We’ve added a few new products to our website this week including some new KEM playing cards as well as a few sets of NO CASH VALUE chips.
“No Cash Value” you’re asking?? Why in the world would anyone want a chip that had NO cash value? Well believe it or not there are quite a few no cash value (herein referred to as NCV) collectors out there. NCV chips are generally used in tournaments or casino promotions. Technically roulette chips are also NCV’s but most chip collectors put them into their own category.
This is a check, it has a $5 denomination printed on it.
This is a chip, there is no denomination printed on it.
So now I need to take an even bigger step backwards and explain the difference between a “chip” and a “check” (or “cheque”). A broad simple definition is that a check has a printed denomination on it and a chip does not. While most collectors refer to all checks AND chips as simply chips, there is a definite difference between the two.
There are several reasons that people like to collect these types of NCV chips. The first one being the “thrill of the hunt”. Since you cannot buy these chips directly from the casino cashier cage it is often much more difficult to acquire them. You need to either enter a casino sponsored tournament and pocket a few or you need to sign up for a promotion and then never play them on the gaming table as intended. A secondary reason that some collectors go after the NCV’s is their scarcity. They are almost always made in much smaller quantities than a regular house chip and therefore might have a higher value somewhere down the road due to their rarity.
In general we find that at this point in time most NCV’s have not escalated tremendously in value as quickly as a house check from the exact same casino BUT our hobby is still relatively young and there’s no telling what could happen with these chips 10, 20, 30 years (or more) down the road as our hobby grows and rarer chips become more collectible and more desirable.
We added two sets of NCV’s to our web site, both from Wendover which is located in the central, eastern part of the state bordering Utah. Many Salt Lake City residents looking for the closest Nevada casinos make the easy 90 mile trip across the Bonneville Salt Flats on I-80 each day to place their wagers or just to get away from their home state of Utah which shuns gaming in just about every form.
Just like downtown Las Vegas has it’s “Vegas Vic” cowboy character and Laughlin has it’s own “River Rick”, Wendover too has a similar icon named “Wendover Will”. He is actually prominently featured on the State Line NCV chips. These are a great looking set of three chips that can be had for one low price (only FIVE bucks!). They are full graphic PaulSon chips which means that the chip’s graphics extend past the usual center inlay area of it. You can get your own set by clicking on the image to the left or just CLICK HERE.
The Silver Smith is located just down the road from the State Line but it’s name has changed since these chips were made and used. It’s now called the Montego Bay. These chips are very same full graphic PaulSon chips as the State Line and better yet can be had at the same low, low price despite the casino name change. Again just click the image to the right or CLICK HERE to get your own three-piece set.
Tags: No Cash Value Chips
