I owned a set of Casino Royales (from Apache, the James Bond 16 cent/chip). For the price, they were really nice chips. Stacked well, looked cool. Of course they are really heavy, but so are the Monte Carlos. I wound up selling them (on this forum) a few weeks ago just because they were heavy as bricks. I don't think there's a huge quality difference. If you like bright, glittery, flashy looking chips, go with the Monte Carlos. More subdued, unique style, go with Royales.