As promised, here it "the rest of the story."

There have been chips used in movies before these. We all know about the infamous James Bond "Casino de Isthmus" chips. More recently, the Desert Inn was the scene of the Red Dragon casino in the Jackie Chan movie, "Rush Hour 2."

What makes the current Ocean's 11 chips different is that they feature the name of Las Vegas' most prestigious "high-end" location, the Bellagio, and also the location, "Las Vegas, Nevada." As a matter of fact, the center inlay, although smaller, is identical to the center inlay on the actual Bellagio chips. I'll make a separate post with a scan of the regular Bellagio $1 "rack" chip and the two Bellagio $1 Ocean's 11 chips.

Following the shooting of Ocean's 11, a leading national slot machine wholesaler bought all of the gambling props used in the movie. These included two different sets of "Bellagio" chips. Since this person's primary interest was in the other gaming memorabilia, the bulk of the chips were then re-sold to a former CC>CC member who is not presently active in our hobby. So…to make a long story short…these neat chips can now be added to your collection.

As mentioned above, there are two different sets of Ocean's 11 Bellagio chips. From the information available, it appears that four denominations of the first set were originally ordered. All are diamond mold…$1, $5, $25 and $100. A fifth denomination was then added…a $50 chip. The curious feature of the $50 chip is that its mold is different. It is a "mermaid" mold.

It seems likely that only 200 sets of these chips were ordered. They appear to me to be made of clay. These were used in the movie whenever the appearance of chips that looked and "sounded" like real chips were needed. Less than 100 of these sets will probably ever reach the chip or movie memorabilia collecting public. Sets were kept by Warner Brothers for later "office distribution" and by the original purchaser, for his most important customers.

As a condition of the final sale, the slot machine wholesaler insisted that the chips be cancelled in some way. This was to prevent anyone from trying to redeem them at any Las Vegas area casino. As you can see form the scans, there is a very small (1/8") drill hole in the mold of each chip. All inlays are all 100% intact.

The expense of this first chip set, coupled with the knowledge that a huge number of chips would be required for the initial "vault" scene, dictated the need for a second, less expensive set. The second set is plastic and contains the same five denominations: $1, $5, $25, $50, and $100. They are "dragon" mold. The Bellagio inlay is on one side only. The other side is blank. This set is not cancelled.

Actually, in the first vault scene, only the last chip in each row contained an inlay. All of the inner chips were generic - blank on both sides.

This notice provides you the opportunity to add both sets to your collection. The first set, consisting of the four diamond mold denominations ($1, $5, $25, $100) plus the $50 mermaid mold, is CURRENTLY priced at $49. The second set is CURRENTLY priced at $15. This pricng my well change in the future.

Prices above do not include P&H and insurance.

To reserve your sets of the Bellagio Ocean's 11 chips, send me an e-mail or call me toll-free at 1-888-CHIPS-97.

Thanks and Happy New Year to all…

Terry

Terry Lazarus
Chips Off the Old Block
PO Box 57
Dallastown, Pa. 17313

Toll-free: 1-888-CHIPS-97 (1-888-244-7797)