no idea who those saints are. Now I know, after searching the Wikipedia. They are all respectable persons of the Catholic church. 

Regina Press cards from US are larger in size

Prayer cards are not precisely cut.
Cards from the same manufacturer can be slightly different in size.

The other 4 Cromo cards are in gerneral prayer theme

On the next weekend, I decided to visit local churches to see if I can get some free prayer cards. I first visited the St. Peter’s Church in Aberdeen. To my disappointment, no prayer cards were found.

Prayer card from the Anglican church

Then I headed north to the Central and visited the Anglican church’s St John's Cathedral. As Anglican church is not exactly Catholic, I am not sure if they gives out prayer cards. Nothing was found in its bookstore but the church itself does give out prayer card, the “Dedication Prayer”. It is in post card size.

The "Dedication Prayer" card is billingual

I finally managed to get some ‘proper’ prayer cards from the Catholic churches around, the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and the St. Joseph’s Church. I found that the cards given out by the churches are normally larger in size. Most of the cards are in postcard size and some are even bigger. They cannot be kept inside a wallet but can still be conveniently kept inside a Bible, if people still carry a physical Bible around. Some of them depicted the saint of their church, local saints or blessed people. And most of them are limited-edition. For example, the prayer card of “Bishop Alfredo F. Verzosa” from St. Joseph’s Church is a handmade xeroxed copy. Alfredo was a bishop of Northern Luzon, Philippines. The card is to call for prayers on his beatification.

Prayer cards of "St. Josef Freinademetz" and "Blessed Gabriele Allegra",
distributed in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

Behind are their relics.

St. Josef Freinademetz was a priest in Hong Kong
Blessed Gabriele Allegra translated the Bible into Chinese

Both cards are postcard size, in Chinese language

Another Catholic church in Central, the St. Joseph's Church

Flyers and prayer cards at the reception

The handmade “Bishop Alfredo F. Verzosa” prayer card

On the week after, I visited many churches on Hongkong Island, small and big. I visited the Our Lady of Lourdes Church near my son’s school in the morning and went to the beautiful Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church near my office during lunch. I also visited the St. Anthony's Church in Happy Valley, the Christ the King Chapel in Causeway Bay, Our Lady of The Rosary Church in Kennedy Town, Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Chapel inside the Hongkong University, St. Jude’s Church in North Point & St. Anne's Church near the beautiful Stanley beach. From most of these locations, I managed to add a few prayer cards to my collection. 

Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Pokfulam

St. Anne's Church in Stanley

As I have nearly exhausted all the Catholic resources on Hongkong Island, I decided to continue my journey to the other side of the harbour. There are many Catholic churches in Hongkong and I am not planning to visit them all. But Catholic bookstores are only a few and the remaining are all located in Kowloon. I decided to visit them all and the churches nearby.

I first visited the Catholic Center in Tsim Sha Tsui and grabbed some more Cromo cards. The Rosary Parish Rosary Church nearby also gives out free prayer cards. The other Catholic Centre in Mongkok also sells prayer cards but the St. Teresa’s Church next door has nothing.

St Paul Media Centre is a very small shop ran by The Daughters of St Paul, located inside the shopping mall Pioneer Centre. They also sell prayer cards. The Talentum Bookshop nearby sells nothing, though. And the real hidden gem is the Salesian Catechetical Centre.

St Paul Media Centre also gives away this unique two-folded prayer card

Venerable Sr. Thecla Merlo is the founder of Daughters of St Paul

Not exactly on a convenient location, Salesian Catechetical Centre sells a huge collection of prayer cards, together with a lot of religious items. You can find prayer cards from different printers worldwide, but the majority are from the 3 Italian printers – EGIM srl, Fratelli Bonella and Cromo N.B.. Some cards are in Italian language. I am not sure how local Catholics can make use of the prayers printed on them.

(from left to right) Cards printed by EGIM s.r.l.,  Fratelli Bonella and Cromo N.B.

EGIM cards are paper and the cheapest
But some of them are in Italian

Some of the remarkable prayer cards are those 3D cards from China. The printer is called Szvictor, probably located in Shenzhen. Cards are in Chinese language and bear 3D graphics. Szvictor is not exactly a Christian publisher. It prints many 3D cards and religious figures only belong to one of their product lines. They also print 3D image of Buddha in A4 poster size.

3D prayer card, looks like Jesus is watching you!

Cards are printed in Chinese

Other remarkable prayer cards are the 2 from R Italy. The medals on the cards are not just gold paints but real. The medal is laminated together with the card and I don’t think it is supposed to be taken out.

The medals are real

Just like normal prayer cards, a prayer is printed on the backside

The most interesting one must be the prayer card of “Our Lady of Lourdes”. It is not an ordinary prayer card. A small bottle of holy water from Lourdes is attached to it. It is the only card in my entire card collection that contains liquid.

“Our Lady of Lourdes” prayer card, with a bottle of holy water from Lourdes

The backside is a prayer in Chinese

The Mary Help of Christians Church nearby also distribute prayer cards for free. Some of the cards look very old and limp. Seems Catholics would like dispose their unwanted prayer cards back to the church for others to pick up.

How much is a prayer card?

A normal prayer card ranges from HKD $0.6 (EGIM srl) to $8.0 (Cromo N.B.), which is around 10 cents to 1 USD. The “St. John XXIII” prayer card with medal by R Italy costs $10.0, which is around USD $1.25. The “Our Lady of Lourdes” prayer card with holy water costs a bit more than USD $2, HKD $17 to be exact.

Many comment prayer cards as cheap and affordable. This statement is actually arguable. Yes, the cheapest card I get is only HKD 60 cents, which is nothing. And the most expensive card, the one with a bottle of holy water, only costs a bit more than 2 bucks. Their prices are really affordable. But we are only talking about 1 card here. If talking about per-card price, then a pack of UNO is now selling at USD 10.75 on Amazon and you’ll get 108 cards with a tin box. Are prayer cards really cheap? It really depends on your point of view. 

How to start a prayer card collection?

Prayer cards are popular collectible items especially in Catholic countries. They are inexpensive, small in size and do not take up much space of storage. Cards are beautifully printed and have many different patterns on them. Collectors base their collection on various criteria like a favorite saint, country of issue, issuer, etc. Most of the cards depict images of famous religious paintings. One can learn the history of the paintings while collecting them.

Most of the religious images are in public domain

Same image, same prayer, printed by different printers

Most of the religious images and prayers are in public domain and can be freely printed or replicated. These cards are produced in large quantity. Some cards are rarer, such as the handmade “Bishop Alfredo F. Verzosa” card I got. Funeral cards are also limited edition. Collecting them is rather a hit-and-miss. The funeral card of “Fr. Tommy Murphy” I got from the Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel is an example.

The funeral card of “Fr. Tommy Murphy”
Opposite side is "Our Lady of Sheshan", 
a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated by Chinese Roman Catholics.

You can start your own collection from your local Catholic bookstore. Most likely, you will find a wide range of prayer cards there. Or, you can visit your local parish. There is no guarantee but normally, you will be able to get some prayer cards free. And that is one of the reason I like visiting Catholic churches. You can just go there at any time, grab some cards (if any) and leave. No one will bother you. Do the same in Mormon temple and you will end up being surrounded by groups of latter day saints, eager to make friend with you.

How to store prayer cards?

I saw on internet, someone is selling binders with plastic sleeves for prayer cards collection. I think this would only work if you are from the states. In my country, prayer cards are in different sizes and it is impossible to find a binder that can fit them all.

I get this pouch from Redbubble to store my cards. Redbubble is a global online marketplace for print-on-demand products based on user-submitted artwork. Artists create designs and submit them digitally to Redbubble. Upon receiving orders, Redbubble will print the artwork on a variety of products, including t-shirts, phone cases, stickers, etc. and send the product directly to the customer.

Pouch to store my prayer card collection

The pouch I got is designed and sold by hispanicworld. It is in Catholic theme and depicts the image of “Our Lady of Guadalupe”. Size is 12.5” x 8.5” which can hold up to a hundred prayer cards in different sizes.

 

In the next post, I will talk about some other special prayer cards and my opinion upon them. Stay tuned!

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07-001 Kosher meal at 30,000 feet

07-001
Kosher meal at 30,000 feet

Let me start this new chapter with something biblical.

 

Ever since the lifting of compulsory quarantine & COVID test in early 2023, my company started hosting meetings and trainings once again. Colleagues from other countries started resuming travels to my hometown. I am happy to see this “Asia’s World City” becoming international again.

Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-367 (B-HNJ)

Mid July was our department’s turn to host a meeting. The meeting was a five day workshop and we saw many faces coming from all over the world. And it happened that one of the visitors is a Jew.

We have visitors from almost every part of the world before the pandemic. Many of them are religious and observe their own dietary law. I have full respect to people with different religions and always try to provide them suitable food as best as I can.

We have a Muslim community near our office. Finding halal food is not an issue. An excellent Chinese vegetarian restaurant is also round the corner that can fill up the empty stomachs of our Buddhist colleagues. Recently, I even added to my lunch list a nearby Indian restaurant that serves Jain cuisine. But when it comes to kosher, there is a challenge.

Hershey Chocolate is one of the kosher food available in local supermarket

“Kosher food is widely available in this city!” I won’t say that. Not until I found a job in the Hong Kong Tourist Association. Yes, technically you can find kosher food almost everywhere in this city. Many supermarkets here sell snacks or cookies imported from the US or Canada which bear an OU mark on their packages. But when talking about proper kosher restaurants that you can dine in, the choices are very very limited.

It seems that my colleague has already foreseen my difficulties on finding him kosher food. Prior to his arrival, he told me that he can settle on vegetarian. So, we spent our lunches in various vegetarian restaurants around. Problem solved. But still, I need to add kosher restaurants to my lunch list for the next Jewish colleague. Or maybe, I can even bring my wife to try some kosher meals here. But after searching and asking around, the only thing I can find is disappointment.

In a city of over 7 million population, there are only 3 kosher restaurants in the city. Café Seven Zero and Sabra Restaurant are located inside the Jewish Community Centre (JCC) in Central. However, the whole building is off-limit to gentiles. (Well, it is not exactly off-limit but you need to apply before entering the building.) And even if you managed to enter, you won’t be able to get any food as the restaurants only serve Jews.

The third restaurant is on the other side of the harbour, the Mul Hayam Glatt Kosher Restaurant in Tsim Sha Tsui. Again, it only serves Jews.

As all 3 of them shut their doors to gentiles, locals have no chance to eat kosher meal inside a restaurant in Hongkong, except we have Jews accomplishing with us. However, I found a way to work around. 

Last week, I had a family trip to Taiwan and I ordered kosher meals for my flights.

Also called KSML, a kosher airline meal is an airline meal that conforms to the standards of kashrut. Many airlines offer the option of kosher meals to passengers if ordered in advance, with no additional charge.

Shortly after the seatbelt sign was off, a flight attendant approached me and asked if I would like to have my meal reheated. I said yes and after 10 minutes, she put my kosher meal set on my table. I was surprised to see such a big box in front of me.

My kosher meal on the flight to Taipei
I was surprised by its size!

Passengers sitting around all staring at my lunchbox. I felt a bit embarrassed. And I was quite sure that the flight attendances must be talking about me as I definitely do not look like a Jew. Anyway, let me show you what did my KSML looks like.

The top side of the envelope

The meal set was kept inside a thick cardboard envelope. It was produced by Hermolis, one of the biggest kosher food suppliers in the world. The meal set was cooked in their facility in Wembley, London, under strict “supervision of Kedassia and the London Beth Din”. (Don’t ask me what does that mean.) On the envelope, there is a big red label showing the content of the meal. Red is a warning. It means the meal contain meat. In Jewish dietary law, it is not allowed to mix meat and dairy products together. There is also a kosher seal printed on the envelope.

Red label means the meal is meaty

The back side of the envelope shows the details of the manufacturer, Hermolis

Inside the envelope is a plastic box with all side dishes wrapped in double layers of plastic, served cold. Only the main course was taken out to reheat. But the pack is still sealed under 2 layers of plastic bags. On top of the main course is another label detailly showing the ingredients and nutrition data, with an extra kosher seal on it.

Inside the envelope is a big plastic box with double layer of plastic wraps

On top of the wraps, the box is also securely sealed
Only the passenger is allowed to break the seal or else the meal would be no longer kosher

Another label being affixed on the main course

Kosher certificate

Jewish dietary law forbid using any crockery or cutlery that has been used for non-kosher food. The double layer plastic wraps are to prevent the kosher meal being “contaminated”.

Let me try the starter first. My hors d'oeuvre was Smoked salmon on julienne vegetable salad. Main course was Stir fried chicken, stir fried vegetables & basmati rice. There were also 2 dessert dishes, an Apple crumble and a bowl of Fruit salad.

The hors d'oeuvre -- Smoked salmon on julienne vegetable salad
I like salmon and olive!

The main course -- Stir fried chicken with basmati rice
Each grain of rice is carefully inspected by Rabbi before cooked!

The first dessert -- Apple crumble

The second dessert -- Fruit salad

Both desserts are too sweet for me!

Apart from all these, there was a roll, a pack of crackers and a piece of chocolate truffle. The meal also came with a pack of non-dairy creamer, a pack of non-dairy spread, and a cup of water. All sealed in plastic wraps. I do not know how many plastic they have used to make one set of kosher meal.

Still not enough? There are a roll, a pack of crackers and margarine

Since mixing meat and milk is not allowed in Jewish dietary law,
coffee creamer is non-dairy (parve)

And finally, a cup of water from London

How does it taste?

Quality of Cathay Pacific inflight meals has been deteriorated a lot since the last 2 decades. And you will never get this massive amount of food in economy class, no matter which airline you take. Wikipedia said a KSMLs cost approximately twice as much as standard meals. So, it is my time to rip them off!

But to be honest, the taste was just so-so. The main course was very salty and the desserts were super sweet. I think the meal was cooked in a way to suit the Jewish taste. Also, the meal was cooked on the other side of the globe, London, frozen for several weeks or even months, just recently defrosted and reheated on the plane before placing in front of me. My KSML had an expiry date of May-2024 printed on the envelope. And it was only July-2023. People said kosher food is healthier because their production is under strict supervision. I think this statement is only valid for kosher meal served in Jewish restaurant, not this kind of inflight zombie meal.

I got another big box on my inbound flight

On my inbound flight, I got another Hermolis kosher meal. This time, the label was green denoting the food is parve. Fish is not consider as meat.

And this time, the label on the meal box is green colour

Green label means "Parve", i.e. the meal contains no meat or dairy products

These are what inside the Prave kosher meal box

Hors d’oeuvre was Florida Cocktail this time. Main course was Grilled salmon, egg fried rice, green beans & carrots. Again, there were 2 dessert dishes, Brandy snaps and Chocolate gateaux. The set also came with roll, crackers, chocolate truffle, non-dairy creamer, non-dairy spread, and a cup of water.

Hors d’oeuvre on my retrun flight -- Florida Cocktail

The main course -- Grilled salmon & egg fried rice
I got a whole piece of salmon fillet!
You will never get this amount of food on CX enconomy class!

Fish is not meat. So the label on the main course is green colour.

Dessert number 1 -- Brandy snaps

Dessert number 2 - Chocolate gateaux

This is the chocolate truffle
I snapped this photo seconds before my son grabbed it away!

How can I call this as a workaround? It is only ordering an inflight kosher meal! Remember, Cathay Pacific is the flag carrier of Hongkong. When I was being served with KSML, my plane was 30,000 feet above the high seas. According to international law, any area inside the plane belongs to the jurisdiction of the plane’s registration country. So, technically, I was still in Hongkong. And my air ticket included complementary inflight meal so the plane is sort of a restaurant. I was sitting in a local restaurant, being served with a full set of kosher meal. Not only once, but twice. Mission completed.

See? I was 30,000 feet above the international water while enjoying my kosher meal!

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07-000 All Saints

07-000
All Saints

The number “seven” often symbolizes completion or perfection in the Bible, representing Jesus and God. As a Christian myself, I sanctify the seventh chapter of my blog to religious topics.

All Saints

In this chapter, I will talk about the different religions in my culture. I will focus on religious practices in Hongkong and nearby areas. My posts will talk about all religions, not only limited to Christianity.

Just to make myself clear, including other religions into my blog does not mean that I agree on their doctrines. I am a devoted Christian but that does not mean I cannot respect followers of other religions. Respecting others doesn’t mean that we agree with what they say or do; it means that we accept their different opinion and behavior as valid.

 

Lobby Directory 

• 001  Kosher meal at 30,000 feet
• 002  Prayer cards
• 003  Third class relic prayer cards
• 004  My family relics
• 005  Chinese Bible
• 006  Chinese Protestant Bible, from the beginning to CUV
• 007  Chinese Protestant Bible, from CUV to the millennium
• 008  Chinese Protestant Bible, since the millennium
• 009  Chinese Catholic Bible
• 010  Biblical Apocrypha, and the Chinese translation
• 011  Chinese Orthodox Bible
• 012  Ellen White’s writings, and their Chinese translations
• 013  Chinese translation of “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures”
• 014  Scriptures of The Latter-day Saints and their Chinese translations
• 015  The Eight Great Textbooks, and their Chinese translations
• 016  Swedenborg, and Chinese translations of his works
• 017  Stogel long-life Kosher Meal
• 018  Kosher restaurant in Munich
• 019  The Jüdisches Museum München
• 020  Jewish bookshop
• 021  disORIENTation
• 022  German prayer cards
• 023  First and second class relics
• 024  Exploring the Hidden Coptic Church in Hong Kong’s Industrial Heart

 

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04-018 Fresh milk vs. Milk drinks

04-018
Fresh milk vs. Milk drinks

Talking about milk, in a city with a population of over 7 million, the total number of dairy farm in Hong Kong is zero. Yes, all milk products you can find in the city are imported. Not even a single drop of milk is produced locally.

Do you like milk?

Image Source: Pixabay

It was not like this. We used to have several dairy farms. Due to the continuous salary rise, tightening of the food regulations, and scarcity of land, dairy farms were moving away from Hong Kong over the previous decades.

These all came to an end in 2008 when the last dairy farm, Hong Ning Dairy revoked their milking license and moved their cattle to China. It is absolutely okay for them to do this. They strived till the end and should not be blamed by anyone.

But instead of telling the truth to the public, this farm chose to lie. They locked up their cattle depot, claiming the new food regulations do not allow visitors milking their cattle anymore. And not only milking, they even not allow the public to walk close. Because there is always a concern among the locals on food safety in mainland China, Hong Ning Milk, claiming to be the last surviving dairy farm in Hong Kong, became the golden boy, until being discovered by the press in 2015.

Hong Ning started becoming suspicious because the wordings printed on their bottles changed from "Fresh Milk" to "Milk Drinks". What the heck is "Milk Drinks"? The term  is used for any milk products that are not 100% milk. Normally, they are made by dissolving milk powder into water, adding additional ingredients such as calcium or favor.

Being heavily criticized, Hong Ning nearly disappeared since then. Only very few shops still sell Hong Ning. No one knows where did their cattle go. Being moved to their new farm in China? Being slaughtered and eaten? Being released into the wild? Or all dead because of disease? It is still a mystery. Hong Ning disappeared completely before the pandemic.

"Vita", "Nestle Dairy Farm", "Trappist" & "Kowloon Dairy" being sold in 7-Eleven

So what about the others? There are still 5 local brands producing milk products, all using imported milk sources. They are the "Trappist Milk", "Kowloon Dairy", "Vita", "Nestle Dairy Farm" and "Farm Milk". The first 4 brands can be found in
most supermarkets and 7-Elevens while "Farm Milk" can be found in city’super, together with the other 4. But watch out! If you do not want to buy those watery milk powder mixture, make sure you can find the word "Fresh Milk" on the packing instead of "Milk Drink" or "Milk Beverage".

"Farm Milk" sold in city’super

Apparently, all products from "Farm Milk" are pure milk while all Vita's are "Milk Drinks". The others 3 sell both.

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02-015 Casino Dice

02-015
Casino Dice

Casino Dice, also called Precision Casino Dice, are standard d6 “right-handed” dice made to be very accurate and fair. They have sharp edges and corners and are usually 19mm in size.

Casino Dice

Regular dice that are used for board games or other purposes are manufactured via the plastic injection molding process, often made of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). The pips or numbers on the die are a part of the mold. Since the number of pips on each side are different, the center of gravity of the dice is not exactly at the same spot of its geometric center. This affects the fairness in each rolling.

Casino dice are made through a special process that ensures their accuracy and fairness. The pips or numbers on the dice are drilled into the surface, then filled with a paint that has the same density as the plastic. This way, the dice have equal weight on all sides. The center of gravity of the dice would be as close to their geometric center as possible and do not favor any outcome.

Casino dice are machined from a hard plastic called cellulose acetate, which can withstand the impact of throwing and bouncing. They may have a polished or sand finish, making them transparent or translucent, respectively. Their sharp edges and corners make them roll better and prevent tampering. Casino dice are also subject to various security measures, such as serial numbers, cancellation marks, glow spots, key letter spots, and casino logos to prevent cheating or forgery.

As its names suggests, casino dice are used in casinos for games like craps. Being preciously made, casino dice are also more expensive than normal dice. Amazon is selling casino dice at a price of around USD 3 each. With less than 9 dollars, you can get 100 pieces of normal dice.

The set I got from Amazon costed me USD 19.76. It consists of 6 authentic, table-played 19mm dice from Nevada casinos. Same as playing cards, casino dice are also replaced regularly to prevent wear and tear. Old dice were cancelled and sold as souvenir. The dice have a circular cancellation mark on one of the surfaces. This helps dealers identify if any cancelled dice are brought into a game by a cheating player.

US$19.76 for a set of 6 table-played 19mm dice from Nevada casinos

My set of dice is in different colours and from different casinos including Binion’s (1951), Boulder Station (1994), Harrah’s Lake Tahoe (1955), Harveys Lake Tahoe (1944), Peppermill Reno (1971), and The D Las Vegas (1980). Some of the casinos are even older than me! Holding the dice on hand is like owning a part of American history. The set also came with a drawstring-closure, black velvet pouch for storage and safe keeping.

Brillant made casino dice with logo and cancellation mark,
though this casino has some not so brillant history

Casino dice are d6 dice which can be used to play any dice games. But since the dice are from casinos, why don’t we use them to play craps? It is the only casino game that allows gamblers to have physical contact of casino dice.

General Information

Player	1 to 16
Playing Time	20 to 60 mins
Age	10+
Year Released	1125
Designer	(Public Domain)
Publisher
Family	Betting and Bluffing
Score	5.0 (Board Game Geek)

Specifications

Dice size	19mm precision casino dice
# of dice	2
Faces	6
Details	Casino dice are d6 dice precisely made to be very accurate and fair. They have sharp edges and corners and are usually 19mm in size.  Casino dice come with different colours. They are normally transparent and bear the logo of the casino and a serial number to prevent forgery.

The game play

Where to buy?

Amazon.

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