Las Vegas poker chips

[citytom]

LAS VEGAS POKER CHIPS?


The other day, my friend Jack was about to make an online purchase of a decent set of poker chips, and asked me if I had any particular brand, make, or vendor to suggest. He stressed that the guys in his weekly home poker game were goading him to upgrade from his current cache of cheap plastic chips to something more professional. Jack said he completed a comprehensive search and review of the poker chip market on the internet and decided to equip his table with nothing less than what is used at professional casinos and poker rooms in Las Vegas. "Clay chips weighing 11.5 grams!", he stated emphatically. My friend had read ads using such verbage as "Quality Clay", "Professional Las Vegas Casino look & feel", "Heavy Weight", "Casino Style", "Deluxe", and something called "ABS Casino Quality Chips". All these chips, he was informed, were "clay" and weighed 11.5 grams..."just like the casinos and poker rooms in Vegas and Atlantic City". Yes, Jack was going to go 1st Class, professional level, and purchase a set of LAS VEGAS poker chips.

He had the right idea in stocking up with casino grade chips. These chips have a nice sound when they clink against each other, or when they are pushed into the pot. Clay chips at 11.5 grams are also an ideal weight to perform poker chip tricks and flourishes (shuffling, flips, twirls, rolls, etc.). Yes, those chips will serve him well.

However, all is not as he thinks. First of all, the "clay" chips he was about to purchase were actually "acrylic composite chips". Many chips are sold as "clay" but are actually an acrylic (or similar) composite. They look and feel like clay and I'm not sure I can tell one from another. It's a minor point to me whether the chips are made of an acrylic composite or clay. I understand that the acrylic composite chips can expect a longer lifespan than the pure clay chips (which tend to break).

Jack read on multiple sites that the "The Standard" weight of the poker chip used in Las Vegas casinos was 11.5 grams. He just happened to be talking with the right guy, at the right time, regarding the weight of Vegas (and other) casino poker room chips.

During the last year, I started keeping a $1 chip from every casino and poker room I had played in. I now have 42, from across the country, on my shelf.

I had weighed each chip on my hi-tech, Ohaus scientific triple beam scale. Before you say, "Who brings poker chips home...and weighs them?!!", poker chips are part of my business. I'm a Magician and use poker chips in my close-up act. I also produced an instructional DVD on performing poker chip tricks and flourishes. Part of my research was determining the best chip-weight for doing such table acrobatics. 11.5 grams was the winner. The heaviest weighted chip I tried was 13.5 grams which seemed, well...a little heavy. I also found that I need at least 8 grams of weight to perform the shuffles, flips, twirls, and rolls with the profiency I'm accustomed to.

Here's the surpise of this story...only two of the 47 casino and poker room chips weighed, reached the weight of 11.5 grams. All were "clay" or more likely acrylic composite chips. The two chips that met the 11.5 gram so called "Standard Professional Casino Grade" weight as claimed on the internet was found at a harness racing track in Pompano Beach, Florida, and at The Stardust in Las Vegas. The Stardust was the only casino/poker room with a metal insert in their $1 chip.

It is true that I only had one chip from each casino and it might not be representative of the average chip of that casino, but it probably is. All the chips I weighed were of average looking quality for that particular establishment, with no defects. With that said, below are some interesting statistics.

Weight of a cheap plastic chip: 1.5 grams
Weight of an inexpensive "clay" acrylic composite chip: 8 grams

The following weights are of $1 denomination poker chips taken out of play from corresponding casino/poker rooms during 2004/2005.

LAS VEGAS:
Circus Circus 10.7 grams
Sahara 9.3
The Mirage 8.9
Plaza 9.3
Bellagio 9.2
The Sands 9.7
Bally's 10.6
Luxor 10.5
Gold Coast 9.8
The Palms 10
Imperial Palace 10.7
Harrah's 9.6
Orleans 10
Aladdin 9.5
Monte Carlo 9.7
The Stardust 12
Sam's Town 10.5
Boulder Station 10.9
The Flamingo 9.8
Golden Nugget 8.3
El Cortez 8.0
Excalibur 9.5
Rio 8.9
Binion's Horseshoe 9.5
Mandalay Bay 9.7
Riviera 10.5
Wynn 9.7
Stratosphere 9.8
Palace Station 9
MGM 8.2

ATLANTIC CITY:
Borgata 11.1
Trump Taj Mahal 10.9
Sands 9.8
Tropicana 9.8
Bally's 9.7

FLORIDA:
Seminole Hard Rock Casino, Hollywood 10.7
Seminole Indian Casino, Coconut Creek 10.4
Seminole Indian Casino, Hollywood 10.5
Miccosukee Gaming, Miami 10.6
St. Tropez Cruise Ship, Port Everglades 10.4
Calder Race Course, Miami 10.8
Pompano Park, Pompano Beach 12.1
Hollywood Greyhound Track, Hollywood 10.5
Miami Jai-alai, Miami 10.0
Dania Jai-alai, Dania 10.0
Palm Beach Kennel Club 10.8


CONNECTICUT:
Foxwoods 9.2



Tom Golabek is a long time poker player, and magician. He offers an instructional DVD/VHS entitled, "Poker Chip Tricks & Other Fancy Flourishes at the Card Table", which can be purchased at www.pokerchipsvideo.com.

[kotsba]

nice post...a little long but worth reading
i have a question, hope you can help me
at the last wsop they had these amazing poker chips
they were made especially for the championship?
now that its all over,can i buy these chips? do you know where?
thanks

[citytom]

I played in the '05 WSOP.
The poker chips used were from the Rio. The only difference I noticed was a "halograph" on the chip. I've never seen that on any other chip.
Otherwise the chips were unremarkable. I'm not sure if this is the chip you are referring to. I have no idea where you can buy these, if you can.

There was also a chip that had World Series of Poker printed on it, but these were not in play and were mainly for souveniers. You might be able to purchase one of these at Worldseriesofpoker.com.

Citytom
www.pokerchipsvideo.com

[tompas]

This was the topic of a discussion I had with a group of people last night over several beers. One person stated that a pro will never win the WSOP again because of the overwhelming number of amateurs. This led to a few points to ponder:
1) What defines a "pro"? ---I feel that anyone who make their living (or a significant portion of it) playing poker is a "pro". Others felt that you had to win some major tourney to be labled "pro"
2) Online poker breeds too many idiots for pros to overcome. --- I agree with this. Professional players are pros because they play SOLID poker in one form or another. There may be a FEW styles of play, but the basics never change. They know the percentages, the odds, etc. etc. and base most of their play on it. They top it off with developing the ability to get a good read off their opponents.
***** BUT !!! There are DOZENS of ways to play like an idiot! Play every hand....chase every straight or flush no matter the odds....play ANY ace...play any two faces......etc. etc. etc. etc.
And, since there are 9 or ten players at a table, the pro could be facing just as many different styles of idiot....reducing the chance of getting past all of them.
There are simply too many to overcome. Online poker has flooded the place with idiots. Sure, at a cash game, the pro should come out ahead in the long run. But in the WSOP...when you're out, you're out.
And I don't see it changing.
There has been talk of raising the entry fee for the main event. I believe this would simply raise the stakes...and therefore the motivation...for idiots to play. Last year, Poker Stars sent...like 800-1000 players to the WSOP main event. (maybe more, I can't remember). How many did Ultimate Bet send? Party Poker? Full Tilt? Now, Stars started their satellites and qualifyers around January or February. Raising the entry fee means that they'll start in September of THIS year for the 2006 WSOP. It won't change a damn thing.
The WSOP has become something like the megaball lottery... there will be too many final spots decided by "who caught the most miracle cards" and not enough by "who outplayed who"
Don't get me wrong...I want to be there some day

[citytom]

What is a Pro? That is a loose term. I'd go with anyone who plays daily, and who plays for hefty sums.

The '05 WSOP was an ordeal...15 1/2 hours day one, 14 hours day two. Last year was 5700 players, this year is was over 8000. I'm glad I didn't go.

I didn't notice any idiots though. No dead money. No one with a sign that said, "I'm a loser". Yes, there were lots of on-line players, but everyone knew the game. I played seven events, and half every table I sat at were pros.