Jim B, who owned and ran ASM for over 20 years, decided to retire in 2012, I think. Michael Dambauch was the public face of the buyers, and worked with Jim B at the factory in Portland for a few months. Michael really knew how to make good casino chips which were indistinguishable from the chips from the old ASM. I thought he was a really good guy. He and his partners moved ASM to Las Vegas in an effort to get their chips into the casinos there.
In the second half of 2013, I placed a big order with them, and heard from Sally that there was a "partner" involved who was making decisions about prices. I spoke with Michael several times by phone and learned he was clashing with his "partner," Red Ott, over the quality of the chips being put out. Michael left the business in late 2012, I think.
This left Red in sole control of ASM, the molds, and the process. I visited ASM in Las Vegas in person and met him. He admitted to me that he was basically "a poker nut," but "not a chip nut." (His words.)
Simply put, Michael was a "chip nut" who knew how to make good chips. (To do so takes a lot of time and work, and there is a good deal of waste involved when you inspect and remove the imperfect chips.)
When Michael left, the level of quality dropped. Red thought the chips he had been producing were perfectly fine to go out the door to the customers, including, in many cases, the imperfect chips which earlier versions of the company would have pulled out and never sent.
When the buyers on CT began complaining about chips with spots and junk in them, Red blamed the customers and became something akin to Seinfeld's "Soup Nazi" in his dealings with customers. He basically hated all things internet, and was enraged that the members of CT would complain in that public forum, bashing his company. Red pulled his sponsorship from CT. Many veteran CT members declared all-out war on Red -- something he thought was orchestrated as retaliation for pulling his sponsorship. He was most likely wrong about that, as it doesn't take much to anger that crowd. It was all very, very ugly.
There was an effort by four or five CT members to buy ASM, but it failed. Red closed ASM in mid-December, 2013.
Soon after, David Spragg and David Sarles -- both casino chip experts from the CC&TCC -- bought the equipment and molds of the former ASM. They convinced Jim B to come out of retirement to run production, and moved the machines and molds from Las Vegas back to Portland. They named their company Classic Poker Chips, and the company's legendary quality returned.
The weight issue -- 9 grams average v. Paulson's 10 grams -- is understandable. Classic's chips are also considerably harder than Paulson chips, which gives the chip a completely different feel. After they're broken in a bit, they have a softer feel as the sharp edges wear a bit.
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