Do All Casino Chips Weigh the Same?

Do all casino chips weigh the same? The reason I ask is I've always wanted to "shuffle" casino chips like the poker pros and in practicing, I've noticed that some casino's chips weigh less than others.

Casino chips don't have a specified weight, but other official specifications are determined by the Nevada Gaming Control Board. This is to ensure uniformity throughout Nevada and to aid casinos in spotting counterfeits, since any minor physical variation will tend to stand out in a stack of chips.

For example, poker chips must be disc-shaped, 1.55 inches in diameter, and 0.13 inches thick, while baccarat chips can measure either 1.55 or 1.6875 inches.

Sometimes a casino will apply for a special dispensation from the Control Board with regard to very high-denomination chips, in order to make them easily distinguishable. Case in point: When the high-limit London Club opened at the Aladdin in 2000, it produced a record-breaking $10 million chip or "plaque," which was black and white, shaped like an enlarged playing card, inlaid with mother-of-pearl, and featured the words "London Club" and "$10 million" in gold leaf.

But the majority of modern casino chips are small, round, and fabricated from a far less romantic synthetic polymer-acrylic composite.

Although there isn't a standard weight for poker chips, most online sites that sell them specify 11.5 grams as "casino weight." However, an informal survey that we discovered online, conducted by another poker-chip-trick performer, found that the average weight of a $1 chip in various Las Vegas poker rooms varied from around 9 to 10 grams. This particular performer believed that 11.5 grams was the optimal weight for doing tricks.

If you hunt around online, you'll find a number of instructional videos and helpful websites out there, should you want to learn how to shuffle, twirl, flip, and knuckle-roll your chips like the pros do on TV.

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Dave_Miller_DJTB Apr-28-2023

Cheques / chips / sizes

Circa has those high value rectangular plaques, at $10K and $25K.

Many casinos have regular round cheques that are a little larger, used for their higher values.

The typical home game chips, often called "Dice" chips because of the six dice face images on them, are plastic, but have a metal slug inside to give them the weight of standard chips. However, they are a tiny bit thicker than casino cheques. You can't fit 20 of them in a casino rack. On the other hand, places that sell the dice chips usually also sell racks that are slightly larger to accommodate them.

Side note: If they have a specific cash value, they are called "Cheques" because they can be exchanged directly for cash at the cage, the same way a bank check can be cashed at a bank. If they are non-value, such as for tournaments or roulette, they are called "Chips" and must be exchanged for cheques before going to the cage.

Reno Faoro Apr-28-2023

weight

chips must weigh all the same .  how  do i know ???  my pockets always feel the same -  NO MATTER WHOSE CASINO CHIPS I HAVE .  VERY , VERY LIGHT IN TOTAL WEIGHT.

jay Apr-28-2023

Weight

When slots were all coin based the casinos did not count coins they weighed them due to the uniformity. They could easily tell if a "roll" of 40 quarters was light - such that it had a Canadian quarter or two in the mix. Its my understanding is that the casino weighs their high value chips as one method of countering counterfeiting. 

I have also heard that RFID chips are used in high value chips. I was also reading that the chip manufacturers offer special blends of UV sensitive polymers so they can scan them with a light wand. If you look at a chip you can see that the colors are all unique polymers and have different densities.

Now regarding uniformity - when I was at the Hyatt in Tahoe years ago they used metal tokens for $5, $10 and $25 on the table. I didn't like it - felt more like some ones home game.

[email protected] Apr-28-2023

Make Your Own Chips!

Here's how to make your own casino chips. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znWbNGX4ZUM

ClarkKent Apr-28-2023

Uniform when new

New chips may be uniform, but locals casinos have well worn chips. I’ve double checked my stacks several times when I notice that my stacks of 20 chips don’t match in height.

Question of the Day - 28 April 2023

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