I've just returned from a weekly poker tournament at the Desert Diamond's newest gaming facility in Tucson, AZ.

First off, I did poorly, but I wanted to report on some changes they have made to their Tournament rack.

This chip:

although listed in Greg's ChipGuide as a chip that the casino used in mock games to teach patrons how to play poker, is now being used as a Bonus - Dealer tip chip. When a player signs-up to play, he/she can buy the Bonus chip for $3.00. When turned in to the dealer, it is good for $400.00 in NCV tournament chips, and the $3.00 goes to a dealer tip pool. Previously, the yellow Re-Buy NCV was used for this purpose, but now the yellow Re-Buy is only used as a re-buy chip.

Please note: I have been going to the Desert Diamond since they opened and this is the very first time I have seen this chip (the "DDC").

And this chip:

listed in Greg's ChipGuide as a NCV tournament chip was actually being used as the $1000.00 NCV tournament chip. I am surprised at this because it has been my experience that this chip has been used for demonstration purposes (like at County Fairs) to play mock games. At one time I had quite a few of these and frequently would send one along with trades as a bonus chip! Well they are now harder to get.

Jim Follis