About ten years ago, I was given the unusual task of using a UV light to inspect all of the floats (the racks that hold the chips) at the casino I worked for.
A player at the tables was passing off fake $100 black checks when the cage realized they were being used. Later, innocently arriving players from other teams started joining them at the cage.
In the end, we discovered 68 of them, primarily on the craps tables, but also some signs of bonus fără depunere.
Though it may seem like this sort of activity frequently occurs, creating a fake chip is actually a time-consuming and nearly always fruitless endeavor.
The fact that each casino’s chip will be unique is one of the first disadvantages. Each casino’s value checks differ from the neighbors in terms of material, weight, color, and feel.
Really, you would need to focus.
It’s also simpler to get caught when dealing with a single Casino online Spinbetter.
How Difficult It Is To Make Fake Chips
Known variously as checks, cheques, and tokens, casino chips are typically made of molded plastic or “clay.” They differ from one casino to the next in terms of weight, style, design, markings, and color, as was already mentioned.
In casinos, chips are typical all the same color and come in the following value denominations:
- White – $1
- Red – $5
- Green – $25
- Black – $100
- Purple – $500
- Orange – $1,000
However, if you talk to any artists or designers or simply decide to repaint your house, you’ll quickly discover that there are more variations of each of these colors than you can possibly imagine.
Therefore, despite the fact that all casinos may have green $25 chips, the precise shade is unique and can be challenging for counterfeiters to match.
Because of this, the majority of forgers begin by using $1 (white) checks from the casino they intend to target. They are made of a material that is appropriate for counterfeiting higher-value chips, which helps with weight and feel.
It’s still very challenging to paint a white chip the right shade of black without changing its weight or feel, though.
The color of the stripes is also consistent across all chips, in addition to the black.
Even if con artists can precisely match the shades, remember to look for UV markings and keep the weight and feel consistent; each chip still has an inlay.
Depending on the chip’s value, it may also have a ton of other security features in addition to the casino and denomination.
High-value casino chips are incredibly difficult to duplicate, thanks to features like holograms, microdots, and color-shifting ink.
In high-limit rooms in Las Vegas and Macau, some even have radio frequency transmitters (also known as RFID chips) built in.
If You’re Caught, You’ll Face Serious Repercussions
However, the truth is that few counterfeiters avoid producing fake chips because of the effort involved.
Every casino keeps track of high-value chips because of Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering regulations.
Consider that you are making a purchase with chips that are more expensive than $500 or $1,000 (purple or orange). In that case, the floor supervisor summons security, who then takes a photo of you.
Anyone should be wary of the sheer number of cameras and the ability to track practically individual checks by reviewing surveillance footage from weeks or even months ago.
The staff at the casino will work very hard to get your name and ID if you try to buy in with high-value chips. They will become more suspicious if you fail at that.
The US government requires that the casinos obtain your ID and SSN before allowing you to play if you try to buy in or cash out more than $10K. Laws against money laundering exist in other nations as well.
If you want to avoid expensive fines and jail time, we advise you to stay away from this shady business. Getting caught using fake casino chips can result in a number of felonies.
The Most Common Counterfeit Check Size is $100
Chips with a higher value are easily spotted and easy to follow.
Since it takes too long to meticulously hand paint and replace the inlays on smaller denomination chips, most forgers stick to $100 checks.
On the dark web, Asian businesses at one point used to sell fake inlays. They would print off the inlays if you sent them the chip.
This led to slight ease in counterfeiting, but at a high cost. Thus, it was all but guaranteed that the $100 chip would be the one targeted.
Some of these operations may have been shut down by US Customs as a result of pressure from casinos, or they may simply have descended even deeper into the shadows.
There were some things that our mentioned counterfeiter had clearly planned for, but not others.
Various Hustles, Scams, and Frauds
In a real casino, your chances of getting a fake chip are extremely slim.
But outside of the casino, shoppers should exercise caution. Over time, counterfeiters have come to the simple conclusion that passing chips outside of casinos is much safer than doing so inside.
Since Las Vegas’ founding, casino chip fraud has been a problem. Bait and switch fraud, in particular, involves having your real chips exchanged for fake ones.
However, passing fake chips off as real ones is still a local favorite despite the fact that millions of unwary tourists make it a hotspot for all kinds of scams.
Understanding all of the security features in every chip in the entire city is not the trick in this situation.
It is not allowing another person to convince you of something by appealing to your greed.
You shouldn’t even consider buying an orange chip ($1,000) for $700 because the seller doesn’t have an ID and can’t cash it out, or because he was kicked out of the casino and is unable to enter again, or for any other reason. This is similar to not falling for the Nigerian Prince who wants to deposit millions into your bank account.
It appears that one of the more complex con games I recall hearing about in the early 1990s is still common today.
If something seems too good to be true, it probably is, probably more so in Las Vegas than anywhere else in the world.
Make the authenticity of the chips you’re trying to cash in one of a thousand other things to gamble on instead.
