I urge everyone to double check the chips in use at the casinos they visit regularly. Make sure they aren't different then they used to be.

Recently I was on a chip run and stopped in the Players Island in Maryland Heights, MO. I hadn't been there since just after they opened a couple years ago. While I was playing I kept thinking that the $25 chips didn't look familiar. The inserts seemed funny to me. While noticing the chips though I noticed that they were well worn, just what you'd expect from 2 year old chips. I dismissed the idea that they were different, went to several other casinos and then spent the night in Alton, IL.

The next morning I was sorting through the chips I had collected the day before, making sure I had gotten the right number of each chip and that I hadn't missed anything. I remembered the $25 at Players Island, so I grabbed my book and looked up the chip. Sure enough, the $25 chip in the book was NOT the same as the $25 chip on the tables. Not only was the $25 different, but the $100 was different also. The only thing that had changed were the insert colors. I hopped in the car and backtracked so that I could pick up the newer versions.

Apparently, since the chips were well worn, the casino had changed them after about 1 month of play. I have no idea why, perhaps a security issue.

My point though is that with the chips being identical except the insert colors, it wasn't real obvious that they had changed. I suspect that this isn't the only time this has happened and there may be chips in play at various casinos that are different then what you have in your collection. So check them out next time you go. Print out a page from my chipguide before you go to the casinos next time and just give the chips a little check. We may all be surprised at what you find.

Greg