Which are the best casino quality chips?

[evaaseow]

I have been reading up on poker chips on many different sites. It seems that Paulson, chipco are the "top-notch" chip makers. I was just wondering if there are people who have bought these chips and do think they are the best. I am looking to invest into the "best" so any and all opinions are welcome.

Casino's use 100%clay chips right? If not what do they use? Are the Clay Composite chips "imitations"?

I saw the "james bond" clay chips. For those that have them, how are they?

One last question. What chip is considered to be the market best?

Thanks

[dice702]

As a collector and dealer I think the Chipco chips are the best product on the market. Each and every chip is consistent in quality. You never have to worry about variations in weight or color and off center labels.

Here is a picture of the best quality set on the market. The Apache was an actual casino in Las Vegas in the 1930's. Today it is the Horseshoe Casino. You could even sell these as collectables on eBay.

Without a doubt this is the best poker chip set you can buy.



http://www.apachepokerchips.com

[MSPatton]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder when it comes to chips!
If you like a true "vintage" casino chip then "clay" is the way to go.
I use clay lightly see http://www.pokerchips.com/faq.html
Clay though limits the possibility of progressive graphics as the center
spot is too small. Ceramic composite allows the best of the graphic
world but have a "glassy" sound and "colder" feel than "clay"
If you are willing to spend the money on the best you should really
spend a little time and money and get samples of the different chips.
Be sure to include Pokerchips.com, Nevada Jacks, the James Bond chips
the Crystal Oyster Chips, TR Kings "clay" chips and a sample of Paulson
even though if you are considering Paulson you are now paying a collectible price and not a user price. Once you have these options in
hand your choice will be easy. You will see all the high end stuff and
can then decide which product you prefer. Then it just comes down to
wether you want a pre made product or a custom made set on one of
these chips. There is no "Best" chip. Everyone has a preference.
Mine, Pokerchips.com is the best, if you want a ready made product
that is done by them try Buypokerchips.com. But that's my
opinion. Kick some tires you'll be glad you did.

Michael

[evaaseow]

MSPatton, thanks for the great reply. Do you know of chipco chips? What is your take on those chips or what is the general consensus on chipco?

Thanks

[MSPatton]

Chipco is what dice702 is offering above. They are their own custom
work done by Chipco. Chipco also does the Crystal Oyster chips as
well as several other home sets. They also make chips for several
of the large casinos in Vegas. Chipco is a ceramic composite chip.
You should get a sample as well as a sample of Nevada Jacks
composite chip and compare them. They both have different distinct
characteristics. Both are graphically beautiful which is their advantage
over they clay chips. Do get samples, you can find a sample set on ebay
of the Crystal Oysters reasonable, and I know NJ's will sell you a sample
from his site http://www.nevadajacks.net/mall/NJ_composite.htm.
Play with all the samples you get, some don't stack nice, some are
slick and tough to handle. Get to know them before you buy.
If you are looking to spend .75 to $1.25 per kick them tires!
Take your time in deciding, I took two months of sampling before I bought
my set of 1500 chips. Mine are the "classic" NJ's

[ashVID]

The only real casino chips available to the public are Chipco. The Paulson chips have to be bought on eBay and are EXPENSIVE. The PAULSON James Bond set is very nice, but most of what you are seeing is the blue chip company version which is not near as nice IMHO. You can tell the difference by the imprint along the outer rim. The top hat and cane is Paulson, the fan is Blue Chip Co...


ash =o)

I own the Crystal Oyster set from Chipco and love it...

[Teekan]

Yes I like the Vintage old feel and sound to the chips. That's why I bought a set of 500 from Pokerchips. Now if they could just send me the chips already, it's been 4 months!

[Teekan]

[peterl]

Take your time in deciding, I took two months of sampling before I bought
my set of 1500 chips. Mine are the "classic" NJ's

Are those labels stuck on? In your set of 1500 have you had any problems with labels lifting?

Cheers,
Peter

[MSPatton]

Peter,
These are not labels as such. They are vinyl spots that are pressed into
the clay chip and cured. There is not a chance the spot will come off.
If you tried to peel it yourself it would come off in little pieces as it
is molded into the chip not just stuck on a finished chip.

[peterl]

Peter,
These are not labels as such. They are vinyl spots that are pressed into
the clay chip and cured. There is not a chance the spot will come off.
If you tried to peel it yourself it would come off in little pieces as it
is molded into the chip not just stuck on a finished chip.

Thanks for the response. Did you sample buypokerchips.com's Vintage Vegas chips, which look very similar to the NJ clay chips? And pokerchips.com too? If so, why did you choose the NJ's over those?

Sorry to ask so many questions but I'm about to buy chips myself, and I want to make the right decision. I am waiting for a sample from NJ.

Cheers,
Peter

[MSPatton]

Peter,
All three of those chips are the same as far as product.
NJ's has his own mold unique to him. I like the idea of having a unique mold over a unique center spot. also, he had product to sell, BPC is a 3 month wait I have an order pending there since 3/19 and Pokerchips is longer then that. And besides all that, Jim at NJ's is a great guy. I have done quite a bit of business since he sold me my first set of 500 chips.
So basicaly to answer your question, I have sampled about every chip
in the market today. I bought NJ's first because there was no wait and I
liked the eye appeal. I am buying BPC.com's for corporate gifts, just as nice, a little generic so they will fit any taste, and I am not giving away the
same chips as I play with. And by using BPC I don't have to deal with the
production headaches I would if I dealt with pokerchips.com, I spend .10
more with BPC but it's worth it to me.

Michael

[mindgame]

Hey, I collect chips, and I'll admit that for great graphics, Chipco is tops. I even posted a heads up to a source that's the principal Chipco outlet from whom I've been buying casino-issue limited edition chips from places all over the map.

THAT said, I don't think Chipco chips have anywhere near the feel you get from a Paulson. Paulson is still the number one chip, period. It's used by more casinos than all others combined. Nothing beats it. Yes, there's a problem getting them, since they won't sell to the public anymore. My guess is that this beefs up their image to the security obsessed casino world.

But you can get them. Plenty of "fantasy" (casinos that never existed, like Casino de Mexico) or "souvineer" ("Viva Las Vegas," "Fan of Cards," etc) are still genuine Paulsons and they are out there. I'm not convinced that they are worth the money people are currently paying on ebay. However, you can get retired casino chips in decent condition for .75-1.15 each. Are they worth the bucks? Matter of opinion, of course. But chip collecting is the hottest, fastest-growing collectable market right now. Even when it cools off, the chips that will be worth money to collectors will be the ones that were actually used in real casinos. The fact that Paulson is limiting availability to keep itself the King Kong of that market means that those chips are going to always be prized. I say buy them, enjoy them, and be confident that they will be worth something down the road.

Also, the Nevada Jack's clay-style chips has the same feel as Paulson. Someone posted a picture of them above. Expensive, but a great chip and (I think) a good investment.

[MSPatton]

mindgame,
One of the neat things about these forums is we all get to voice our opinions back and forth, no one is right or wrong, just exchanging ideas.
With that said, I would argue that as far as quality of an overall chip Paulson takes a back seat to Atlantic Standard Molding every time.
Yes, Paulson did take over a good % of the market, of which ASM had at one time been very active in. And the fact that they do most of the casino work in clay chips is unarguable. One of the main factors that allowed them to do this was by offering a lower priced chip to the price shopping casinos. To do this they had to find ways to cut their costs. The biggest factor was labor so they moved their production to Mexico which also allowed them to use powdered lead as a weight material which is not allowed in U.S. manufacturing, and much cheaper than the brass used by ASM. Look at both these chips side by side and you will see the attention to detail ASM provides which Paulson does not.

Center spot printing always centered on spot
Center spot always centered on the chip
Side spots always at 10, 2, 6:00 around the center spot
Center spot position always in the same position on front/back
Molding "impressions" always clean and crisp

I would not attempt to argue that Paulson chips do not have a higher precieved value in the market, because they do. When the casinos required Paulson to cease public sales, the collectors went nuts.

But I am not a chip collector. So this does not matter to me, I like quality in what I purchase and in my humble opinion ASM beats all comers hands down

Make Mine ASM!

Michael

[The Nutz]

Hello all... I'm new to the board, so take it easy on me Pretty good discussion here, so I thought I'd chime in. My brother has an original Paulson set of chips that are very nice and I just bought a set of the "James Bond" blue chips and I'm VERY happy with them. My brother and I both agree there is very little difference. The Blue Chips seem to be getting a pretty bad rep on this site, so I thought I'd back 'em up a little. 8) But anyway, like everyone has said beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Good stuff!
Drew