Tim,
It was a real pleasure meeting you and I hope you can find some info on the Sydney Harbor strike. I went to the expert.
Well when it comes to the WSOP and the Senior's Johnny Hale, I know a little. These chips are not really used at the tables. Johnny personally walks around at each Senior's Event and hands out a Commemorative Chip to each player. If he does not have enough he throws into the Pot and the winner of that hand gets it. You really have to find out what event it commemorates.
The chip on the left commemmorates the Poker Challenge II and it was held at The Grand Sierra in Reno from Jan 4-24, 2002. The Seniors was Played on Jan 11, 2002 and I am sure he gave these out. I doubt if they had 1000 players, so he had a few extra. I do not know about the other 2, but with some checking on Google, you should be able to figure them out. Do not assume California, because the Seniors is added to every major Poker Tournament Series for the last 10 years, at least.
Petie aka VegasChipman