Crafting with Kids

Casino chips aren’t your regular run-of-the-mill poker chips used in casual home games. These have a long history of development and design, usually responding to cheating or security issues as they arose. In the mid-19th century, in bars in the American Midwest and in the old river-boats, poker players would use anything from coins to gold nuggets as they gambled. But eventually, by the end of that century, the clay poker chips casino establishments use became the standardized monetary tokens used in these games.

These chips were first made of various materials such as wood or ivory, but the casino poker chips of a clay-based composition soon came to predominate. These were made in high-pressure compression-molding machines. In recent times, though clay-ceramic mixtures are still used to create some chips, the more usual production method involves injection-molded resin chips. And a recent innovation in the design of casino chips involves either a metal center with a plastic rim, or chips entirely of metal. The standardization makes chips easier to stack on a table, easier to keep track of, and easier to count (or weigh) when it comes time to cash in a player’s winnings.

One of the factors in the ongoing development and design of casino chips has been security. In early times, with every person and establishment having their own chips, it was easier to cheat, substituting some chips for others and coming out an apparent “winner.” But eventually, casinos created several different sets with custom designs, so they could keep close tabs. Each casino chip now has high resolution artwork and the custom colors of the individual casino. The chips might also have markings incorporated that will only show under ultraviolet light. And the latest security feature in some new chips is to have embedded radio frequency ID tags, making them easier to track and harder to counterfeit.

These security measures may not be enough, however, in this high tech age. Casino chips, even with current security features, may eventually disappear. Token-counting windows have already given way in many cases to machines that receive the chips and eject a receipt that is taken to a cash window. But now there are a few experiments involving a pre-paid money card, used with a reader right at the gaming table. It’s possible that if this catches on, the long, interesting history of the casino poker chip may come to a close, leaving nothing but stories and the aura of a legend.

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