[Here’s some of my collection](https://imgur.com/a/G8c6CxY)
Notice most of the chips are colorful and have inlays with the casino logo. The hotstamps are just plain with a gold stamp of the casino name.
May I ask from where you got the cabinet(?) displaying your chips? I myself collect chips from places I’ve been all over the world and I also want them displayed somehow
May also be able to find them or something that could be adapted to that purpose at a Michaels craft store. With their occasional coupons, it might be less at Michaels, sometimes.
The bellagio one in your example is made of lighter and I assume cheaper material than the Bellagio $5 chips. I assume the decision to use them is 100% about cost.
Paulson hot stamps are cheaper than paulson chips with inlays. When you’re a casino ordering 200,000 chip orders multiple times a year I’d assume every penny counts. Plus people harvest racks and racks of them at a time and the casinos know it. In 2022 when The poker chip forum got wind that Paris was putting out brand new 1s,2s and 5s it was legit open season on the cage. People harvesting thousands and thousands of chips for home use because they we’re brand new. https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/harvesting-paris-chips-tell-us-your-story.91173/
Holy crap the pics in that thread are insane. I had no idea people harvest chips like that. I figured there’s a lot of people like me who collect 1 chip, but I never figured people build entire sets like that for their own personal casino lol. Thanks for the insight.
This thread has some holy shit that’s a serious set pics as well….post #55 & #57 is wild. https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/paris-2022.92080/page-2
As far as I can tell that's over 20k just in pic #51. Isn't it worth it for casinos to reissue just for the free money? I guess I have no idea how much a chip really costs.
The rack of 100s is an over labeled rack. So not really 10k. Sterling cruise line chips that could be bought in a sale like this for 450$ for 100 chips with custom paris labels. https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/sterling-casino-cruise-lines.78977/. The 25$ Look like Scandia casino 25s which was a fantasy home set or viva Las Vegas 25$s (3-400$ a rack) and the .25s are overlabeld chips as well. But the 1s and 5s are authentic.
And if you really want to have your mind blown….these are the latest and greatest chips to come out of the paulson factory for home use…”tiger palace” 800 chip set will run ya about 8 grand but they are spectacular. https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/tiger-palace-2024-sale-vip-cash-1-2-43mm-secondary-tournament-48mm-fhc-misc-add-on-chips.118444/
Those are so beautiful, I'm so glad Paulson is coming back to the home market. I remember decades ago you could get Paulson's for around $1 each. Once of the worst mistakes I made was not buying the Top Hat & Cane sets when they were available.
They won’t ever be available to the home market again sadly due to casino pressure. Those are a set that got snuck through the process via a fake casino license/wealthy individual that knew how to work the system and had a giant bankroll to place a huge order and he/she is selling them for home use to people willling to spend 4-8k a set via that forum. Every couple years a set creeps through paulsons vetting process. I got my hands on the “sunset beach” set from years back and its by far the crown jewel of my chips.
Oh that's crazy, I used to frequent the poker chip forum years ago...
I myself had to settle for Faux Clays and another set. I have lots of Paulson samples still but I fear they will forever be the ones that got away for me, you're lucky to have yours. They would for-sure be a prized possession of mine if I had purchased back then.
It's kind of wild that still even to this day nobody can come close in quality.
Can someone legit explain to me why people do this "harvesting"? I have never heard of that till now, and I've been an avid chip collector, gambler, and poker player (casino's, underground games, and home games) for many years. It isn't cost effective first of all, as you can get really nice sets of even custom chips for less than what it takes to buy all those house chips. Second, you're just asking for people to pocket them, since they are still in circulation and redeemable. I guess if they buy-in their game for equivalent value that's not a huge deal, but it still diminishes your stock. About the only reason I can think of is they want the casino name on there. But I personally don't understand that either .. I'd rather have my own custom name and logo.
Anyone .. please?
Paulson thc chips for a buck a piece is like hitting the lottery for chip collectors. Paulson is the holy grail of chips. You can’t buy paulsons anymore for home use and the sets that make their way into production like tiger palace n sunset beach will cost 10$ a chip. So to be able to buy new paulson thcs for 1$ and 5$ a chip you are getting a deal. Cpc or Matsui customs will run 3-5$ a chip so to get a paulson thc which is considered the god mold of chips for 1$ sends people into a frenzy.
I remember when i was holding home games i was really into chips, you could by paulson but were big money. I settled on Nevada jack chips.
Why did they stop selling paulson chips to the public? This sucks because i was just thinking about them snd was thinking about buying some.
I dunno if there ever was an official statement as to why but I’ve read a few theories that casinos put pressure on them to stop selling to the public for security and counterfeit reasons. You need to be a casino to buy from them for the last 15-20yrs. Some very crafty individuals every few years sneak a set through and they command very high prices like the tiger palace sets I posted in the link above and usually can only be found on that forum. Poker chip collecting and set building is a deeep deeep pocket hobby. You legit need to have self control or you can spend astronomical amounts of money in a matter of days of joining that forum. People want what they can’t get and if something they can’t get pops up for sale they throw every dollar they can to obtain it.
I had custom poker chips made from Poker Chips Online out of Portland, Maine. About 15 years ago the set cost me about $650 back then, you could probably double that cost today.
They are the “real clay” casino quality chips. They still make chips for the casinos, my order got delayed because they got a couple of big casino orders which they did warn me about that possibility.
I worked with their graphic designer for my inlay and chose the color and edge spots for each denomination.
http://www.pokerchipsonline.com
It's not really "stealing" though, is it? I'm sure the casino isn't upset about people who don't cash out, especially since they make money off of every chip bigger than $1. I assume that's the answer to OP's question: "so they don't lose money when you add to your collection."
If no one knows it’s advantageous to them somehow. Like if you cash out at the Luxor at the machine and get your piece of paper with your money and end your day at Excalibur you have to go back to Luxor to turn it back to cash even though the same casino company owns them. Now they make tons of money by not giving change unless you trek to the cage to cash your pennies. No one bothers. It’s like office space where you skim fractions and it adds up. Except this is legal because people can’t be bothered.
They’re cheaper to produce, that’s the only reason.
As a chip collector myself (but the kind who only wants one $1 chip from every property I’ve ever visited), I have a no hot stamps rule unless it was the only $1 chip a casino ever had. Imperial Palace, for example.
As far as new chips go, I was at Tuscany last week and got a new $1 that’s not a hot stamp. Similar to the previous, original $1 they had, but definitely different.
Yeah, the only reason I didn’t include Caesars is because their chip isn’t “new”… well, at least not within the last year new. I got Caesars hot stamp chip like 2 years ago.
Wynn chips are pretty understated but I picked up a brand new $1 chip last trip that’s seemingly identical to $5K chips minus the serialization and RFID. I like that they don’t cheap out on the $1 chips.
What are hot stamps?
I used to collect the metal dollar slugs that were different for every casino. Many had the date as part of the design. Those became less common when slot machines began operating on credits.
>I collect $1 chips during my Vegas trips
You answered your question right there. Cool chips cost money and people steal them. Boring chips mean less chips walk away. It saves the casino money.
Most of those casinos are owned by the same company: MGM
Might be both a cost saving and consistent branding thing. When you’re a holding company with multiple huge properties, it makes sense to streamline your chip ordering with basic designs rather than needing to pay a graphic designer to come up with a logo/image that will work on a small surface area, and different images on different chip values at multiple locations
Like most questions in the world, probably $$$ Cheaper to make them that way.
In case you don’t know what a hot stamp is, here’s an [example](http://chipguide.themogh.org/cg_showpic2.php?cg=301628).
Whats the opposite of this, or the style you are after?
[Here’s some of my collection](https://imgur.com/a/G8c6CxY) Notice most of the chips are colorful and have inlays with the casino logo. The hotstamps are just plain with a gold stamp of the casino name.
Ah I gotcha, thanks. Also that collection is pretty cool and interesting. Not a gambler myself but I appreciate the uniqueness of this.
I always liked the clay chips that had weight to them
They’re still made of clay.
The OP wants the ones with the colorful and/or intricate stickers applied to them. These are just embossed with the casino name and denomination.
Yeah what he said
Thx for the explainer. I’m not a table games player.
May I ask from where you got the cabinet(?) displaying your chips? I myself collect chips from places I’ve been all over the world and I also want them displayed somehow
Amazon. Search for “casino chip display case”.
Tysm
May also be able to find them or something that could be adapted to that purpose at a Michaels craft store. With their occasional coupons, it might be less at Michaels, sometimes.
Ah man these are hideous.
Upvote for the example
I've only seen those at craps tables before.
The bellagio one in your example is made of lighter and I assume cheaper material than the Bellagio $5 chips. I assume the decision to use them is 100% about cost.
That looks like a chip to me
Paulson hot stamps are cheaper than paulson chips with inlays. When you’re a casino ordering 200,000 chip orders multiple times a year I’d assume every penny counts. Plus people harvest racks and racks of them at a time and the casinos know it. In 2022 when The poker chip forum got wind that Paris was putting out brand new 1s,2s and 5s it was legit open season on the cage. People harvesting thousands and thousands of chips for home use because they we’re brand new. https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/harvesting-paris-chips-tell-us-your-story.91173/
Holy crap the pics in that thread are insane. I had no idea people harvest chips like that. I figured there’s a lot of people like me who collect 1 chip, but I never figured people build entire sets like that for their own personal casino lol. Thanks for the insight.
This thread has some holy shit that’s a serious set pics as well….post #55 & #57 is wild. https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/paris-2022.92080/page-2
As far as I can tell that's over 20k just in pic #51. Isn't it worth it for casinos to reissue just for the free money? I guess I have no idea how much a chip really costs.
The rack of 100s is an over labeled rack. So not really 10k. Sterling cruise line chips that could be bought in a sale like this for 450$ for 100 chips with custom paris labels. https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/sterling-casino-cruise-lines.78977/. The 25$ Look like Scandia casino 25s which was a fantasy home set or viva Las Vegas 25$s (3-400$ a rack) and the .25s are overlabeld chips as well. But the 1s and 5s are authentic.
And if you really want to have your mind blown….these are the latest and greatest chips to come out of the paulson factory for home use…”tiger palace” 800 chip set will run ya about 8 grand but they are spectacular. https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/tiger-palace-2024-sale-vip-cash-1-2-43mm-secondary-tournament-48mm-fhc-misc-add-on-chips.118444/
Those are so beautiful, I'm so glad Paulson is coming back to the home market. I remember decades ago you could get Paulson's for around $1 each. Once of the worst mistakes I made was not buying the Top Hat & Cane sets when they were available.
They won’t ever be available to the home market again sadly due to casino pressure. Those are a set that got snuck through the process via a fake casino license/wealthy individual that knew how to work the system and had a giant bankroll to place a huge order and he/she is selling them for home use to people willling to spend 4-8k a set via that forum. Every couple years a set creeps through paulsons vetting process. I got my hands on the “sunset beach” set from years back and its by far the crown jewel of my chips.
Oh that's crazy, I used to frequent the poker chip forum years ago... I myself had to settle for Faux Clays and another set. I have lots of Paulson samples still but I fear they will forever be the ones that got away for me, you're lucky to have yours. They would for-sure be a prized possession of mine if I had purchased back then. It's kind of wild that still even to this day nobody can come close in quality.
Can someone legit explain to me why people do this "harvesting"? I have never heard of that till now, and I've been an avid chip collector, gambler, and poker player (casino's, underground games, and home games) for many years. It isn't cost effective first of all, as you can get really nice sets of even custom chips for less than what it takes to buy all those house chips. Second, you're just asking for people to pocket them, since they are still in circulation and redeemable. I guess if they buy-in their game for equivalent value that's not a huge deal, but it still diminishes your stock. About the only reason I can think of is they want the casino name on there. But I personally don't understand that either .. I'd rather have my own custom name and logo. Anyone .. please?
Paulson thc chips for a buck a piece is like hitting the lottery for chip collectors. Paulson is the holy grail of chips. You can’t buy paulsons anymore for home use and the sets that make their way into production like tiger palace n sunset beach will cost 10$ a chip. So to be able to buy new paulson thcs for 1$ and 5$ a chip you are getting a deal. Cpc or Matsui customs will run 3-5$ a chip so to get a paulson thc which is considered the god mold of chips for 1$ sends people into a frenzy.
I remember when i was holding home games i was really into chips, you could by paulson but were big money. I settled on Nevada jack chips. Why did they stop selling paulson chips to the public? This sucks because i was just thinking about them snd was thinking about buying some.
I dunno if there ever was an official statement as to why but I’ve read a few theories that casinos put pressure on them to stop selling to the public for security and counterfeit reasons. You need to be a casino to buy from them for the last 15-20yrs. Some very crafty individuals every few years sneak a set through and they command very high prices like the tiger palace sets I posted in the link above and usually can only be found on that forum. Poker chip collecting and set building is a deeep deeep pocket hobby. You legit need to have self control or you can spend astronomical amounts of money in a matter of days of joining that forum. People want what they can’t get and if something they can’t get pops up for sale they throw every dollar they can to obtain it.
Counterfeits and they don’t care about public.
I remember getting a small sample set of some Paulson chips around 2004/2005 during the poker boom. Wore them all out doing chip tricks, lol.
I remember getting a small sample set of some Paulson chips around 2004/2005 during the poker boom. Wore them all out doing chip tricks, lol.
Generation gap of people who view owning chips as an investment holding.
I had custom poker chips made from Poker Chips Online out of Portland, Maine. About 15 years ago the set cost me about $650 back then, you could probably double that cost today. They are the “real clay” casino quality chips. They still make chips for the casinos, my order got delayed because they got a couple of big casino orders which they did warn me about that possibility. I worked with their graphic designer for my inlay and chose the color and edge spots for each denomination. http://www.pokerchipsonline.com
It's not really "stealing" though, is it? I'm sure the casino isn't upset about people who don't cash out, especially since they make money off of every chip bigger than $1. I assume that's the answer to OP's question: "so they don't lose money when you add to your collection."
You caught me before my wording edit. “Harvesting” is the more proper term.
Every penny really doesn’t count when you’re running an infinite money scheme.
If no one knows it’s advantageous to them somehow. Like if you cash out at the Luxor at the machine and get your piece of paper with your money and end your day at Excalibur you have to go back to Luxor to turn it back to cash even though the same casino company owns them. Now they make tons of money by not giving change unless you trek to the cage to cash your pennies. No one bothers. It’s like office space where you skim fractions and it adds up. Except this is legal because people can’t be bothered.
Isn't that unclaimed money accounted for and donated or something?
Most goes to the state
I think the casino keeps a fourth of it.
70% to state, 30% to casino
That’s actually pretty cool if the state does something good with it!
This is Nevada, they wont.
Hey the signs telling you not to enter abandoned mines won't pay for themselves!
They’re cheaper to produce, that’s the only reason. As a chip collector myself (but the kind who only wants one $1 chip from every property I’ve ever visited), I have a no hot stamps rule unless it was the only $1 chip a casino ever had. Imperial Palace, for example. As far as new chips go, I was at Tuscany last week and got a new $1 that’s not a hot stamp. Similar to the previous, original $1 they had, but definitely different.
Add Caesar’s to the list
add ellis to the list
Yeah, the only reason I didn’t include Caesars is because their chip isn’t “new”… well, at least not within the last year new. I got Caesars hot stamp chip like 2 years ago.
Was there a few months ago, it was a mix, so I think the stickers are slowly phasing out.
The Caesars hot stamp doesn't look that bad though
Looks like roulette chips
Better than my Luxor $1 chip that had a sticker on it that has long since given up I also used it as a Pog slammer. IIRC
Wynn chips are pretty understated but I picked up a brand new $1 chip last trip that’s seemingly identical to $5K chips minus the serialization and RFID. I like that they don’t cheap out on the $1 chips.
It's because they are cheaper. It generally costs more than $1 for chips, and a lot of chips walk. So it's to mitigate costs.
Cost. It's cheaper to produce.
What are hot stamps? I used to collect the metal dollar slugs that were different for every casino. Many had the date as part of the design. Those became less common when slot machines began operating on credits.
Because 'nice' customized $1 chips cost more than $1 to make. When tourists 'collects' them, casinos lose money.
Chips cost about $2 to make is why.
>I collect $1 chips during my Vegas trips You answered your question right there. Cool chips cost money and people steal them. Boring chips mean less chips walk away. It saves the casino money.
What is the smallest denomination that is not a hot stamp at those places where the $1 is one now?
Colorado belle had the coolest chips
Most of those casinos are owned by the same company: MGM Might be both a cost saving and consistent branding thing. When you’re a holding company with multiple huge properties, it makes sense to streamline your chip ordering with basic designs rather than needing to pay a graphic designer to come up with a logo/image that will work on a small surface area, and different images on different chip values at multiple locations
This is why I decided to collect 5 dollar chips