It sounds like the dealer screwed up with the payout. Normally when you win with a free play chip they take the NCV chip and pay with one regular chip. The odds (at BJ) of winning any hand is around 50% so when they sell $500 worth of chips for $250 they figure that if the odds work out they will break even. Win card chips are different but you are paying 70% of face value for them not 50%. They play until you lose. Then again maybe you are a big enough player where they don't mind treating you right. I am a very small player and Hollywood in Tunica sends me $35 in free play every week but unfortunately they use slips of paper instead of chips.