High End Plastic Chip Questions (1 Viewer)

[RackCity]

So I've been doing a lot of reading and learning since joining the forums a little over a week ago and not so much posting. But, I think I've decided that I want my first quality set to be a high end roulette plastic (Bud Jones, Abbiati, or B&G) set up with a re-label. And then I will slowly work on my "dream" set after I get my first set completed. There's still some questions I have.

What is the difference in quality between the three manufacturers? Or are they all pretty comparable? Can plastic chips be milled? Is it even worth it to mill them when the labels can just be peeled off? Can original labels just be stickered on top of? Lastly, can these types of chips only be bought from vendors or fellow chippers? Needless to say when I saw TheChipRoom's roulette by the rack sale I was kicking myself for not getting into chips months sooner. And same for TheChipExchange sale over a year ago. Both of those would have been perfect to start my chipping journey.

Also, I'm not above looking at your roulette sets, whether they're plastic or not. Thanks for the help.

 

[GianThaMan]

What is the difference in quality between the three manufacturers? Or are they all pretty comparable?

Among Bud Jones, Abbiati, and B&G, opinions will differ as to the best manufacturer, though I'll say my personal favorite is B&G. If you're looking for solely roulette plastics to relabel, however, Bud Jones is the only one which can really be found easily enough and then relabeled with ease, as most B&G and Abbiati roulette chips do not have labels and instead have injected patterns which would have to be milled to accept a label.

Can plastic chips be milled? Is it even worth it to mill them when the labels can just be peeled off?

They can be milled as with practically any chip, but it would be pretty useless as most plastic chips have labels that come off easily and those that don't are usually not worth the time and effort to mill (such as the roulette chips mentioned above).

Can original labels just be stickered on top of?

It depends on the chips. I'd recommend relabeling in most cases, especially as it's so easy to remove the labels off of high-end plastics.

Lastly, can these types of chips only be bought from vendors or fellow chippers?

Of the manufacturers you mentioned, only Abbiati can be purchased from directly (realistically), and the rest you'd have to find from chippers here, such as @Stas, who sells many nice sets of B&G, Abbiati, and other high-end plastic brands, or just generally the classifieds, where you can find a grand assortment of chips. I'm sure you can very easily find Bud Jones R4 Roulette chips on the classifieds, and for a fairly low price.

Good luck on your journey!

 

[LeLe]

If you looking for only roulette, BJ are the easiest to find at rather low price too, just post a wanted ad @ classified when you are allow to.

If you are look for a Cash Set, do get sample first as although 3 of them are high end plastic, they do felt very different from each another.

You can easily get sample of all 3 types and also other High end plastic sample from the link below

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/sample-sets.70640/

I gotten sample from all 3 before buying and I find BJ too slippery for me and between B&G & Abbiati, B&G shuffle really well and i like the weight as well

So in the end, I gotten myself a B&G set

 

[BNM]

I think there are several threads on here that deal with this subject, though it's not necessarily easy to find them. Highest quality for look, feel, etc., in my opinion, are the Abbiatis, hands down. Gorgeous. They are more slippery than the Bud Jones, but are, across the board, fabulous. I, personally, wouldn't relabel them but I know its been done.

I do not have experience with B&G.

Good luck!

 

[allforcharity]

Abbiati, B&G, Bud Jones, and Matsui are all quite comparable. Abbiati and Matsui will sell to individuals, but can cost a lot due to minimum order quantities.

They do not need to be milled. They have stickers that sit in a recess that can be removed/scraped off and replaced. Can still be quite tedious to do - believe me, I know.

There are many examples of high end plastic chip series that have been acquired by group buy and ex-casino sources, in all sorts of colours and patterns. They are almost unparalleled in durability among chips. The BJ R4 chip is probably the most popular modern roulette chip in North American casinos.

 

[RackCity]

Thanks everyone for your awesome replies. Very helpful stuff so far. I can reply a little more in depth when home from work tonight.

I do have a few follow up questions while I'm thinking about it though. I saw Matsui also mentioned. I have seen their chips and do like their work. Are there any other big plastic chip manufacturers that I've overlooked?

Lastly, I know this is a touch off topic. Are solid Paulsons that have the "roulette mold" instead of the "thc" for example less desirable because they say roulette on the edge? Or are they just as popular and run about the same price range as your typical solid thc?

Thanks again everyone, really enjoying the help and all the things I'm learning.

 

[allforcharity]

There's RT plastics, which I believe are the inheritors of the Langworthy line, but I would not really consider them high end.

Paulson Roulette mold are traditional compression clay. Some people just don't like the word roulette on the rim of the chip that they use for non-roulette games. There is also their relative scarcity when trying to build a set with enough quantity in consistent conditions.

 

[CrazyEddie]

I saw Matsui also mentioned. I have seen their chips and do like their work. Are there any other big plastic chip manufacturers that I've overlooked?

RT Plastics and Langworthy. Langworthy sold clay chips (made by Burt) but later also sold plastic chips of their own design / manufacturing. Later yet, Langworthy became RT Plastics and sold chips both with their older designs and with some newer designs. They're not in business any more, but you can sometimes find sets of chips from Langworthy / RT Plastics for sale in the classifieds. The general opinion, and mine, is that they're not as nice as Matsui/Abbiati/Bud Jones/B&G. Even so, I have a set of Langworthys and shuffle stacks of assorted Langworthys and RT Plastics. @Brookston has a nice collection, with pictures here: https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/langworthy-rt-plastic-pron.64458/

If you're interested in Abbiati / Matsui / etc then I also encourage you to explore what's available in the mass market slugged plastic chip space. Some of them are the very definition of unappealing - i.e. the legendary dice chips - but the options have expanded a lot in recent years, and some of them are actually pretty nice. Compared to the casino quality plastics (Abbiati/Matsui/BJ/BG) you'll find simpler edge designs with fewer elements and usually the same designs across all denominations in a single set (but with different colors), but with a huge variety of label designs. And of course with (nearly) any plastic chip, it's very easy to relabel them and put your own custom labels on them.

I would start with just looking at the visual appeal of various chips, and then when you've narrowed it down to some that you like the looks of, get samples so you can see how they feel.

 

[CrazyEddie]

Are there any other big plastic chip manufacturers that I've overlooked?

Also forgot to mention Icon. They make chips for both the home market and for casinos. They have one or more lines of ceramics, and one or more lines of plastics. They aren't talked about much on the forum, but there are a few threads about them.

 

[RackCity]

@GianThaMan Appreciate the response and answers.

@LeLe Thanks for the advice. I will definitely try a few out before I make my final decision.

@BNM Yeah I hear what you mean on the re-label. I feel like Bud Jones are the easiest to do that with. If I went with a different chip I'd maybe forget about the re-label.

@allforcharity That's kind of why I originally have gravitated to the R4, is my familiarity with it. I know I like it. I've shuffled them and used them at the roulette table a few times. You telling me that they're the most commonly used roulette chip in North America is no surprise. Ty for info on the Paulson's.

@CrazyEddie I'll keep my eyes peeled for the Langworthy/RTI/Icon. I'd for sure check out a sample of them. I'm pretty familiar with the slugged plastic options. I actually did a lot of research just using Amazon before I ever joined the forum here.

I think from here the plan is to get samples. And just continue to educate myself. I appreciate everyone's feedback.