I have read some of those other threads and have made similar comments to yours in the past. I have received email and posted responses about some of my misunderstandings. I too was under the understanding that the price was .65 a piece, or something like that. Someone responded that the cost is actually quite a bit more. When you add in the money that is paid to a graphic artist to produce the artwork and then the amount that the manufacturer charges for setup of that artwork, the cost of submitting and having the artwork approved by gaming and the custom manufacturing charges that the manufacturer charges, the price jumps quite a bit. I think the price we were figuring before, at least the prices I was, were based on the cost of H/C chips that are sold for home poker use. Those chips though are mass produced and sometimes have no art. If they do have art, they are common art by the manufacturer and are produced in huge numbers and are reproduced as long as the Mfg wants and thinks he can sell them.

Anyways, the issue of how little the casino makes is realized when you take the profits, say $3.50 or $4 and multiply by the number of chips, say 500 ($4 x 500 = 2000). Figure what it costs for the employees to distribute those chips and the payroll for the cage person etc. and I would imagine that 2000 isn't all that significant in the end. Now, of course in the case of 4Q or Trop. multiply $2000 x the number of releases and I will concede that becomes a business. That is where I think Pete was correct above regarding us not patronizing and thus rewarding those casinos that put out so many meaningless chips. Not because they are making a business out of chips but because they are just producing too many useless ones and sort of diluting the market.

You are also correct on how we should not confuse NV with NJ regarding the way the chips are accounted for. As I understand,(you I am sure know but for the sake of our newbies), Nevada requires a casino to carry the value of all chips issued and in circulation on their books and maintain a balance to cover their redemption. That would limit the frequency and number of chips that could be issued. Nevada does allow a casino to retire and redeem chips with a public notice published in local papers and at the cage. By retiring some chips the casino can then issue new chips. A casino might, therefore, issue fewer issues of larger numbers or editions or more issues of more limited editions. In the end the number of chips are still reletive to the amount of cash the casino can afford to carry on their books. In NV, a casino can adjust their cash reserves by issuing redemption notices and removing those chips from their books. That could free up cash for other uses. However, until this is done, the profit from chip sales is not really usable since the casino has to keep it their reserves to cover the value of the chip. I think alot of casinos would rather be making money that they could use rather than have to just sit on large amounts of cash.

In New Jersey, as I understand the casino has to carry the value of those chips in perpetuity. If the casino closes a person can still go to the state and redeem old chips forever where in NV if the chip has been the subject of a "Redemption Notice" the chip(s) are considered worthless in face value.

When you take the cost of producing the chips, + the cost to destribute them + the burden of carrying them on your books I think the casino could really care less about the $5000 or maybe $6000 that they get from the release of a set of $5, $25 and $100 chips.

Lastly, Am I wrong but weren't the LE chips originally produced in smaller numbers for the sole purpose of providing souveniers and momentos for people who were in house on a holiday or special event or party. I believe, when I first started following this hobby, many casinos put these chips in their racks and they were distributed to those who were in attendance on those special occasions.