Question of the Day - 14 August 2005

In terms of cashing in old chips at a casino, the rules vary from one jurisdiction to another. In Atlantic City, for example a ruling states that every casino chip must hold its face value indefinitely and always be redeemable, although if the casino that issued it no longer exists, then it must be cashed in with the New Jersey Casino Control Commission. In Nevada, so long as the chip isn’t obsolete (see below), it will still be honored by the casino that issued it. But if the chip is cancelled and a notice to this effect is published according to Gaming Control regulations, then it can no longer be exchanged for cash. A quick call to the Hard Rock confirmed that the only chips or tokens that they’ve taken out of circulation in recent history were some $1 tokens that didn’t fit the slots in their new machines. Any chip you have from there should still be good.

There are three principal ways in which chips become obsolete. 1) The casino that issued them goes out of business. 2) The casino changes its name or ownership and issues new chips under the new name. 3) The casino changes chip design or manufacturer. In the event of any of these three scenarios in Las Vegas, the casino is obliged, under Nevada State Gaming Control Board Regulation 12.070, to give fair warning (at least 120 days) to allow holders of the chips to redeem them. Notice of the discontinuance of the chips or tokens, and the redemption times and locations must be posted prominently in the casino, and published in at least two newspapers of general circulation in Nevada at least twice during each week of the redemption period. So if you’re holding chips that are about to become obsolete, you should receive fair warning, provided that you’re local and keep your eyes and ears open. If you live out of state or abroad, however, and only visit infrequently, then it’s probably not wise to take large-denomination chips home with you, especially if the property they come from has even the slightest question mark hanging over its future.

The broader answer to your question, however, is that more often than not, chips not only hold their value, but actually appreciate, provided not too many of them flood the market. This is due to the huge appetite -- and lucrative market -- for chip, gaming-token, and silver-strike (limited-edition silver slot token) collecting. A relatively new phenomenon, it was only in the 1980s that people began seriously collecting and trading chips and tokens. But today there’s a large community of enthusiasts and specialists out there, many of whom are members of the Casino Chip & Gaming Token Collectors Club.

Some examples of value appreciation:

• A $5 chip from the Atlantic City Hilton, which, due to licensing problems, never opened, will typically fetch $100-$150.
• In March 2004, a $5 Sands Las Vegas chip from the 1950s sold on eBay for $33,000.
• The old Thunderbird casino issued personalized $1 chips for each of its 27 casino hosts. Some of them now sell for $40 to $150, while a few are worth $500.
• Last week, an LVA staffer who collects picked up a $1 chip from the Silver Slipper on eBay. He paid $78 for it but was prepared to go to $200, since it’s valued at $500-$600.
• A few rare chips from old or closed Las Vegas casinos with a certain cachet -- such as the Sands, Flamingo, Dunes, and Landmark -- will change hands for thousands of dollars.
• But a chip doesn’t have to be old, or even obsolete, to fetch big bucks: Recently the Hard Rock issued $5 Coldplay chips to promote the band’s gig there. The chips are different back and front, but a few were mispressed and are the same on both sides. These are known as error chips and are currently fetching $3,000-$4,000 each.

Our staffer’s advice is that you’re almost never better off cashing in an old chip at the cage. Chip vultures hang around for hours on end, waiting for someone like you to show up and cash in something collectible.