This is similar to a question we answered in July 2005, when someone asked if they could use casino chips in contexts outside of the gaming floor, such as the gift shop. Here's what we wrote then:
"According to point 4, paragraph 12.060 of the Nevada State Gaming Control Board's Regulation 12, governing chips and tokens, 'A licensee shall not accept chips or tokens as payment for any goods or services offered at the licensee's gaming establishment, with the exception of the specific use for which the chips or tokens were issued, and shall not give the chips or tokens as change in any other transaction.' In other words, neither patrons nor the casino can use chips in lieu of money other than specifically at the gaming tables.
"The same regulation states, 'Chips and tokens are solely representatives of value which evidence a debt owed to their custodian by the licensee that issued them and are not the property of anyone other than that licensee.' That is, chips are only a symbolic representation of the actual money you cash in for and win; they don't belong to you and are therefore not yours to give away as tips or to use in the gift shop or anywhere else.
"Of course, we've all seen it happen, or done it ourselves, so we put in a call to Gaming Control for the final official word on this. Here's what they said. 'It is actually a violation of the Regulations and of federal mint laws. Gaming chips are to be used for the purposes of gaming only. And yep, drinks are frequently purchased with gaming chips, as are other items, but they shouldn’t be."
As it had been awhile since we'd addressed the issue, we put in another call to the GCB, citing the particulars of your stated situation. The answer, which came direct from the Chief, was as we'd predicted.
It's a not-infrequent occurrence during the course of an average year for a dispute to arise between an individual and a casino with regard to the cashing of one or more chips. The Chief was surprised that a driver would be so naive as to accept a high-denomination chip in lieu of payment/tip -- it's more common for ladies of the night to fall for that one... But whatever the stated or known occupation of the claimant might be, if you're not a rated player, it's unlikely that a dispute will end in your favor, for the reasons stated above.
Of course, it can vary depending on the circumstances, including the value of the chip or chips and the context in which the patron claims they were won. On a crazy-busy fight night in a major Strip casino, for example, a $5,000 chip and the unknown person claiming subsequently that he'd won it wouldn't be nearly as significant as the same amount presented at a smaller joint where no high-rolling event had occurred. There are cases where Gaming Control will rule in the patron's favor in a dispute if the casino didn't rate your play when it should have, according to the level of action, and there's no evidence of any chips of the denomination you're cashing having been stolen or misappropriated.
That said, $5,000 is still a lot of money by most people's standards, especially in single-chip form, and it's unlikely a customer playing at that level for real would go unnoticed by the pit or the eye in the sky. Hence, the onus will be on you to prove that you obtained the chip legitimately from gambling. If you can't, your only sure recourse is to have the person who did win it cash it in and give you the bills, as he should have done in the first place.
