It's true that casino chips should not be given as tips, or used for anything other than their purpose on the casino table, since they're the property of the casino and have no intrinsic value. It happens, of course, but technically it's against the rules.
Yes, this comes as a surprise to many Vegas visitors, especially those who have always tipped cocktail waitresses, in particular, with the coin of the casino realm.
According to point 4, paragraph 12.060, of the Nevada State Gaming Control Board's Regulation 12 governing casino 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 for the specific purpose that they were made for 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 -- just like bank notes -- are only a symbolic representation of the actual money you cash in for and win; they are the physical property of the casino and don't belong to you, and therefore are not yours to give away as a toke to the cab driver, the stripper at the club he drives you to, the bellman who delivers your luggage, or even the cocktail waitress. They're not to be used in the casino gift shop or spa, or anywhere else, for any other reason, other than for the specific purpose for which they were intended at the gaming tables.
They're not even yours to take home, collect, or destroy.
That said, of course, we've all seen it happen, or even done it ourselves, and no one seems to object or even know that it's "wrong." Indeed, since the chips cost a fraction of their face value, casinos love when players take them home; that way, they don't have to redeem them for cash and they make a big profit on them, especially the at higher denominations.
Gaming Control, however, has a different take on it: "It's actually a violation of the Regulations and of federal mint laws."
So, not only is using chips for non-gaming purposes against the rules; if you do it, you're actually breaking a federal law.
However, when compared to the other violations in the casino environment the powers that be must concern themselves with -- cheating, theft, armed robbery, underage gambling/drinking, money laundering, prostitution, drug-dealing, counterfeit-currency passing, etc. -- this particular infraction doesn't seem to register too high on the enforcement radar and we've yet to hear of a single instance of someone being prosecuted for tipping with, or accepting as a tip, a casino chip.
Still, it's good to be aware, since ignorance is no defense in the eyes of the law, and now you know that if you fail to come prepared with some singles in your billfold, you're toking that cocktail waitress/valet/stripper at your own peril -- and theirs! -- if you use a chip.
