Part of the answer to your question may be in something that Mr. Stone from the Hard Rock said in one of his posts.

He was indicating that they were trying to find the right release numbers, where collectors would be able to get them AND THE SECONDARY MARKET VALUE WOULD BE PROTECTED.

Those two things are not consistent. The question of why a casino would care about secondary market value is an interesting one with many nooks and cervices to explore.

Let me ask this question. How many collectors do think would like to add a $25 HRH CURE chip to their collection?

If the Hard Rock had released 10,000 of these chips,how many of those collectors do you think would have one in their collection?

As a secondary question how many of those collectors would like one of these chips Are Fans of The Cure? How many even heard of them? Own an Album? Know the name of the guy whose face is on the chip?

My point being that a large part of the demand for this chip came from its rarity. That is the fault of us collectors not the casinos.