Bee Tech Art Deck, Red Seal, from 2005

[publius]

Does anyone have any background or information about this deck? I've never seen them before now. It's a Bee tech art deck with the bumblebee in the window, and decks are dated 2005. Front of tuck looks like any other Bee deck from the period. Any info would be appreciated.

[Don Boyer]

This could possibly be a "casino sample" deck.  I've heard of this before, have something similar that I received as a gift direct from the guy in charge of the Custom Department.  It's basically a deck made for the Casino Department to be given as a sample of their work to potential buyers.  The barcode and the clear window on the back are typical of casino decks, but the big "bumblebee" logo instead of a casino logo indicates that it's not a deck that would ever be used in a casino - they specifically only use "branded" decks with their name on them or their custom design to prevent people from cheating at card games by bringing in cards off the street.  I wouldn't be surprised if the decks were not only Bee Casino stock but were also traditionally cut - casinos insist on traditionally cut most of the time.