Arrowhead Playing Cards from San Felipe’s Casino Hollywood

This is one of several US casino decks featuring Native American courts. The US has hundreds of casinos operated by Native American tribes (tribal lands are exempt from state gambling bans). Some employ nonstandard cards decorated with motifs from Native American culture. After being used in casino play, the cards are voided, typically by having holes drilled through them or getting the corners clipped, in order to prevent their use in future games. The voided cards are then sold or given out as souvenirs.

This Arrowhead deck is voided with a notch on the side as well as black stripes on the aces, tens, and court cards. Each suit has traditional Native American courts from various regions of the country (see extra card ). The courts maintain elements of the international pattern such the Suicide King. The jokers are a mix between a fox, wolf, and coyote, common animals in Native American mythology.

Arrowhead Playing Cards from San Felipe’s Casino Hollywood produced by Gemaco under license with the Benjamin Greenfield Corporation, 1995.

The deck was printed by Gemaco under exclusive license with the Benjamin Greenfield Corporation. It comes from San Felipe’s Casino Hollywood in San Felipe Pueblo, New Mexico; the same pattern was used by Meskwaki Casino in Tama, Iowa (Meskwaki has also used a different set of Native American courts). It was also issued as a stand-alone deck that’s not attached to a particular casino.