A customer e-mail prompts a discussion about chip prices (1 Viewer)

dennis63

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Yesterday, I got an e-mail from a customer looking to buy some Key West chips. He got samples and loved them, but the price of $1.39 per chip was not within his budget. After noting that these chips "were not Paulson" chips, he asked what I would really charge for a set. But he was polite and friendly, as was my response to him.

His message was clear. He thinks I get Key West chips from Classic Poker Chips for half price, or wholesale, or something, and wanted to know if he could get a deal on a set of Key Wests. He used "Paulson" as a synonym for "better," which tells me he is new to the chip world. Paulson makes a great chip, and will make one for you as soon as you get a casino license. And Key Wests are not Paulsons. But Paulsons are not Key Wests, either.

Since I bought the Key West line from Apache Poker chips a few years ago, I've been part of several conversations about pricing with industry professionals. Some of the things I've learned would surprise many of you, and some are the private business of others, and can't be discussed.

But if you are considering Key West chips -- or any other high-end clay casino chip -- I can offer some real information about cost and price. Read to the end, and I think you'll be shocked.

First, I wish it were the early 2000s again. I was younger, thinner, and had better hair... or more hair... or just "hair." And casino chips were selling for around $1 per chip. "Boutique chips," like Sidespot's offerings, were priced at $1.25 per chip even then.

Second, Key West chips are not Paulson chips. They're also not used Paulson casino chips, available in limited quantities and certain denominations. Key West chips are brand new, mint chips from the factory, and you can buy any quantity in any denomination with no waiting. You can also get matching playing cards, dealer buttons and other Key West themed items, or suggest an item you'd like to see made with a Key West logo on it. They're made in the United States, not Mexico. And you can also be sure that if you buy a set, you'll be able to get more in the future.

Today, my company buys Key West chips from Classic Poker Chips in large quantities and offers them for resale for $1.39 per chip to members of PCF. When I need to restock, I pay Classic's current price for level one chips. (Key West chips are level one edge spot chips.)

So how do we get our price down to $1.39? First, CPC send some extra in each shipment, reducing our actual "per chip" cost. That savings is passed to you.

Next, we have over 10,000 chips in stock at any time, and some were bought when prices were lower. The NCV chips we sell are from the original minting of Key Wests in 2004 at the old ASM, Portland, as no other version of the company has ever made an NCV Key West chip. (If you have a Key West NCV chip, it's from the original run in 2004.)

That means our "average" chip cost will always be lower than current chip prices. We bring the price down a little more with part of the profits from the sale of other items. And our blue Key West "Live" chips actually create revenue for the company just by existing. The $1 paid for each $1 chip is invested in high-yield peer-to-peer lending, so we make over 1 cent per chip per month for every blue $1 chip in circulation. It's not the massive profits a casino might see from winning that chip back from a player 10 times a day, but it's something.

In the end, we're offering a brand new, real clay casino chip that should retail for around $1.75 for $1.39 per chip. (Sidespot is offering a similar clay chip on a nice mold for $1.49 each when and if they're in stock. I have a sample set, on the cigar and snifter mold. I think the Key West mold, colors and inlay are much nicer.)

I bought the Key West line of chips to keep the chips available for people who already have a set of Key West chips and would like more, and for people who always wanted a set but never got around to it. We've added denominations to make the Key West line a great choice for micro-cash, cash, or tournament play, and even a $2.50 chip for that blackjack table. We've also created solid roulette Key West chips which can double as a non-denominated chip, and have an array of other Key West items for your table like Key West playing cards and dealer buttons.

And the thing most people don't know? If you hit the Powerball tonight for $200 million and decide to open your own casino, you might call GPI to have some nice custom Paulsons made. But if you do, get ready. I understand they'll charge you about the same as CPC's current prices for each chip, if you're willing to meet their minimums.

I think it would be smarter to call David, David and Jim B at CPC.
 
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The ability to choose your exact breakdown is huge. What people don't realize, is when you decide to stop making Key West chips, or CPC closes its doors, you will be stuck with a random inventory breakdown that you will need to sell off at a loss. Once your workhorse chips are gone, and people can't order complete sets.....Discount City!
 
The ability to choose your exact breakdown is huge. What people don't realize, is when you decide to stop making Key West chips, or CPC closes its doors, you will be stuck with a random inventory breakdown that you will need to sell off at a loss. Once your workhorse chips are gone, and people can't order complete sets.....Discount City!

Here's hoping CPC stays in business another 100 years.
 
Yesterday, I got an e-mail from a customer looking to buy some Key West chips. He got samples and loved them, but the price of $1.39 per chip was not within his budget. After noting that these chips "were not Paulson" chips, he asked what I would really charge for a set. But he was polite and friendly, as was my response to him.

His message was clear. He thinks I get Key West chips from Classic Poker Chips for half price, or wholesale, or something, and wanted to know if he could get a deal on a set of Key Wests. He used "Paulson" as a synonym for "better," which tells me he is new to the chip world. Paulson makes a great chip, and will make one for you as soon as you get a casino license. And Key Wests are not Paulsons. But Paulsons are not Key Wests, either.

Since I bought the Key West line from Apache Poker chips a few years ago, I've been part of several conversations about pricing with industry professionals. Some of the things I've learned would surprise many of you, and some are the private business of others, and can't be discussed.

But if you are considering Key West chips -- or any other high-end clay casino chip -- I can offer some real information about cost and price. Read to the end, and I think you'll be shocked.

First, I wish it were the early 2000s again. I was younger, thinner, and had better hair... or more hair... or just "hair." And casino chips were selling for around $1 per chip. "Boutique chips," like Sidespot's offerings, were priced at $1.25 per chip even then.

Second, Key West chips are not Paulson chips. They're also not used Paulson casino chips, available in limited quantities and certain denominations. Key West chips are brand new, mint chips from the factory, and you can buy any quantity in any denomination with no waiting. You can also get matching playing cards, dealer buttons and other Key West themed items, or suggest an item you'd like to see made with a Key West logo on it. They're made in the United States, not Mexico. And you can also be sure that if you buy a set, you'll be able to get more in the future.

Today, my company buys Key West chips from Classic Poker Chips in large quantities and offers them for resale for $1.39 per chip to members of PCF. When I need to restock, I pay Classic's current price for level one chips. (Key West chips are level one edge spot chips.)

So how do we get our price down to $1.39? First, CPC send some extra in each shipment, reducing our actual "per chip" cost. That savings is passed to you.

Next, we have over 10,000 chips in stock at any time, and some were bought when prices were lower. The NCV chips we sell are from the original minting of Key Wests in 2004 at the old ASM, Portland, as no other version of the company has ever made an NCV Key West chip. (If you have a Key West NCV chip, it's from the original run in 2004.)

That means our "average" chip cost will always be lower than current chip prices. We bring the price down a little more with part of the profits from the sale of other items. And our blue Key West "Live" chips actually create revenue for the company just by existing. The $1 paid for each $1 chip is invested in high-yield peer-to-peer lending, so we make over 1 cent per chip per month for every blue $1 chip in circulation. It's not the massive profits a casino might see from winning that chip back from a player 10 times a day, but it's something.

In the end, we're offering a brand new, real clay casino chip that should retail for around $1.75 for $1.39 per chip. (Sidespot is offering a similar clay chip on a nice mold for $1.49 each when and if they're in stock. I have a sample set, on the cigar and snifter mold. I think the Key West mold, colors and inlay are much nicer.)

I bought the Key West line of chips to keep the chips available for people who already have a set of Key West chips and would like more, and for people who always wanted a set but never got around to it. We've added denominations to make the Key West line a great choice for micro-cash, cash, or tournament play, and even a $2.50 chip for that blackjack table. We've also created solid roulette Key West chips which can double as a non-denominated chip, and have an array of other Key West items for your table like Key West playing cards and dealer buttons.

And the thing most people don't know? If you hit the Powerball tonight for $200 million and decide to open your own casino, you might call GPI to have some nice custom Paulsons made. But if you do, get ready. I understand they'll charge you about the same as CPC's current prices for each chip, if you're willing to meet their minimums.

I think it would be smarter to call David, David and Jim B at CPC.

You would be surprised (actually you probably wouldn't be surprised at all<g>) at the number of similar emails I receive.

I also think that anyone who wins $200m in the Powerball tonight and decides to open their own casino severely needs their head tested unless they believe they have discovered an untapped market on Mars or an asteroid :D

Thanks for the post!
 
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Very informative, Dennis. I'm more impressed with your willingness to take the time to write this email and share all this information, a fair amount of which I would consider in the "nunya" business category. I can't understand how the individual in question was complaining about your prices and I would have just thanked him for his inquiry and wished him well in trying to find a better deal on new clays.

As an aside, I've purchased from Key West on several occasions and have been completely happy with the products I've received and had great interactions with Dennis every time.
 
You would be surprised (actually you probably wouldn't be surprised at all<g>) at the number of similar emails I receive.

I also think that anyone who wins $200m in the Powerball tonight and decides to open their own casino severely needs their head tested unless they believe they have discovered an untapped market on Mars or an asteroid :D

Thanks for the post!

If I win the 200 million, I will fix the roman mold and all other molds that need fix'en :) (or get new ones made)
 
If I win the 200 million, I will fix the roman mold and all other molds that need fix'en :) (or get new ones made)

One of my thoughts exactly. I also would have a "Z" mold made (for the Zombie Poker Club), and then pay JimB to take me on as an apprentice, just to make sure the clay chip market never ends during my lifetime.
:cool:
 
The days of the $1 Paulson chip are numbered. You can see it coming just in the reduced inlay sizes, eliminated spots, anything to get the price down. Caesars released the Quad chips as Paulson's and shortly after replaced them with Linq chips that were not Paulson's. The Cromwell opened with nonPaulsons and so did the D casino downtown when they remodelled a couple years ago. Clearly Paulson chips are costing the casinos more than $1 per chip.
 
You would be surprised (actually you probably wouldn't be surprised at all<g>) at the number of similar emails I receive.

I also think that anyone who wins $200m in the Powerball tonight and decides to open their own casino severely needs their head tested unless they believe they have discovered an untapped market on Mars or an asteroid :D

Thanks for the post!

I actually get one of these e-mails about once per month, so I thought it was a good time to discuss one of them. I have no issue with the guy who wrote it, and I'm somewhat glad he did.

To me, these chips are clearly worth more than CPC's retail price. Since I know people can also opt to go "full custom" with their own personal set, I'm doing what I can to keep Key West chips at a reasonable price and something below full-custom.

And if I did win that $200 million tonight, I wouldn't open a casino. I would have the nicest private card room around, and you'd all be invited to stop by.
 
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Hear, hear. (to the vendors in this thread) I can also add this. If CPC was just trying to take every dollar they could, David would not have talked me into going with round inlays. Both he and J5 explained my design was better for a 1" round. I'm a new customer and will very likely be a repeat customer. I'm not into begging for a special deal...I'm not that special. :) If you want the goods, save the cash (or sell me your Terrible's hundos or 5hundos!).
 
I don't think Sidepot will be offering any more C&S mold chips (which are awesome). BCC made those chips and I'm sure the formulary is now locked away by GPI. The only possibility is for Sidepot to ship the mold to CPC and have them make the chips. In that case the chips won't really fit in with existing sets out there, unless you don't mind mixing BCC and ASM type chips (which I'm sure some have done before).
 
If I won the $200M tonight, I'd find a way to buy the TRK formulas and process, and get it into the hands of the folks at CPC, and inject enough cash into their business to make it possible for them to offer a wider range fo chips, colors and edge spots to all of us.
 
If I won the $200M tonight, I'd find a way to buy the TRK formulas and process, and get it into the hands of the folks at CPC, and inject enough cash into their business to make it possible for them to offer a wider range fo chips, colors and edge spots to all of us.

I hope you win!!!
 
So is it possible we want far more chips than we actually need?

Could this have a direct impact on how we feel about chip prices, and what we're wiling to pay "per chip?"

Who defines what a "complete" set of chips actually is? Are we hung up on a number like one thousand chips, and is this "large number" fixation actually changing what we buy, or even if we buy at all?

The veteran members here will tell you that 1,000 chips is a lot of chips, and that many home players won't use that many.

Could a novice player right now be saying, "But I need 1,000 chips, so I can only afford this cheaper chip," when he or she would be much better off getting 500 nicer chips? Maybe that player doesn't buy any at all, but waits... and waits.

I often wonder if my customers who buy 1,000 chips really need that many, when most home players would do perfectly well with a well-constructed set of 500 nice casino chips. I think I have a nice house with lots of room, but I still don't have the room (or the tables) to hold a multi-table tournament. Still, my own personal set of Key West chips is now 2,500 chips -- most of which I know I'll never use.

I just wonder how many people are trying to fill their bathtub with casino chips, rather than buy the number they need to actually play poker. If you're looking for a nice set of 500 chips that you can will to your grandchildren, it turns out that a set of high-end, clay casino chips are no more expensive than a good set of golf clubs.
 
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So is it possible we want far more chips than we actually need?

Easily.

One of the best things about the Key West chips is that they you have them stockpiled. If a host's game does grow, they will need more chips. Casino chips can become a multi-year effort to hunt down the chips you need, as the chips are in a somewhat limited supply.

When I hosted my first games, I bought 500 custom ABS slugged chips. I was fooled by the "clay composite" claim, but the chips worked for someone starting out (and for someone that had not yet found the forums). Then the game grew, even though the poker boom had ended. 500 no longer worked, and I had to add on. Unfortunately, the vendor was no longer able to produce the ABS slugged chips as their supplier no longer sold those. Instead of buying 800 new chips, I just bought what I needed. At first that was a barrell of Paulsons that I paper labeled, and then it was 300 more ceramics. This has led to what has been dubbed the "Frankenstein" set.

Had I known of Key West earlier, I could have saved myself a ton of heartache and money.

Then again, If I never found the forums, I would have saved a bunch more. :p
 
Also, Stakes and games tend to change over time. Many groups start out with tournaments, and then move to cash games. groups who start out playing 25/50 blinds may move up to 1/2, or like having the option of bigger games on occasion. I think educated buyers will gravitate toward larger sets that will cover the biggest range of possibilities.
 
The trick is having a consistent feel to the chips from the different molds (if you're creating them). I have a set of Roman Molds. They look nice, but I much prefer my DiaSq chips for feel. The Roman Mold feels lighter to me. It could come from some difference in formulary for the clay (my Roman Molds were made in 2007), but the Roman Molds I have feel plastic-y and light and my Diamond Square chips feel more substantial. The difference in the look of these molds and how they fit with a theme for the the inlay is important for the aesthetic, but no matter how good they look its all about how they feel for me.
 
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A "complete" set definition will probably will change for people over time. You might change your game and limits. You might drift from Tourney poker to cash poker. You might decide to host more people.

This is why your ability to continue to supply the chips (in essence, CPC staying open) is so important.

I bought a LOT of chips between my cash and tourney set, pretty much at one time, because I thought I would never be able to buy them again and I have seen enough home games to know what the different situations would require and I bought my set based on what I might need. I can GUARANTEE you that I will be able to spread ANY game that I might ever want to, including a large meet-up. I'm glad that CPC survives, but I didn't think that would be the case at that time.

With you, people can buy enough chips to host a small game of friends and add more in the future if their situation changes.

So is it possible we want far more chips than we actually need?

Could this have a direct impact on how we feel about chip prices, and what we're wiling to pay "per chip?"

Who defines what a "complete" set of chips actually is? Are we hung up on a number like one thousand chips, and is this "large number" fixation actually changing what we buy, or even if we buy at all?

The veteran members here will tell you that 1,000 chips is a lot of chips, and that many home players won't use that many.

Could a novice player right now be saying, "But I need 1,000 chips, so I can only afford this cheaper chip," when he or she would be much better off getting 500 nicer chips? Maybe that player doesn't buy any at all, but waits... and waits.

I often wonder if my customers who buy 1,000 chips really need that many, when most home players would do perfectly well with a well-constructed set of 500 nice casino chips. I think I have a nice house with lots of room, but I still don't have the room (or the tables) to hold a multi-table tournament. Still, my own personal set of Key West chips is now 2,500 chips -- most of which I know I'll never use.

I just wonder how many people are trying to fill their bathtub with casino chips, rather than buy the number they need to actually play poker. If you're looking for a nice set of 500 chips that you can will to your grandchildren, it turns out that a set of high-end, clay casino chips are no more expensive than a good set of golf clubs.
 
Interesting. I have some old (got them around 2003) samples from ASM and, while I love the Roman mold, I must agree with you about the lighter/plasticy feel. Good observation.

But, all that aside, CPC chips for $1.39/per is a great value. :)
 
So is it possible we want far more chips than we actually need?

Of course; did you forget which forums you're on?

But seriously...

Could a novice player right now be saying, "But I need 1,000 chips, so I can only afford this cheaper chip," when he or she would be much better off getting 500 nicer chips? Maybe that player doesn't buy any at all, but waits... and waits.

I often wonder if my customers who buy 1,000 chips really need that many, when most home players would do perfectly well with a well-constructed set of 500 nice casino chips.

I absolutely agree with this concern. It really has me thinking. In any given cash game stakes, 500 chips is more than plenty. For my $1 NLHE game, my ideal breakdown is:

20 fracs: .50's (For small blinds. These float around.)
200 1's. (Ten players can get full 20-stack of the primary unit.)
200 5's. (Biggest typical buy-in is $100, this allows $80 in red and $20 in white for ten players, with plenty left for rebuys.)
80 25's. (Used to make change if rebuys put all the 5's in play.)

My game's total bank rarely broke $1000; 1000 times the standard bet is a workable, but will get busted now and then, so you need more. In this 500 chip break-down, the 1's and 5's alone cover $1200. We'd probably not touch the green. 500 chips is plenty; is more than enough.

But here's the rub: this works only for a $1 NLHE game. What if it's micro night, playing a $.50 game with $.25/$.50 blinds? The fracs are inadequate. Even if they were quarters instead of fifty-cent pieces, there aren't enough of them.

Or let's say it's high stakes night, and you're playing a $4 game with a $2/$4 blinds? Your total bank is $3200 and change. You may actually bust the bank often; 1000 times $4 is $4000. Do you want cash playing on the table?

And what if you're playing a tournament? Even if people don't mind not having enormous fantasy denominations in the tournament, you still want fairly wide spread of denoms for the blinds to progress, even for a one-table tournament, and this cash set is too tightly focused around only two denominations.

To me, that's why people want a bigger set. For flexibility to play different stakes and different games, and yet still have enough chips to play it well.

I think non-denominated chips go a long way here, being re-assignable, depending on the game/stakes. I'm OK with re-assigning denoms to allow for different games, but purists don't always like that. My main set looks more like this:

160 $1 white
160 $5 red
160 $25 green
20 $100 black

That's a super-versatile 500 chip set of Paulsons, but only if you re-assign.

To play $1 NLHE cash, I run the blacks as $.50 pieces. I put 20 in play and they rotate all night. I have a $960 bank of white and red; some nights I break into the greens, but there's no fear of using up $4000 of greens.

To play a $.50 game with $.25 blinds, the black stay $100's. Instead, I buy in ample $25's as $.25 (quarters.) Now the greens only add up to $40, and the green-white-red bank is $1000. I've never hit that number, but if I did, each of the blacks recycle $100 in reds back into play. Even a stack of only 20 black gives an additional $2000 of headroom.

To play a $2 game with a $1 blind, the chips stay as actually denominated. There's a $6960 bank available. I can even play a $5 NL game comfortably (with $2/$5 blinds), or $5/$10 limit.

What can't I do? A ten-person tournament with T1000 starting stacks. I can't even do T500 starting stacks for ten, if re-buys are allowed, unless I limit the re-buys to three per tournament. I can do a T100 tournament just fine for ten people... or even 20 or 30 people. But if I have more than one table running, and it comes down to final table, do I have chips for a cash game to get started on the other table? And forget deep-stack tournaments.

This is, I think, why 1000 chips is so often wanted. People want to do tourneys as well as cash games, and tourneys play "funner" if there are over 500 chips, especially if you open up with two tables. On top of that, a lot of people don't like to re-assign chips in a cash game, like I do - my chips say $25, and some people don't want to pretend they're quarters. That can be easier to bear if there's no currency symbol on the chips, but even so, re-assigning the 100's as as some other is not ideal, and some people don't like it.

Summarizing:
If you don't like chip re-assignment, you'll want a little more than 500 chips in your cash set, else the set is only good for one or two similar stakes.
If you don't like being limited to 10 player tournaments, you'll want more than 500 in your tournament set.
A 500-piece set is tricky to configure to have good breakdown for both cash and tournament, so it needs to be bigger, or you need two sets.
To have a cash game on the side with a tournament, you'll need a second set, anyway.

A 600 or 750 piece set greatly expands flexibility; two sets is ideal.

The Key West approach of making it possible to add-on later is, I think, a wonderful thing. I think more people would be well-advised to build a 500 piece set for the stakes they actually play, and then add on later when they want to change stakes or play bigger tournaments. It costs less to get in the door, and you don't have to buy chips for a theoretical game you don't end up playing.
 
Dennis I still remember your first several threads in search of Key Wests after you decided to jump down the rabbit hole and collect as many as possible well before you bought the rights. I loved seeing you transition to that set. Did you move from the Le Coves?
 
This is, I think, why 1000 chips is so often wanted. People want to do tourneys as well as cash games, and tourneys play "funner" if there are over 500 chips, especially if you open up with two tables. On top of that, a lot of people don't like to re-assign chips in a cash game, like I do - my chips say $25, and some people don't want to pretend they're quarters. That can be easier to bear if there's no currency symbol on the chips, but even so, re-assigning the 100's as as some other is not ideal, and some people don't like it.

Summarizing:
If you don't like chip re-assignment, you'll want a little more than 500 chips in your cash set, else the set is only good for one or two similar stakes.
If you don't like being limited to 10 player tournaments, you'll want more than 500 in your tournament set.
A 500-piece set is tricky to configure to have good breakdown for both cash and tournament, so it needs to be bigger, or you need two sets.
To have a cash game on the side with a tournament, you'll need a second set, anyway.

A 600 or 750 piece set greatly expands flexibility; two sets is ideal.

The Key West approach of making it possible to add-on later is, I think, a wonderful thing. I think more people would be well-advised to build a 500 piece set for the stakes they actually play, and then add on later when they want to change stakes or play bigger tournaments. It costs less to get in the door, and you don't have to buy chips for a theoretical game you don't end up playing.

I have to agree with the above, but you can make a 500 chip tourney set stretch a bit to handle more players.

Let's say you have the following breakdown for a T10000 tournament
150 x T25
150 x T100
75 x T500
50 x T1000
75 x T5000

You can now handle up to 18 players with 18 rebuys (2xT5000) with starting stacks of 8 / 8 / 4 / 2 / 1, and still have 14 T1000s and 21 T5000s for colour-ups. Not ideal due to the number of denoms in the starting stacks, but workable. If you are willing to live with a smaller maximum (say 15), you could reduce the number of T25's and T100s by 25 and beef up the T1000's to an even rack.

You can then have the following for the cash set
100 x NCV
150 x 25c
150 x $1
100 x $5

For microstakes, the NCV can be nickels. For larger stakes, they can be $20.

So, is a 1000-chipset doable? Yes. However, I think two 600-chip sets would work better. I like even racks. :D

As to Dennis' points
- Most retail shops equate Paulsons with Casinos. ASM/CPC chips aren't even on anyone's radar unless they spend some significant time on a chip forum. As a result, they are not considered on the same level as Paulson by the general public or someone new to chipping, and there's an expectation that they could be had for cheaper than the equivalent Paulson set. Given that most home Paulsons could be had (until recently) for approx $1.50 / chip or less, you can see why someone would jump to the conclusion that there's a significant markup on them. This is more education and marketing than anything else.

- I'm glad that Dennis is able to offer the Key Wests for the current prices. For someone looking for a semi-custom ASM / CPC chip, they are a great value. Being able to add on to the set at a later date is a huge factor, at least for me.

- GPI's recent actions makes me think that they want to charge more for their casino chips than what casinos are willing to pay based on a look at the market. They are responding by removing a lower tier of chips (home market was internal competition and creating lower expectations) and removing competitors like BCC. Will this work? I suspect they will just drive business to their competitors. They can't buy out everyone.
 
Dennis I still remember your first several threads in search of Key Wests after you decided to jump down the rabbit hole and collect as many as possible well before you bought the rights. I loved seeing you transition to that set. Did you move from the Le Coves?

JB -- Yes, those were the days. I think I originally hoped to get 650 Key West chips. The good folks over there on the blue site offered many, many more -- and really nice chips, too.

The funny thing is, when I got my first Key West samples from Josh at Apache, I didn't like them. They felt much harder and a bit lighter than the Paulson Classics I had been using. (I actually never got into the LeCoves.) Somebody over there -- I forget who -- told me I needed to oil the chips and shuffle them quite a bit over the course of a week or so. I tried it, and it really changed the feel of the chips. I was hooked!

I certainly went overboard on chips when I moved to Key Wests, and ended up with over 1,800 chips. I've even added chips since then. Each time we did a new denomination with J5, JimB and Michael, I added a rack or two.

Now, if I had only stuck to my original plan to get 650 Key West chips and stopped there, I'd have a beautiful 20-foot Cris-Craft runabout boat in the garage right now.
 
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... Do you want cash playing on the table? ...
This actually caused issues for some local games. People complaining that they didn't know that guy across the table had $900 in $100 bills stacked right next to his chips with an all in and call happened. Stupid stuff like that. I have a bunch of chip sets I could never use for a 1/3 PLO game with 100-500max buy in for example.
 

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