jfc there's a lot of people who keep chips
refusing to sell them to somebody probably cuts down on it by 1% or less

Paulson chips with custom inlays are costing casinos more than $1 a chip.

That being said, I played at the Mirage last summer and when I cashed out, I told the floor (you could cash out at the podium) that I wanted to save a $1 chip for my chip collection, and she went through her drawer and found the best one she had for me. It really shouldn't be that big of a deal. It certainly isn't worth the negative publicity of pissing someone off.

Very interesting. From the casino's point of view, they aren't selling souvenir chips, they are selling chips to play with. If the casino has $10,000 extra because they have given out 10,000 single white chips, they can't invest the extra $10,000 in advertising or something. Because then what happens when the chips show up at the cage, and asks for them to be cashed out?

(I'm sure at some point, the casino should be able to write off some percent of this and recognize a gain, but certainly not immediately).

Almost similar to FTP using player deposits to pay for stuff, and then not being able to pay players back when they try to cash out

Recently played a 15 entrant tournament at Bally's in AC where I snagged 2 black 100 unit chips and a single purple 500 unit chip during the early levels to keep as souvenirs.

Shortly after the color up I overheard the floor manager asking several dealers to look in the wells and it was clear that the chips I snagged were being looked for. I doubt they would have checked the tape but to save them the time and hassle of looking further I voluntarily returned them and was politely told such actions in the future would result in my barring from the event and properties. Not sure if this will stop me in the future, I love adding to my chip set!

You should also work on getting some roulette chips .....

Heard from a fellow chip collector that the casino does not like when people try to do that. You are a dealer right, tell us about what happens when people try to snag roulette chips and what methods are in place to counter act it.

Go find a chip collecting forum. I am sure they would love to talk about till your ears bleed

http://www.gaming-chips.com/

I'll be attending my first chip jamboree May 17th in Bally's AC and will get answers to this question. The guy who invited me did seem very passionate about chip collection, glad to know I'm not alone.

this is a different story with tournament chips. people DO try and pocket some tourney chips and then use them later so they can give themselves a big advantage in some tournies. lot easier to pull a scam with tourney chips where everyone is supposed to start with the same amount.

True but equally if they aren't willing to sell them as "souvenir" chips than that is $1 extra dollar they aren't getting.

Also, you have to think about the long-term beneficial effects in terms of marketing that selling souvenir chips will do as it will attract people who see their friends with these chips to the casino in question.

I'm more and more of the opinion souvenir chips must be a good business. I mean, guy is already spending his time in the cage, with or without selling. The souvenir chip is giving advertisement and good will. No games running? The employee at least gets to sell one chip, which is even a bit closer to getting some action. Not today, but maybe tomorrow. And that "maybe" may be the difference between staying in business and not.

I think the main reason the guy didn't want to sell one chip is because his racks would be off by one.

He could be creative and take it from a rack which is not yet full . They of course always should have those. Or does the guy body search everybody, making sure every single chip is always returned . No wonder nobody plays there.

You think this is the first chip to not be accountable after a day's play?

I am not talking about that I was talking about what he currently has counted up in his draw at the start of the day.

Yes, he must have been totally lost!

The same point applies.

I usually buy $10 or $20 worth to tip while I am there (like if I am just there to play a tournament). I pick the best 2 or 3 and pocket them and tip the rest. In this case I would have pulled a second $1 bill and placed it in the cashier's tip jar.

Thats called a guy that hates his life. lol

you guys are sure tough on the owner here. first off he loses money when you take chips home. and he is a small cardroom and has limited chips. if too many are taken he hasnt enough for his own games and he has to order a new set with a minimum purchase amount. all trouble for him and no gain.

I think they are picturing this taking place in a large casino, and you and I are picturing this happening in a small club.

yea i think thats it and maybe some havent been to rooms with only a table or two and few games ever going.

plus people think of chips as cash which is far from it as some have found where casinos wont cash them in for various reasons.

to a small place it might be like asking the restaurant owner if you can take home one of his menus.

(preface: I have worked in the casino industry for over a decade, primarily in poker, and over half of that time as a manager)

1a. Casinos pay right about $1 per cheque for nice cheques, it could go -$0.10 or +$0.40 per, based on quality and quantity, but it's around $1.
1b. $1 cheques cost the casino the same as $5, $25, and $100. $1 chips cost the same as $100 chips. $500 and above can cost more because they are often a different size.
1c. Wish you had asked the guy if you could buy a $5 chip for $5 since it only costs the casino $1 just to see look on his face.
2. When you purchase gaming cheques they belong to you until you sell them back to us. (gaming "chips" i.e. tournament chips or roulette chips do not belong to you, they still belong to the casino)
3. He should have sold you a chip. Not only should he have sold you a chip, but he should have looked through his whole bank to find a nice and clean one. Casinos are in the guest service industry. He was so wrong it's insulting. Probably he is the type to make something up, then believe it as fact. I've got a nice display case of $1 chips myself; have a chip from every casino I've ever been in. I'd have been irate.

I am a collector but I usually try to "win" the chips I save instead of just buying them

in a small club, like in OP, I can see a problem:

I was in New Hampshire at one of the dog track/poker rooms and didn't want to play (gf wanted to get going to next stop in Maine) and cashier wouldn't just sell me a few $1 without mgrs approval (she did give me a a good reason-they only had 800 chips in total inventory LOL!)

They need to account for tournament chips because some people save them and use them when they're in another tournament; usually on a different day, or later in a bigger tournament.