I even pointed out to you in an email message that this guy was a poker dealer and that it was very unlikely he would be in a position to be knowlegable of any number of high value chips.

I will also point out that in our conversation, he only claimed to have "seen" the rack of $500 chips, not handle them. The subject of his using them (at a poker table) never came up. He did say that on one occassion the rack was brought out to pay off a large debt owed to a player (although it was not stipulated what or how much the wager was for).

I recognize the incongruity of passing out chips on closing day, and the 120 day redemption period imposed by Gaming. (Maybe they were passing out the fake versions. Maybe that's where and why the fakes originated. But I have no idea. I am only passing along what I heard.)

When you made the statement: "BJ did not make any knock-offs in the same mold as real chips." Does that mean to say.....
1. The fakes were made by someone else (in the same mold), or
2. They were made by BJ, but they used a different mold. And therefore, there are two versions of the blue $500? The genuine $500 and the fake $500, but with different molds.)

If the latter, do we know the two different molds? Neither the C/W and TCR indicate two different molds, but that could be an oversight. If there are two, perhaps the version with the fewer quantity is the genuine?

I suspect so, but I do not know for certain, but were redemption requirements in effect 15 years ago?

Could it have been possible that the high value chips were put into redemption before the anticipated closing date, thereby making them obsolete on closing day, and available for handing out?

Although I recall driving past the Castaways many times, I never went inside, so I do not know how big or small the operation was. For those that do, and also know how many chips would be required to support the nature of the gaming inside, how many $500 chips would they likely have on-hand? Also keep in mind that the Sports Book had their own $500 chip, so don't calculate their needs into the number.

With regard to your comment of "Believe what you want", I am not sure what you mean. Quite obviously there is a lot of confusion as to what the "real" situation is. I only presented this information and asked, can anyone refute it? That does not mean that I believe it.

So far, I've seen a lot of comments about fakes and counterfeits, followed by numbers in the 400/500 range, but nothing really refutes the information he provided. To me, there is a difference between knowing about $500 chips in-use at a casino (while the place is open)and handling 400/500 fakes chips after the casino is closed.

Gene, I do not dis-believe you or your information either, but so far, both of what you contend and what he contends can be true.

Regards, Jim Follis