but it is from EPI (Ebbetts Pass Inn). The story I heard came from an apprentice card dealer who was able to buy an entire table from the ill-fated Crystal Mountain Casino, or the company that supplied and then repossessed the gambling equipment. The table he bought came "loaded" with chips including the 25¢ ones. He surmised they were intended to be the drop chips unless Crystal Mountain was going to offer $3 blackjack or some such. This man lived in the Lake Tahoe area and he said he wanted a table to "practice" his dealing with friends. He eventually did score a job somewhere around the Lake and held on to the table and chips for many years until, so the tale ends, he realized the value of the chips and began selling them off as sets on eBay. And that's how I got my set.

Incidentally, insofar as I know, all Crystal Mountain chips have a mottled appearance which seems to have been created (on purpose?) in the manufacturing process - especially noticeable in the salmon $2 chips.