Finally, an end to the story of 1,000 wayward Key West chips
This evening, I'm pleased to announce that 1,000 Key West $1 -- once offered for sale by the former owner of ASM Las Vegas -- have been recovered and are slated for destruction. Part of the infamous scam dating back nearly nine years has been put to rest.
Many here may know the story.
If you don't know the story of "Red" Ott and his brief, disastrous ownership of American Standard Molding of Las Vegas, a quick search here should fill you in.
In November, 2015, a number of members here alerted me to a lot of 1,000 Key West $1 chips being offered for sale on Craigslist. Member @Andrew Marks spotted the ad and posted about it, @BGinGA tagged me, and @abby99 linked the phone number in the Craigslist ad to the former owner of ASM Las Vegas, "Red" Ott. The chips did not sell. But they were out there, in Red's hands.
Many of the chips were $1 Key Wests I sent back to Red in 2013. They arrived as part of a larger pre-paid order, placed with Red's partner, Michael Dambach, in May, 2013 -- before anyone here knew Red existed. After I went through the chips, anything that didn't match ASM, Portland's quality was promptly returned to Las Vegas and replacement chips were requested. Even Red agreed the chips were "hit and miss," (his words) and agreed to remake them.
Some were likely "extras" Red made without telling me.
Still others may have been the start of an order of replacements being made for me, which Red decided to keep when he sold the company's machines to the gentlemen who created Classic Poker Chips.
In any case, Red had 1,000 Key West $1 chips that he promised to me, but never delivered.
On March 30, 2022, I was contacted by PCF member @TheHun, who purchased the lot from Red without knowing their history, or his. In doing so, he became Red's latest victim. He reached out to me to find out more.
Within a few days, we worked out a deal which allowed me to retrieve the chips. The chips arrived at my address this afternoon -- 985 chips and 135 grams of broken chip pieces and inlays -- the exact weight of 15 chips.
The chips are now in my office, slated for destruction to prevent them from ever reaching the market.
Permit me to express my sincere thanks to TheHun for his help in this endeavor. He is a new member here, but was honest and up-front with me throughout, proving himself to be a man of integrity. I also need to thank all the members here who aided me, and this community, when the chips found their way to Craigslist back in 2015 -- Andrew Marks, BGinGA, abby99 and many others.
In a final note to close the story, I'm happy to say I met Michael Daumbach during a trip to Las Vegas in 2013. He was a fanatic about quality when he worked for ASM, and he made some great chips in the tradition of old ASM. His dealings with his former partner soured him on the business and the chip world in general. I wish he would return to join us here.
Last edited:
