I had a strange experience when I went to play poker at the Venetian today.

I arrived at the room and was able to lock up a seat in a game right away. So, I went over to the cashier to get chips myself. As I usually do, I was buying into the game using $500 chips. I simply find it more convenient to carry $500 or $1,000 chips rather than a large roll of $100 bills.

I put two $500 chips down on the cashier counter and asked for a couple racks. The cashier, who I didn't recognize, said she needed to see my player's club card and a photo ID. In the many years I've used $500+ chips at the Venetian, Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Mirage, etc., I've never been asked for any ID.

Of course, I took out player's club card and fllashed a photo ID which would have been a minor nuisance to actually take out. However, the cashier said she had to take posession of the photo ID. Since I didn't recognize her, I said something like "I dont think all this is necessary" believing she might be new and overdoing it. However, a longtime cashier looked over and said something like "No. We've been told to check IDs on everybody cashing big chips."

I handed my ID to the cashier when the Nolan Dalla story came to mind. Nolan had a $5,000 chip confiscated by the MGM Grand when he accepted it from a friend as payment for a debt and then tried to cash it at the casino.

The cashier was on the phone with somebody in casino management about the situation. I saw my two $500 chips still on the counter and took them back. After a bit, the cashier asked for the chips while still talking on the phone. I simply shook my head no. When she hung up, she told me I needed to go to the main cage to get them cashed.

I asked what was going on and was told something like "the casino is changing out the older chips and replacing them with new ones" as if it was no big deal. This story had credibility with me. Something was up.

I went to the main cage, told them I was sent over from the poker room. Again I was asked for a player's card and photo ID and gave them. Someone in management came over to supervise what the cashier was doing after she also talked on the phone for bit to get approval for whatever she was going to do.

She asked for my chips. I flatly said I wasn't turning them over until I had assurance I was going to get cash for them. After some more discussion among the Venetian employees, including getting confirmation that I was a regular at the Venetian, I was assured they'd pay me if I turned over the chips. I did so and they immediatley gave me $1,000 in cash.

I asked why I was being put through this hassle and they gave me the same nonchalant story of "changing old chips for new ones".

I took my cash over to the Venetian poker room, bought into my game, and starting playing.

I eventually caught Kathy Raymond who runs the Venetian poker room, told her my story, and asked her what was going on. She told me something like "Oh. They're just changing out old chips." The consistency of the story was impressive.

I asked some regulars at my table if they had heard about any incidents at the Venetian (after telling them my tale). None of the players knew anything. I said something like "there must have been a robbery or something" if they're so concerned about high-denomination chips.

At that point, a dealer finally spoke up saying "That's what I heard. Somebody robbed a high stake baccarat table."

Beyond this dealer's comment, I've got no evidence of a robbery at the Venetian. But, even as I walking over to the main cage while still in posession of my chips, I suspected something big had occured.

It's clear the Venetian's cage was taking down my name and information and intended to take down everybody's information who tries to cash out high-denomination chips (anything $500 and up).

If any 2+2ers are in posession of high-denomination Venetian chips, I'd cash them out immediately. But, you may have to back up how you came into posession of them.

And don't surrender them without 100% assurance you're getting paid immediately.

Thank you for the heads up. The story of your encounter has me annoyed.

I'm annoyed too.

I found a couple thousand of the $500 chips from the V last week.

I had better cash 'em in ASAP while they're still good.

Did you find them at a Bacarat table?

Good read, thanks. You probably won't hear anything more about this if the casino wants to keep quiet about it. I wouldn't be surprised if all casinos maintained a policy of keeping quiet/not releasing information about such events when possible. Not only would it be bad for business, they do not want to be perceived as easy targets.

Where are the bacarat tables located at the V? I have played there many times, but don't recall seeing them.

FML, I have 10 $500s here in New England and am not going back to Vegas until after Thanksgiving. Should I call someone over there?

Phil Ivey robbed the Baccarat table for about 11 mill

howard lederer

Did Ivey and his Asian "companion" make a stop at the Punto Banco table @ the V..

Thanks for sharing op, the casino wanted to obv keep the news from going public which is understandable from their perspective. If customers knew the place had been robbed it could hurt the business so your story makes perfect sense.

Dynasty,

Thanks for sharing first off, always cool to read your stuff.

Very curious what you would have done with the chips if they refused to cash them? Did you have a plan B ? Obviously you have more options with them in pocket, I don't know what to do if they tried to confiscate them.

What if you got it say 6-8months ago, but weren't being rated at the time. Didn't cash it out, and came back? How would one prove it then? Too bad? You certainly don't have to take a players card and get rated.

Also doesn't a casino have to inform everyone of the chips changing over?

You should be ok if you really make it here before next year sometime. But they may not be intending to actually formally cancel the existing chips and it all might just be a cover story as to why they're asking for ID, or they might be intending to stop issuing the old large chips, but will continue indefinitely to accept them but only with ID.

Yes. They have to publish notice of intent and give 120 days. If there are not conspicuous signs up at the cage, and notices in the LVRJ, they aren't formally discontinuing the chips.

From Regulation 12:

If you are standing at the cashiers cage, it is to the right and in the direction toward the former Phantom theater with a little entrance to the room. In the Palazzo, coming from the V, go left as you enter the Palazzo and follow the wall past the Asian restaurant and across from the Pai Gow tables. I play a fair amount of Pai Gow, which is usually located near the baccarat room, and is true in the case of the V and the Palazzo.

I don't play baccarat at the V, but most baccarat rooms have their own, usually larger, chips. Does the V use casino chips in the baccarat room? Baccarat rooms will accept casino chips and will cash out to them, so they are around in the area.

Casinos are not required to cash out any chips if they have reason to believe the person cashing them out is not the "owner."

A common example would be a stripper getting a big tip and trying to cash in a 1k chip at a casino. Casinos often won't take them.

This is apparently to prevent money laundering.

I have seen casinos use this method of requiring ID to cash chips in three types of theft - chip counterfeiting, smash and grabs, and customer robberies. If the old chips are still in play, its not counterfeiting and the house isn't changing out chips. I don't think the smash and grab would work in Vegas but could be wrong there. Good money says a customer got robbed.

About the hassel, the card needs to show play worthy of the big chips. For poker players, that can be a lot more difficult since often the casino uses a different system to track poker and they don't track win/loss.

For what it's worth, I have seen cases where chips are confiscated for no other reason than not having play on the card. On the other side, I have never seen a crime solved because of this technique.

Clearly you've never seen the movie 21.

It has always been a huge pain to try to break or cash out big chips at the Venetian. I'd feel comfortable exchanging Aria, Wynn, Bellagio, and even Rio flags during WSOP, but I don't ever want to deal with big Venetian chips if I don't have to.

I had a drunken experience one early morning after Marquee after dropping friends @ the V decided to play some games...woke up in the afternoon with $2k from the V..$3k from TI and $550 from Cosmo. Was staying @ Westgate so did Cosmo first then TI and was going to cash out @ V and hit up Emirl's sports book..holly F did they put me through the ringer to cash out...players card...ID..story of how I got them which I couldn't exactly remember...finally after 15 mins I get paid and have never gone back to the V due to that experience.

But i dont get that though.. because surely every players chips are exactly the same? If a custoemr loses 10k in a customers chips, how are they going to prove whos is whos chips??

How did you win these chips? surely anyone in a casino could simply answer 'playing black jack and roulette'

clearly you don't see the difference between a movie that took many liberties with reality, and real life.

It is unlawful to use a chip for anything other than gaming in the casino issuing the chip-the only legal way to settle a debt in the US is with US currency or check.

This might not be the V's choice, it might be the Treasury (secret service) insisting on this.

I had no idea all those chips I've given as tips to dealers and barmaids were irredeemable and just thrown away.

Yes, it's correct that chips are not legal tender and are only good for gaming purposes in the property for which they were issued. I wonder though if that's the case, how come it's not important that cocktail waitresses and masseuses are commonly tipped in chips? Unlike dealers, they do not serve a direct gaming purpose. I know this isn't an issue when it's $1-$5 chips, but like someone has commented before what about a rather large tip from a drunk / horny patron who is giving the big breasted cocktail waitress or sexy masseuse an unusually large tip? There are stories of high stakes guys giving masseuses yellow chip ($1k) tips expecting the masseuse to get a little friendlier at and away from the table.

Anyway, I wonder if an attractive masseuse or cocktail waitress gets hassled as much as Dynasty in this situation with the exact same chips.

In some places (not in Vegas), you cannot tip the waitresses with chips. They are that anal about it. However, the waitress can make change for chips.

The way it works: if you have no cash, you hand the waitress a $1 chip. She hands you back $1. Up to this point she hasn't accepted a chip for a gratuity, she's just a walking cashier. You then hand her the $1. No rules broken!

The exchange of the chip for the dollar is usually shortened, however, to "touch this dollar". Which generates a "WTF?!" the first time a customer hears it. Rather than actually hand you $1 which you then hand back instantly, as long as the bill has physically touched your person it's good enough.

Nevada is smart enough to not make people go through that farce.

But casinos also don't ignore staffers who try to cash in large chips claiming they are tokes. Some casinos have rules that you cannot accept a $500 or larger chip as a toke without management approval. They worry about staff taking advantage of drunks or people simply confused by chip colors. They also worry about staff stealing, or not reporting chips they find on the floor or in cup holders or whatnot. And obviously if you have a staffer regularly cashing out large chips, it comes back to the money laundering question. So the staffer with the $1000 chip better have a good story that can be verified by camera.

Not coming over until New Years probably.
Should I hop a flight and make a special trip or should I be ok?