They're good for quieting kids at a holiday poker party, for starters.

Our high school poker gang held a Christmas reunion when all five of us happened to be in town together. Along with a holiday party for our families and the "second generation Highland (NY) poker gang" kids, an impromptu game of five-hand poker broke out. Kids are running through the downstairs playroom and generally making a nuisance of themselves, much as we did when we were their age. I had brought a bunch of colorful casino chips to show the guys my new hobby, along with a couple of high-denomination fantasy chips. The kids were fascinated with them, so I gave out my handful of Dillinger's Casino fantasy chips in exchange for them going upstairs, being quiet, and getting out of our hair (at least out of the hair of those of us who still had hair, not including me).

They were the hit of the night! An eight-year-old kid holding a black-and-yellow $100 chip with a rose and a Saturday Night Special handgun on it said it was one of the neatest presents he ever got. Another kid tried to sell his $500 chip to his dad for the bargain price of $250, which didn't happen. Another kid was so excited he wanted to start up his own poker game with the other kids.

Speaking of the Dillinger's $100 fantasy chip, I'll send that along to the Alpha Nu chapter of Phi Kappa Sigma as a gift for their 100th anniversary - coincidentally, black and gold are the fraternity's colors. Hopefully nobody will find out I only paid about a buck for it on eBay.

Best,
WMD