History<\/h2>\n\n\n\nB.C.: \u201cBefore Chips\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The human urge to play games of risk predates written history. Evidence of gambling dates all the way back to the Paleolithic period. The very first discovery of a six-sided die occurred in Mesopotamia. The die dates back to approximately 3000 B.C. These dice are so ancient that they were based on the now-obsolete system of astragalomancy, a form of divination with special marks consisting of letters and numbers, dating back thousands of years earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Around 2300 B.C., the Chinese invented a separate game of chance using tiles. Their most popular gambling game today? Another tile-based game you might have heard of is mahjong. This is a game that can be tricky to learn as it depends on basic knowledge of Chinese characters and even trickier to improve at.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then, more than one thousand years later, in Greece, the soldiers would amuse themselves by playing dice games against each other, in spite of the fact that gambling in general was illegal in ancient Greece.<\/p>\n\n\n
![\"Horizontal-pull-quote\"](\"https:\/\/www.planet7casino.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Horizontal-pull-quote.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nPoker is perhaps the most well-known of today\u2019s casino games that\u2019s associated with the use of these tokens \u2013 hence the name poker chips. This card game is based on a game called As-Nas, which originated in 17th<\/sup>-century Persia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our predisposition to gamble is an inherently human activity that goes back before recorded history. But it wasn\u2019t always as standardized an industry as it is today. Established in Venice in 1638, the Ridotto is believed to be the first European casino. Although it was closed in 1774, casinos began to rise in popularity not long after, spreading all over the world and continuing to develop in this day and age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although casinos themselves became more common, casino chips didn\u2019t always exist. The counters that most resembled modern casino chips as a concept were used to keep score in the card game Ombre, which originated in Spain, as well as an eighteenth-century variant called Quadrille.<\/p>\n\n\n In the year 1752, French Quadrille sets contained counters known as jettons, fiches and mils. Unlike the poker chips of today, their colors did not mark the monetary value of the individual chip but rather indicated player ownership. This was to facilitate the process of dealing with separate payouts for multiple players at the conclusion of each game. Instead of today\u2019s conventional circular shape, these counters indicated denominations through the different shapes of each type.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As gambling became more and more common in the United States, bets were placed with many valuable objects. Coins were accepted of course, but it was also normal to place wagers with gold dust or gold nuggets. The most significant in the evolution of casino tokens? 19th<\/sup>-century gamblers began to use \u201cchips\u201d fashioned out of materials like ivory, bone, wood, and clay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The game rules, establishments, and laws surrounding gambling have become much more sophisticated over time. In the late 1800s, companies had already begun to standardize the betting system, mostly by manufacturing clay composition poker chips. The dominant colors at the time were red, yellow, white, and blue.<\/p>\n\n\n Black, green, and, in some cases, pink have since joined the most commonly used colors in the United States. $1 chips are typically white or blue, $5 chips are red, $25 chips are green or yellow, $50 chips are blue, and $100 chips are either black or white. Pink chips are less common and are usually worth $2.50.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Regulation of chips was a natural development for obvious reasons. As casinos became a highly lucrative business, it became more and more important to have a trustworthy way to keep track of bets. After all, the human impulse to cheat or take advantage of others in order to win stretches back just as far as the age-old attraction of simply playing these games of chance themselves. For that reason, unified establishment of a credible currency became a necessity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Countries rely heavily on a complex, difficult-to-duplicate currency to ensure that the economy runs smoothly and that consumers\u2019 security is maintained. Casino chips are the currency of the \u201cworld\u201d of each individual casino, what makes the system run efficiently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To create authentic chips, companies had to come up with innovative designs that were difficult to replicate. Just as there are many security features added regularly to real, paper money, chips needed to have complex and unique designs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This also requires more and more new versions to ensure that the chips keep up with technological advancements. Many people who don\u2019t necessarily play at casinos have become collectors, and there are now online sources that help people identify chips by state, city, casino type, casino name, and denomination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The chips also serve another significant function: they put the players\u2019 minds at ease. They\u2019ve exchanged their cash for chips, and they want to be free to play without inhibitions. Having a set of colorful tokens in front of you allows you to play without getting caught up in your head about how much money you might lose. You don\u2019t want to play with a mental burden that can cause you to second guess yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nearly all tokens contain clay, like in the beginning. Otherwise, they consist of a material like sand or chalk or are made of ceramic. There are typically pieces on the edges where the material is removed and material of a different color is inserted. Chips also often contain an inlay, the graphics that are embedded into the center of the chip. The final step in construction is a heated compression process that binds everything together and molds the chip into its final shape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s difficult to find more detailed information about how chips are made. Each chip manufacturer has its own ways of creating a unique effect. This also varies from casino to casino. But dispensing that information would make it easier for players to create counterfeit tokens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The chips have features like custom colors, UV markings, high-resolution art, and sometimes even RFID technology. This combination, as well as casino staff\u2019s acute familiarity with the chips\u2019 tiniest details, prove successful in preventing counterfeiting in most cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, no system is perfect. There have been some inevitable hiccups that occur with widespread systems where money is involved, particularly with counterfeiting. Whenever it comes to winning money, there are always those who will try to beat the system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One such incident occurred in January of 2014, at the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa in Atlantic City. The casino was holding its regular Winter Poker Open as scheduled. Everything appeared to be going exactly as planned. The tournament was well underway, down to only twenty-seven remaining players out of an original 4,814 players, all of whom had paid a buy-in of $560.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Suddenly, the unthinkable happened. Tournament officials discovered that the $2 million guaranteed opening event may have been compromised by counterfeit chips. After an investigation, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement determined that the damage caused by the fake chips was too extensive. It could not be undone. At that point, the casino was forced to cancel the tournament. This was a devastating development for the remaining players who were competing for a top prize of $372,123.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Predecessor of Today\u2019s Casino Token<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Poker-table-with-cards-cow-boy-hat-and-gold-nuggets\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Poker-table-with-cards-cow-boy-hat-and-gold-nuggets.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nStandardization<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Pile-of-casino-chips-of-different-colors\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Pile-of-casino-chips-of-different-colors-1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nCasino chips are casino currency<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Construction<\/h2>\n\n\n
![\"Machine-producing-casino-chips-in-a-factory\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Machine-producing-casino-chips-in-a-factory.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nDrawbacks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Counterfeit casino chips<\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"fake](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/bunch-of-casino-chips-locked-with-a-chain-and-a-padlock.jpg\")
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