Thanks Richard, I only wish that was true.
I had a late entry into the casino business (1986) so the only things I know about the Playboy casinos are from the excellent book and whatever I could glean out of some of the ex-Playboy staff when I was at the Vic. Most croupiers didn't take much interest in the chips and are better at (and more interested in) recalling stories from their time there. Even the ex-training manager doesn't remember much about the chips although he has a small museum packed up in a garage that I have been trying to find out more about as he mentiones VSC plauqes (and I bet he has some ones from the training school). When the training school was still open at the time I started there (1989) it had the metal tokens on a BJ table and I know they had others in a cupboard. They also had some of the later Piantik cards (in boxes of 4) and possibly the older Fournier ones too. I have asked a few times about the chips but didn't manage to get anywhere, and they may well still be there. I believe they had 25p Manchesters, possibly 50p Manchesters and others. 2 of the ex-Playboy staff I know were given (or had acquired) a £50 yellow small crown chip. Also, 1 had a £25 Manchester brown LGK chip too. As we all know, the small crown roulettes were also lent/given to trainees to practise with at home so more may turn up someday. Some already have (in bulk, ie 100 or so, which included some of the training chips that many collectors now have) but only the odd one now and again nowadays. The triclubs were also given out but then they had generic ones according to a photo of ones used at the Club, allegedly, and quite possibly the training school too.
I know that when I started at Sgt Yorkes in Luton (Pleasurama at the time) I can remember that they were the metal centred ones (and the colours) but not much else as you just took them for granted. When I moved up to the Metropole (ex-Caesars Palace before they had to split them when the 1969 Gaming act came into effect) I think they used metropole chips but don't really remember. They didn't change them when Brent Walker took over or when whoever the next one was (before Stanley?) but they did have matches and pens drafted in. In those days, staff were not allowed to possess chips (obvious reasons) so it wasn't something I really took much interest in although I did manage to "whip" a few matches/pens left by customers if from other clubs.
It wasn't until I went to Israel that I started to collect chips (1994/5) and then when I came back and worked at the Connoisseur I was allowed to buy "foreign" London casinos ones and was also lucky enough to have a manager (Portsmouth one mentioned in another post) who gave me the odd casino chip here and there because she knew I collected. The Gloucester cash desk also kept their eyes open for any older or "foreign" ones and let me know but there was never anything I didn't have although I wasn't there long.
When I went to Crockfords I was allowed to buy some chips when I left which is when CG089732 first appeared. They told me that they were going to send them back as they were too slippy and awkward to use and only had 100 in the desk. It seems that they must have had a change of mind as others have appeared and I think they were eventually used on the tables.
The lowest roulette games were 25p when I started and the older members of staff used to mention 12 1/2p ones all the time which is why I made a guess about the Portsmouth ones.
Funnily enough, the wife worked at the Vic briefly in the early 1980s when it was Trident but, as expected, remembers nothing about the chips at all. Mind you, she was only there to get London experience before going abroad (3 months or so, I think). She also remembers 12 1/2p chips from the mid 1970s in Bristol.
As to the type and amount of tables (as mentioned in a now deleted post) I have no problem with what the book says at all but it does mention American Roulette tables too and as I said, I feel that 3 french roulette were maybe not something that stayed for too long (due to profits) but there could very well have been at some stage, probably the earlier years. I'm not sure when French rouleete went out of fashion but I thought mid 70s. It's only speculation and taking into account what others have said so don't quote me. Le Cercle (for example) had 3 Chemin tables when it opened, possibly a french roulette table in 1963 and then other tables at various stages over the years. They ended up with 3 AR tables, 3 BJ tables and probably another room with baccarat tables, when they were closed down.
Obviously I keep looking online and for books that may help fill in the gaps but not just about Playboy as I like the history of many London clubs and was persistent enough to find out a few interesting things about the clubs I have worked in. I usually knew more about the history of the building/club than people that had been there for years but not many were really bothered so that was no surprise. I'm just "sad" I suppose. I was lucky enough to chat with a couple of old boys at Crockfords who knew quite a lot and gave me some weird and wonderful items (a toothbrush!!). I just wish I had been more interested when I was at the Vic as there were many that were Playboy staff that may have had chips "hanging around" or going spare (and to a good home), oh well.
My backspace got stuck and deleted some parts of this before I could stop it and sorry it is long and boring but hopefully it helps explain why I know the little that I know.
Congratulations if you bothered reading all of that incidentally.