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Casino tokens (also known as chips, checks or cheques) are small discs used in lieu of currency in casinos. Colored metal or compression molded clay tokens of various denominations are used primarily in table games, as opposed to metal token coins, used primarily in slot machines.
Some casinos also use gaming plaques for high stakes table games ($25,000 and above). Plaques differ from chips in that they are larger, usually rectangular in shape and contain serial numbers.
A set of injection molded ABS poker chips with denominations 100, 50, 25 & 10Money is exchanged for tokens in a casino at the casino cage, at the gaming tables, or at a cashier station. The tokens are interchangeable with money at the casino. They generally have no value outside out of the casino, though in Las Vegas, some casinos honor chips from other casinos, but this is not guaranteed.
Tokens are employed for several reasons. They are more convenient to use than currency, and also make theft and counterfeiting more difficult. Because of the uniform size and regularity of stacks of chips, they are easier to count in stacks compared to paper currency when used on a table. This attribute also enables the pit boss or security to quickly verify the amount being paid, reducing the chance that a dealer might incorrectly pay a customer. Furthermore, it is observed that consumers gamble more freely with replacement currencies than with cash.
Finally, the chips are considered to be an integral part of the casino environment, and replacing them with some alternate currency would be unpopular.
Many casinos are eliminating the use of metal tokens (and coins) in favor of paper receipts, which, while requiring heavy infrastructure costs to install, eliminate the coin handling expenses and jamming problems encountered in machines which take coins or tokens. While some casinos (such as the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas) which install the receipt system are keeping the $1 tokens to use in place of $1 chips, most other casinos using the receipts are scrapping the tokens entirely. Most casinos using receipts have automated machines at which customers may redeem receipts, eliminating the need for coin counting windows and decreasing labor costs.
Casino chip collecting is a part of numismatics, more specifically as specialized exonumia collecting. This hobby has become increasingly popular with the Casino Chips & Gaming Tokens Collectors Club formed in 1988. Some chips are worth up to $50,000 and the most popular way to collect and trade is on eBay.
The vast majority of authentic casino chips are "clay" chips but can be more accurately described as compression molded chips. Contrary to popular belief no gaming chip going as far back as the 1950s have been 100% clay. Modern clay chips are a composition of materials more durable than clay alone. At least some percentage of the chips is of an earthen material such as sand, chalk and or clay similar to that found in cat litter. The process used to make these chips is a trade secret, very expensive, time consuming and varies slightly by manufacturer. Additionally, the edge spots or inserts, as they are some times called, are not painted on as they can sometimes appear to be. In fact there are areas where the clay has been punched out of the chip and then replaced by hand with a new piece of clay of an alternate color; the chip is then placed under extreme pressure and heat, approximately 10,000 psi (70 MPa) at 300 degrees F, hence the term compression molded Chips.
The printed graphics on clay chips is called an inlay. Inlays are typically made of paper and are then covered with a thin film of plastic which is applied to the chip prior to the compression molding process. During the molding process the inlay becomes permanently affixed to the chip and can not be removed from the chip without destroying it.
Ceramic chips such as those made by ChipCo International were introduced in the mid 1980s as an alternative to clay chips and are still very common in casinos as well as being readily available to the home market. Ceramic chips are often referred to as clay or clay composite but they are in fact solid white, injection molded, ceramic disks which are simply printed on.
The Bud Jones brand is one of the very few injection molded plastic chips used in casinos. They are produced by Gaming Partners International and are not produced for the home market.
The chips used in North American casinos rarely weigh more than 10 grams and are usually between 8.5 and 10 g. There is no official weight, however, and some, particularly coin inlaid chips, can weigh more. The chips sold for home use vary substantially more, sometimes weighing as much as 13.5 g, depending on manufacturer and construction.
Common designs for home use depict the six faces of a die or the suit symbols around the edge on the face of the chip. They are typically manufactured with injection molding technology using ABS plastic. Some chips are molded around a small metal disc, called a slug, for weight.
European chips often come in Mother of Pearl. The higher value chips are often shaped like plaques.
Typically colors found in home sets include red, white, blue and sometimes black; however, more recently a wide assortment of colors have become readily available, particularly in lower-quality ABS type chips.
$2.50 chips are almost exclusively used for blackjack tables, since a "natural" (a 21 on the first two cards dealt to a player) typically pays 3:2 and most wagers are in increments of $5. However, the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey has used pink chips in $7.50-$15 and $10-$20 poker games. Low-denomination yellow chips can vary in value: $20 by statute in Atlantic City and Illinois (which also uses "mustard yellow" $0.50 chips); $5 at most Southern California poker rooms; $2 at Foxwoods' poker room in Ledyard, Connecticut and at Casino del Sol in Tucson, Arizona; and $0.50 at Potawatomi Casino in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Blue chips are occasionally used for $10, most notably by statute in Atlantic City. In Las Vegas and California, most casinos use blue or white for $1 chips, though many Vegas tables now use $1 metal tokens in lieu of chips. Many casinos have coinless slot machines, and this practice reduces costs by limiting $1 chips to the craps tables, where such chips are necessary.
Chips are commonly available in $1000 denominations, depending on the wagering limits of the casino in question. Such chips are often yellow or orange and of a large size. Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and other areas which permit high wagers typically have chips available in $5,000, $10,000, $25,000, and higher denominations; the colors for these vary widely.
European casinos use a similar scheme, though certain venues (such as Aviation Club de France) use pink for €2 and blue for €10. European casinos also use plaques rather than chips for high denominations (usually in the €1000 and higher range).
In many states, gaming boards regulate the color and size of casino chips for consistency. All states require that casino chips have a unique combination of edge spots for identification, the name and location of the casino and the chip's value, if any, impressed, printed, or molded onto the obverse and reverse of the token. Notably, Nevada has no regulations on color; this is why Nevada casinos may use white, blue, or gray as $1, though $5 and higher are almost always consistently colored.
New Jersey, for example. has the required color coding scheme online.
The reason for $20 chips at Baccarat, Pai Gow tiles and Pai gow poker is because of the 5% commission charged for all winning Pai Gow wagers and winning banker wagers at Baccarat; a $20 wager has a $1 commission. These chips are almost never seen away from those games.
Denominations above $5,000 are almost never encountered by the general public; their use is usually limited to "high limit rooms" where bet sizes are much larger than on the main floor. Casinos often use gaming plaques for these higher denominations- these plaques are about the size of a playing card, and must be marked with serial numbers. The largest value placed on a plaque to date is $10 million, used at the London Club in Las Vegas. Televised poker tournaments and cash games often use bundled paper bills for high denominations.
Each casino has a unique set of chips, even if the casino is part of a larger company. This distinguishes a casino's chips from others, since each chip and token on the gaming floor has to be backed up with the appropriate amount of cash. In addition, with the exception of Nevada, casinos are not permitted to honor another casino's chips.
The security features of casino chips are numerous. Artwork is of a very high resolution or of photographic quality. Custom color combinations on the chip edge (edge spots) are usually distinctive to a particular casino. UV markings can be made on the inlay. Certain chips incorporate RFID technology, such as those at the new Wynn Casino in Las Vegas. Maker's marks, such as Paulson's top hat and cane, are also difficult to reproduce.
Counterfeit chips are rare. High levels of surveillance, along with staff familiarity with chip design and coloring, make passing fake chips difficult. Casinos, though, are prepared for this situation. According to one report, a Canadian casino removed all chips from the gaming floor and replaced them with new sets with alternative markings, which resulted in the arrest of the attempted counterfeiters. All states require that casinos have a set of chips in reserve with alternate markings, though they may not be required to have exactly the same number of reserve chips as they do on the floor.
Casino chips used in tournaments are usually much cheaper and much simpler in design. Because the chips have no cash value, usually chips are designed with a single color (usually differing in shade or tone from the version on the casino floor), a smaller diameter, and a basic mark on the interior to distinguish denominations; however, at certain events (such as the World Series of Poker or other televised poker), chips approach quality levels of chips on the floor.
Several casinos, such as the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, issue varied-designed chips, commemorating various events, though retaining a common color scheme. This encourages customers to keep them for souvenirs, at a profit to the casino.
In certain casinos, such as the new Wynn Casino in Las Vegas, chips are embedded with RFID tags to help casinos keep better track of them, determine gamblers' average bet sizes, and to make them harder for counterfeiters to reproduce. However, this technique is costly and considered by many to be unnecessary to profit. Also, this technology provides minimal benefits in games with layouts that do not provide gamblers with their own designated betting areas, such as craps.
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