Hello,
This is simply a public service announcement for those who use Milano chips that The Poker Store currently has really good stock of them. I am not affiliated with them in any way. I have used Milanos as my tournament set for many years, and some relabels in certain cash denominations as well. As many have experienced, their quality and small details has varied greatly from year to year (and some say factory to factory). All of the first batch I ordered back in 2015 had a nice brownish color to the denominations, standing out from the rest of the black ink, with a subtle shading to the labels that became the standard for me. But later, when I bought stock from other stores on a couple occasions, I got black denominations, darker shading to the labels, and sometimes even a different denomination size. It was a bit frustrating. Also, the one barrel of orange 10ks I got had very uneven and pale coloring, almost white on the edges, even after oiling. I am someone who can have a bad habit of obsessing over small details of items - which I'm sure is a common trait among PCF members. I like China clay for its affordability, and I like having too many chips, being ready for any situation that might arise in tournament or cash games. So China clay fits the bill - but the downfall of sets like Milano and even sometimes of Pharaoh's is inconsistencies in labels, coloring, and other qualities.
So anyway, I recently bought 200 of various denominations of Milano from The Poker Store, expanding my set, and was very pleasantly surprised by how bright and vibrant all the colors were. Especially the Oranges- they were perfect! So I had to buy more. I got another 500. I use the blues as 5,000, and got some pinks as "donor" chips for the new blues (because nowadays it costs less to just buy those extra chips than to get nice custom labels). And the pinks look so good - although they are not my favorite chip - that I'm gonna keep them and find something to do with them. I think I will use them for Bounty chips (which will of course need some labels). All 5 pinks that I had bought in sample sets back in the day look washed out and pale (even after oiling), part of why I never wanted to use them for anything.
So that's it really, just a tip for Milano fans that there is a store you can get really nice bright ones right now. For all I know, all the new stock of Milano anywhere might be this good (they may have worked out their quality control issues). Or, these might somehow be *old* stock that this store got a hold of by chance. No idea. But thought I would pass along the info.
I did find one negative thing in the black 100s though - a strange over-beveling and off-center beveling in several of them in that particular denomination. Kind of annoying; you get one problem solved just for others to crop up. But anyway, colors and labels are all very nice, so if you're looking to add to your set, now's the time.
This is simply a public service announcement for those who use Milano chips that The Poker Store currently has really good stock of them. I am not affiliated with them in any way. I have used Milanos as my tournament set for many years, and some relabels in certain cash denominations as well. As many have experienced, their quality and small details has varied greatly from year to year (and some say factory to factory). All of the first batch I ordered back in 2015 had a nice brownish color to the denominations, standing out from the rest of the black ink, with a subtle shading to the labels that became the standard for me. But later, when I bought stock from other stores on a couple occasions, I got black denominations, darker shading to the labels, and sometimes even a different denomination size. It was a bit frustrating. Also, the one barrel of orange 10ks I got had very uneven and pale coloring, almost white on the edges, even after oiling. I am someone who can have a bad habit of obsessing over small details of items - which I'm sure is a common trait among PCF members. I like China clay for its affordability, and I like having too many chips, being ready for any situation that might arise in tournament or cash games. So China clay fits the bill - but the downfall of sets like Milano and even sometimes of Pharaoh's is inconsistencies in labels, coloring, and other qualities.
So anyway, I recently bought 200 of various denominations of Milano from The Poker Store, expanding my set, and was very pleasantly surprised by how bright and vibrant all the colors were. Especially the Oranges- they were perfect! So I had to buy more. I got another 500. I use the blues as 5,000, and got some pinks as "donor" chips for the new blues (because nowadays it costs less to just buy those extra chips than to get nice custom labels). And the pinks look so good - although they are not my favorite chip - that I'm gonna keep them and find something to do with them. I think I will use them for Bounty chips (which will of course need some labels). All 5 pinks that I had bought in sample sets back in the day look washed out and pale (even after oiling), part of why I never wanted to use them for anything.
So that's it really, just a tip for Milano fans that there is a store you can get really nice bright ones right now. For all I know, all the new stock of Milano anywhere might be this good (they may have worked out their quality control issues). Or, these might somehow be *old* stock that this store got a hold of by chance. No idea. But thought I would pass along the info.
I did find one negative thing in the black 100s though - a strange over-beveling and off-center beveling in several of them in that particular denomination. Kind of annoying; you get one problem solved just for others to crop up. But anyway, colors and labels are all very nice, so if you're looking to add to your set, now's the time.
