Casino Chips Colorado

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Casinos in Colorado get special treatment under the law when it comes to keeping someone else’s money. Abandoned or accidentally left behind chips, cash or credits. We have created a resource for information and history on gaming memorabilia - chips, tokens, dice, slot cards, playing cards etc. Browse our website and take advantage of the experts who have volunteered their expertise, review one of the largest archives of gaming manufacturer records, see which chips being sold today are real and which are. Each casino has their own custom-designed chip with a monetary value and casino name on the chip. Chips are color coded based on the basic values of chips of $1, $5, $10, $25, and up with variations for games like blackjack. In our visual casino chip database you will find many different chip variations across the denominations.

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For three months, Colorado casino operations were at a standstill, after the state closed gambling venues to flatten the COVID-19 curve. That closure led to a massive financial hit for the gaming industry, with many workers furloughed or laid off.

In June, the state allowed casinos to reopen under strict public-health guidelines. Slot machines were allowed, but table games such as blackjack and craps — key revenue generators for many casinos — remained forbidden.

'Playing a slot machine is basically the most socially isolating thing you can do. It’s one human with an inanimate object,' says David Farahi, chief operating officer of the Monarch Casino and Resort in Black Hawk. 'With table games, at a minimum, you have a dealer and a player. Because it’s more challenging to make it safe, I think that’s the reason why the state didn’t allow table games at the onset.'

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And that meant more hardship for Gilpin County, which gets 85 percent of its budget from the gaming industry.

'One of the things that was a little disappointing coming from the [state] was that in that initial variance, it had a few extra things, like, 'In two weeks, we'll revisit opening table games,' explains Ron Engels, a Gilpin County commissioner. 'Two weeks came and went, and then nothing. Those two weeks turned into two months.'

Finally, on September 8, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment granted three counties permission to move to the Protect Our Neighbors level of operations, with less stringent guidelines, because the counties had met certain goals related to case numbers, health care and testing capacity. Rio Blanco and Mesa counties made the cut. So did Gilpin.

With that status change, casinos in the Gilpin County gaming towns of Black Hawk and Central City are now able to offer table games — though they will look much different this time around.

'Since Colorado is the only state that allowed casinos to open with slot machines only and not table games, there are some best practices that have been developed across the country that we’re going to deploy here in Colorado,' says Farahi.

At Monarch, table games will now be 'touch-free on the cards,' according to Farahi. So for blackjack, the only version of the game that will be allowed is one in which the first card is dealt face up, like all of the other face-up cards in a player's hand. That way, only the dealer will be touching the cards. There will be hand sanitizer at every table, and casino workers will sanitize chips throughout the day.

Monarch guests interested in playing games that require a player to touch cards, such as pai gow poker, will be out of luck, however. 'We decided to not offer that game right now so that we can avoid that issue,' says Farahi.

But it will have craps. 'The shooter will sanitize their hands before shooting,' explains table games manager Steve Zlobin. 'The dice will be sanitized as well. When the shooter changes, the dice will again be sanitized and the shooter will sanitize before they shoot. Rinse and repeat.”

All of these precautions add to what Monarch has been doing since it was able to turn its slot machines back on in June. Staffers, including the hundred or so dealers who are about to restart work, are being tested for COVID. Surfaces in the casino have been covered with an antimicrobial coating designed to protect them from germs and viruses, and they're being cleaned more frequently. Air circulation has been increased. And, of course, everyone inside the casinos must wear masks.

Although slot machines generate the most money for casinos, table games play a key role in the gaming business — and not just because they generate the second-highest revenue for a place like Monarch.

'There are couples. One person likes table games, another likes slots. If there are no table games, neither comes,' explains Farahi. 'Another way where it’s really meaningful is that there are literally thousands of dealers here in the industry in Colorado who have mostly been out of work.'

Monarch is bringing back nearly all of its dealers, and other dealers are returning to other casinos in the county. Teller County, which is home to Cripple Creek, Colorado's third gaming town, still hasn't received the green light from the state to reopen table games. “Counties that cannot meet the Protect our Neighbors criteria have disease transmission levels that present increased risk, particularly in situations where people are indoors and unable to socially distance,' according to the Colorado State Joint Information Center.

As casinos expand their offerings in Gilpin County, the numbers may start to turn in their favor after a bleak spring and disappointing summer. But it's going to take a while for the county itself to come back.

'For the next several years, we’re going to be hurting,' Engels says.

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'Notorious' casino chips sell for $1m

Collectors are cashing in their chips... Old tokens from infamous 20th century casinos can be prized assets

There's finally a way to beat the bank at Casinos... by collecting casino chips.

On Monday, an eBay seller incredibly made $1,000 for a single $25 chip from the Golden Nugget casino in Las Vegas.

Why did it sell for so much? Answer: it was a vintage chip.

Last week, for instance, a $1 chip for the Alpine Club in Nevada - which operated between 1944-55 - brought its seller $455.

Elsewhere, a 50 chip from the Mint Pan Room in Las Vegas sold for $400.

The previous day, a bidder offered $320 to win a $25 chip from the 1930s Town House casino in Reno, Nevada, which was destroyed by a blaze started by its leaseholder in 1955.

'You need to be quite selective in the chips you collect if you want to do it as an investment - or be prepared to hang onto them long, long term,' says Michael Behiel, a collector from Regina, talking to The Financial Post.

The value of Mr Behiel's 1,200-chip hoard has tripled in value over the last 10 years, he says.

'I tried for a while to do flips for profit and found that most of the mainstream chips around today are far too common to even break even on.'

Unlike stocks and shares, which are all about money and profit, casino chip collectors - many ardent gamblers themselves - cherish what they own for the stories and history attached.

For chip collectors, rarity and condition are also crucial factors.

A set of five rare Lilly Belle $25 chips from the Black Hawk Casino in Colorado attracted 23 bids on eBay, selling for US$639.09. Only 45 of the chips were ever made in 1992.

Fascinatingly, the 'notoriety' of the casino can add value to the chips. And notoriety and casinos often go hand-in-hand...

For instance, the Aladdin, Circus Circus, Desert Inn, Dunes, and El Cortez, for instance, were all owned by gangsters.

And casino chips, like other collectibles, has its 'holy grails'...

In October, 2005, a huge collection of 6,600 casino chips and tokens, The Platinum Collection, many from casinos that closed between the 1930s to the 1950s, sold on eBay for an astonishing $1m.

Mr Behiel's collection includes a valued chip, inlayed with 24K gold flake. It is so valued because the its casino's 85 year-old owner, Leonard Schoen, died before it could be used.

Schoen's business associates were convicted felons, his children fought over his wealth and his daughter in-law was murdered - leading Schoen to commit suicide in 1999.

In 1947, Flamingo owner Bugsy Siegel was shot through a window; his successor at the Flamingo and his wife were murdered; and casino builder Tony 'the Hat' Cornero died of suspected poisoning while at a craps table in 1955.

Whether its Schoen's suicide of Siegel's murder, notoriety and stories can boost the value of collector's chips.

List Of Colorado Casinos

Collectors generally trade with each other, exchanging chips they can get locally.

However, one risk for collectors is when a flood of chips from a long-closed casino will be released on the market.

Indian Casino Near Durango Co

'This certainly has a detrimental effect on the values,' says Mr Behiel.

Casino Chips Colorado

Asked if he was a gambler, Mr. Smith says: 'My wife and I have a motto: Since we can't win them, we buy them!' he told the Financial Post.

Photo: `Pacdog