The Chip Room Poker Chip Reviews

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These are Chinese-made clay compression poker chips that mimic the look and feel of the Paulson Pharaoh's poker chips, but at half the cost. They feature the same colors as the original Paulson Pharaoh's chips which are no longer available. The Pharaoh's Club poker chips are available in all the standard colors and denominations from 5� to $5000 and would be appropriate for tournaments or cash games. They are similar to the Dunes Commemorative chips reviewed below so I will not go into much detail about the construction and feel of these chips.

The labels on these chips are 28mm (1.1 inches) in diameter which is a bit larger than the Dunes chips. The script around the clay perimeter of the chip says "Pharaoh's" and includes an Egyptian symbol (glyph). Interestingly, the symbol on the 25�, $5, $25 and $1000 chips differ from the symbol on the 5�, $1, $100, $500 and $5000 chips.

Sample diameters were 39.83, 39.97, 39.83, 39.74, 39.84, 39.96, 39.84, 39.82 and 39.86mm. Nine chips stacked together was 30.4mm in height (3.38mm per chip). Sample weights were 9.88, 9.78, 9.77, 9.37, 9.94, 9.53, 9.66, 9.64 and 9.65 grams.

These chips are available from TheChipRoom.com. The cost is 42� per chip which is less than half the price of what the Paulson chip cost. This is a good price for a nice poker chip.

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These Dunes Commemorative poker chips were used in the legendary Las Vegas Dunes Hotel and Country Club. They are the same basic mold, style, and colors as the original poker chips used in the Dunes Casino which was in operation from 1955 to 1993.

These chips are the latest in a series of injection molded clay poker chips from China. They have a nice feel and sound to them. They are somewhat similar to the Paulson poker chips but are just a touch less significant. They have a bit less of a clay feel to them and the clack sound is just a touch fainter than the Paulson's. They feel slightly more plasticy than a Paulson/ASM/TRKing/BCC poker chip. Overall, this chip is probably closest to the ProGen poker chips, but again, are a bit more plasticy, but not by much. They stack fairly well, again, not as good as a Paulson but more like a ProGen or NexGen chip. The perimeter of the chip features the word 'Dunes' engraved into the chip and works very well. There is a slight crosshatch pattern on the face of the chip.

Every chip features four very nice tri-color edge spots. Most of the edge spots contrast nicely with the base color of the chip but are quite heavy and give the chip a bit of a busy look. All the edge spots were aligned perfectly between the face and the rolling edge of the chip. There are no edge ridges on this chip.

The recessed label could just barely be peeled off with a fingernail. All of the labels are perfectly round but several create the illusion of being scalloped or cogged with the use of colors. The red $5 chip is not really scalloped but the red color on the perimeter of the round label certainly gives that illusion. The effect is quite convincing and I didn't even notice it at first - I thought the label was truly scalloped. Each label features an easy-to-read denomination printed in bright red numbers. Denominations range from 50� to $25,000. Every chip except the $500 uses the standard denomination/color - the $500 chip is white instead of purple.

Samples weights were 8.82, 8.91, 8.92, 9.12, 9.46, 9.41, 9.00, 8.78, 8.84, and 8.95 grams. Sample diameters were 39.96, 39.83, 40.00, 39.69, 39.89, 39.67, 39.88, 39.96, 39.71, and 39.87mm. Ten chips stacked together was 34.30mm in height.

At 35� per chip, these poker chips are situated midway between the NexGen style of chips at about 20� each and the lower end clay chips at 50� and above. They are a lovely chip that will appeal to any old school poker chip connoisseur. These chips are available from TheChipRoom.com.

These Military poker chips are a 9.25 gram clay-filled poker chip that feature U.S. military service labels - Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force. These chips are somewhat similar to the Dunes Commemorative poker chips reviewed above. They are a Chinese-made clay/composite injection molded chip. The mold has the service name and emblem engraved in the perimeter of the chip. There is no metal insert, rather there is a clay-filled slug within the chip.

These chips have the same style of false labels as the Dunes Commemorative chips. The labels are perfectly round but achieve the illusion of being cogged through the use of color. Some of the labels were slightly off-center , as can be seen on the white chip shown above, but this was not a big problem.

The chips are available in eight different colors with three bi-color edge spots that contrast nicely with the base color of the chip.

Sample weights were 8.98, 9.21, 9.20, 8.92, 9.32, and 9.11 grams. Sample diameters were 39.85, 39.90, 39.84, 39.66, 39.89, and 39.86mm. Ten chips stacked together was 34.02mm in height.

This chip is also available as an 11.5 gram metal insert poker chip, but only in a Navy Seal design. The metal insert chips are a bit more expensive than the clay-filled chips. These chips are available from TheChipRoom.com.

These are Caesars Palace at Sea poker chips. They are a Bud Jones poker chip made for a cruise ship, but were never used. The chips that I was sent for review were all brand new but there are also some Caesars Palace at Sea chips that are very slightly used. One side of the poker chip features the familiar Caesars Palace logo and the denomination printed in letters. The other side of the chip features the Crystal Cruises logo, the denomination printed in numbers, and the words Harmony - Symphony - Serenity along the bottom. The denominations are very easy to read from a distance.

The vinyl label could not be removed with a fingernail but came off in one solid piece using a knife. Each chip denomination features a different edge spot. Some chips have solid spots while others feature stripes.

Sample diameters were 39.40, 39.42, 39.41, 39.44, and 39.37mm. Five chips stacked together was 16.61mm thick. Sample chip weights were 8.92, 8.87, 8.97, 8.60, and 8.86 grams.

I have always had mixed feelings about Bud Jones poker chips - they are a very good chip, but to me, they feel a bit plasticy, almost like a composite poker chip. The chips are rather slick to the touch and the label is also somewhat slick. Sound-wise they are very nice and they stack okay. May 2007

January 2013. These poker chips are no longer available from TheChipRoom.

These Desert Palms poker chips are very nice Blue Chips with lovely colors and matching labels. Notice how the palm tree leaves are green on the green chip but black on the black chip. Each chip color has it's own matching label. The nice base colors with matching labels make for a very pleasing poker chip.

The mold has DESERT PALMS a palm tree and then LAS VEGAS, NV engraved into it. `Like the other newer Blue Chips that I have reviewed, these chips are a bit better quality than the older Blue Chips. The labels are centered, which is unusual for older Blue Chips, and the overall feel of the chip is smoother and more machined. The edges are very sharp but will mellow with age.

The labels could not be peeled off with a fingernail. Using a knife, I could dig into the label to remove a rather thick plastic film that covers the entire label. I scratched the label using a knife before I removed the plastic covering, and to my surprise, the knife marks did not penetrate through the plastic. After peeling off the plastic film, I could not peel off the label, it is permanently glued down into the base of the chip.

The label colors match perfectly with the base color of the chip. These are some of the nicest label and chip color combinations that I have seen. The only bad thing about the label is the bi-color border, which makes the overall size of the center graphics somewhat smaller. There are denominations ($) printed on the labels. The chip colors are white 1, brown 2, pink 3, green 25, black 100, purple 500, and yellow 1000.

There are three or four single or multi-colored edge spots, depending on the chip denomination. The edge spots contrast nicely with the base colors of the chip. The 50� chip has no edge spots and is hot-stamped rather than labeled. There are slight edge ridges on these chips.

The chips were 39.02, 39.03, 39.02, 39.03, 38.97, 38.99, 39.01, 38.98, and 38.99mm in diameter. Nine chips stacked together was 30.09mm thick which makes each chip 3.34mm thick. Sample chip weights were 8.04, 7.85, 8.71, 8.51, 8.05, and 7.88 grams.

The sound and feel of these chips is very nice. The newer Blue Chips feel a bit more solid than the older Blue Chips. They have a nice clack to them. They stack well and are some of the least slippery chips that I have reviewed. The feel of the clay is excellent and the mold has just the right amount of engraving.

The chips cost 85� each and are well worth the money. They are some of the best looking, and best feeling chips that I have reviewed. They are available from TheChipRoom.com.

These Desert Palms poker chips are a variant of the Desert Palms poker chip that is reviewed above. They are a composite poker chip that uses the same mold and the same matching colored labels. These chips are not made by Blue Chip, they are made in China and are advertised as 100% clay composite poker chips. They cost 1/3 the price.

So how are they different from the chips reviewed above? They weigh 9.5 grams. They have paper labels that are glued on to the chip. They have a somewhat more hollow sound than the Blue Chip mold. They feel a bit slicker and are more slippery. The feel is a bit similar to a NexGen chip but does not have that somewhat chalky feeling of a NexGen.

There are eight denominations available plus another six non-denomination (tournament) chips available. All the labels match the base color of the chip - the purple chip has a label with a purple background and the yellow chip has a label with a yellow background. I could just barely peel the label off with my fingernail. It came off in one piece and is a paper label with a separate clear acrylic (plastic) on top. I could not scratch the label with my fingernail and had to gouge at it with a knife to get it to scratch. You have to dig down through the plastic before you can get to the paper label.

There is a crosshatch pattern in the border of the mold and the edges are fairly sharp. The edge spots line up with the face of the chip. They are bi-color and, except for the brown $2 chip, contrast nicely with the base color of the chip. There are no edge ridges.

These chips were 39.55, 39.72, 39.78, 39.49, 39.53, 39.38, and 39.35mm in diameter. Ten chips stacked together was 34.15mm thick. Sample chip weights were 9.34, 9.47, 9.72, 9.58, 9.19, 9.21, 9.16, and 9.27 grams.

The sound is a bit hollow and most closely resembles the 10g version of The Soprano's Six Stripe poker chips. These chips weigh a bit more than the Blue Chip version, but sound more hollow.

The cost of these chips is 25� each. This puts them in the same category as the NexGen poker chips and numerous other 11.5 gram composite chips. Clearly, this chip at 25� is an excellent deal! They have wonderful edge spots, labels that match the base color of the chip, and an okay feel and sound. I've seen some pretty sickly 11.5 gram composite chips with labels sold for as much as 50� each, so these chips are a very good value. They are available from TheChipRoom.com.