Casino chip
Some casinos embed RFID tags into chips to collect data and fight counterfeiting, and plaques may have printed serial numbers.
[1] As they are not legal tender, they generally have no value outside of the casino, but certain businesses (such as taxis or waiters—especially for tips) in gambling towns may honor them informally.
Because of the uniform size, shape, and patterns of stacks of chips, they are easier to tally compared to currency.
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.
Lastly, the chips are considered to be an integral part of the casino environment, and replacing them with some alternate currency would be unpopular.
This hobby has become increasingly popular with the Casino Chips & Gaming Tokens Collectors Club formed in 1988.
Some collectors may value certain casino tokens up to $100,000, which are typically traded on online auction websites like eBay.
The ancestors of modern casino tokens were the counters used to keep score in the card games Ombre and Quadrille.
In 1752, French Quadrille sets contained a number of different counters, known as jetons, fiches and mils.
At least some percentage of the chips is of an earthen material such as sand, chalk, and clay similar to that found in cat litter.
The edge spots, or inserts, are not painted on; to achieve this effect, this area of the clay is removed and then replaced with clay of a different color; this can be done to each chip individually or a strip can be taken out of a cylindrical block of material and replaced with the alternate color before the block is cut into chips.
Inlays are typically made of paper and are then clad with a plastic film applied to the chip prior to the compression molding process.
The ability to print lettering and graphics on the entire surface of the chip, instead of just the inlay, made them popular.
In casinos, uniform chip colors and sizes are sometimes specified by the local gaming control board for consistency.
However, the Tropicana Casino and Borgata in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and others, have used $2.50 (pink) chips in $7.50 to $15 and $10 to $20 poker games.
Low-denomination yellow chips vary in value: $20 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; Running Aces Casino & Racetrack and Canterbury Park, both in Minnesota; and at Casino del Sol in Tucson, Arizona; and $0.50 at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Casinos in Nevada, Atlantic City, and other areas that permit high wagers typically have chips available in $5000, $10,000, $25,000, and more; the colors for these vary widely.
The greatest value placed on a plaque to date is $10 million, used at the London Club in Las Vegas.
European casinos use a similar scheme, though certain venues, such as the Aviation Club de France, use pink for €2 and blue for €10.
