the answer can be quite involved and complex.....

First of all, I agree with James McFadden, in that you will get a greater response on this BB, than on the Club's BB, and I am glad that you (as a newbie to collecting) posted here.

Don't know if you are a Club member, or if you even know about the Club, so be sure to explore that, or let us all know of your status. Some of us like to welcome new Club members in a special way. So tell us little about yourself.

With regard to your question, let me say this about that.....

Terry Shaffer's response for Nevada is rather correct. For other gaming jurisdictions the answer gets more complicated. For instance, in New Jersy (Atlantic City) you cannot purchase any chips from the cage. If I am not mistaken, the casinos there designate a specific table to use for the release of chips. On the release date the chips are already there and waiting for people to approach the table and then buy-in. During other periods an individual must make an inquiry to a Boss for the chips they are interested in. The Boss (depending upon mood) calls the cage and asks if those chips are available. If yes, then a "fill" is sent to the table. At which point you can then buy-in for those chips. This process is tedious. I do not know if chips are otherwise mixed-in with the games, but I suspect that they are pulled out and corralled by the cage for future "fill" purposes.

At other jurisdictions (many Indian casinos) you cannot buy from the cage, nor from a designated table and you must walk from table to table looking for chips in-play and then try to buy them. Typically it is bad form to bother players and ask to buy their chips. More often than not they simply don't understand what you are asking and it appears that you are asking for a loan. The alternative to this is to sit down and play the game and wait for chips to pass through your hands. This can be costly.

Sometimes, when chips are available through the cage, there are reasons that the cage people do not want help you. Sometimes they are tired and don't want to look through the racks of regular chips for what you want. Sometimes a place is too busy and the line stacks up behind you while they look, so they say no. Sometimes they know that the chip you want is hard to come by, so they want a premium for their effort (a tip) to look. Sometimes the chip really isn't available, i.e., they are all gone. But no matter what, always ask and also ask if they have older, no longer in-use chips that have been turned in. At worst they may say no. At best they may say yes.

Lastly, if any cage person goes out of their way to help look, it helps those who follow if you reward their efforts with a dollar or two tip.

Well, I hope this helps.

Jim Follis