What is the 2nd Best Chip Vendor to order custom clays? (3 Viewers)

Rodog123

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So I know CPC is the best and I agree whole heartedly. I just cannot wait 4-6 months for A-Molds with inlays. Are there any other real clay vendors besides Apache that sell custom clay chips? Seems Apache is the second-best option. Thoughts?

I want a new set so no used casino sets. Have ~$600 budgeted.

Do the Apache Royal/Majestics fit in a normal size rack?
 
Wait shouldn’t be that long for CPC if you want a stock option like rounders. Could also order Key West from @dennis63. Might need to boost the budge some though if you want new real clay
I inquired and the wait was 3-6 months. for custom inlays. blanks where the same turnaround as well.

Apache Royal / Majestics are NOT the same as CPC chips.
True, but are they the second best to CPC? Who else sells true clay chips besides used casino chips?
 
So I know CPC is the best and I agree whole heartedly. I just cannot wait 4-6 months for A-Molds with inlays. Are there any other real clay vendors besides Apache that sell custom clay chips? Seems Apache is the second-best option. Thoughts?

I want a new set so no used casino sets. Have ~$600 budgeted.

Do the Apache Royal/Majestics fit in a normal size rack?
There's a good chance that some secret group buy with Paulson is afoot.
 
True, but are they the second best to CPC? Who else sells true clay chips besides used casino chips?

I think you'll find it hard to say who is next in ranking after CPC as other chips fall into a different category.

In the true clay chip category you've got Paulsons (now only manufacture for casinos) or CPC.

Then you've got another category down which for some people is quality ceramics, and for others it might be China Clays (Apache's Majestics/Royals etc.). The China Clays often feel more plasticky, and therefore some people put them in another category further down being plastic chips.

So the answer is likely Paulsons/CPC.................then 10 lightyears.............then quality ceramics or maybe China Clays if you like the feel/look which is subjective. To rank the next in line would be difficult and very subjective I'd say. Just my thoughts.
 
$600 budget for a playable set of clay... sounds like China Clay is going to be the only way to get a trully playable breakdown, unless casino used RHCs is acceptable, even then the higher denoms will cost you more and if you want a frac you will most likely have to relabel which can also get expensive.

What kind of breakdown are you looking for? Sounds like Majestic or Royals from Apache might be the right path here.

Good Luck with the Hunt!
 
>What is the 2nd Best Chip Vendor to order custom clays?

Short answer: Nobody. There's only one.



Slightly longer answer:

There are only two companies in the world that make clay poker chips today: Gaming Partners International and Classic Poker Chips. All other companies that have ever made clay poker chips have either gone out of business or been acquired by GPI. GPI does not sell to the public; they only sell to licensed casinos. CPC is the only place where you can buy brand-new clay poker chips made to your custom specifications.

That said, here are some clarifications:
  • CPC has one reseller, Key West. Key West has a line of poker chips made by CPC; you can buy those chips directly from Key West (and only from them, CPC won't sell them to you). They aren't custom, though. All you can buy is Key West's stock chips using their own design.

  • Every now and then someone is able to get an order past GPI's salespeople and purchase brand new custom-designed Paulson chips. This has been done for these chip sets: Aurora Star, Empress Star, Pacific Star, Big Top Poker, Sunset Beach, Royal Princess Casino, and a small number of personal sets. But it's not easy to do this, and the few people who have done it haven't said much about how they did it.

  • There are lots and lots of chips that call themselves "clay" but they aren't. There's no standards for what "clay" means, so anyone and everyone can and does market their chips as "clay". Here on PCF, though, "clay" has a very specific meaning: chips that are made using materials and methods similar to those that have been in use in casinos for around a hundred years. These are the types of chips you're used to playing with when you go to a casino. The chips that are marketed as "clay" are very, very different from that, and they use consumers' unfamiliarity with how chips are made to make them think they're getting something like real casino chips.

  • There's a large category of chips that we call "China clays" which look and feel somewhat like real casino clays. They're definitely different from the real thing, and you can easily tell it by the way they look and feel, but they at least attempt to replicate the look and feel of real clays to some degree. Apache sells a lot of these (Majestics, Royals, Dunes, Pharaoh's, Bank) and there are some others as well (like Milanos, which Apache sells but which were produced by Brybelly).
You can learn more about the different types of poker chips by reading these three posts:

Part One
Part Two
Part Three

Hope this helps!
 
$600 budget for a playable set of clay... sounds like China Clay is going to be the only way to get a trully playable breakdown, unless casino used RHCs is acceptable, even then the higher denoms will cost you more and if you want a frac you will most likely have to relabel which can also get expensive.

What kind of breakdown are you looking for? Sounds like Majestic or Royals from Apache might be the right path here.

Good Luck with the Hunt!
Maybe look for some older clay chips? They tend to be of value, but it may be hard to find a full set at once and you likely can’t mill them.
 
There are no other companies that sell new true clay chips to the general public, custom ot otherwise.

If all you are looking for is custom, with a $600 budget, then ceramics from BRPro are your best bet IMO.

China Clays (not actual compressed clay chips) are available from Apache but you would have to get labels made somewhere.

Get sample of China Clays and ceramics and see what you prefer.

$600 isn’t enough budget for new real clay chips custom or otherwise.
 
You could get a really nice custom ceramic set from @ABC Gifts and Awards

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Don’t forget taste
Like gross burnt Crayons? That's at least what they smell Like!

I have seen your eating habits in person Mr. Shin... I put nothing past you! Lmao

"Poker Chip cookies... sure I can make those and bring them to the meet up!"

"Hey Shin, we just meant shaped and look like poker chips... not actually chips broken up in the cookie dough!"

"Welp more for me then! Now where is that Octopus and Blood Sausage appetizer I brought..." Lmao
To be fair Bill... that set of custom 43mm did not cost $600. Let's just be honest, $600 isn't much in the custom market
 
Like gross burnt Crayons? That's at least what they smell Like!

I have seen your eating habits in person Mr. Shin... I put nothing past you! Lmao

"Poker Chip cookies... sure I can make those and bring them to the meet up!"

"Hey Shin, we just meant shaped and look like poker chips... not actually chips broken up in the cookie dough!"

"Welp more for me then! Now where is that Octopus and Blood Sausage appetizer I brought..." Lmao

To be fair Bill... that set of custom 43mm did not cost $600. Let's just be honest, $600 isn't much in the custom market

Actually, if you buy enough of them they're less than a dollar a piece
 

What is the 2nd Best Chip Vendor to order custom clays?


From experience, if you're planning on making an investment in a quality set of chips, I'd highly recommend:

1) Get samples.
2) With those samples make your determination.

As was already stated there IS NO 2nd company (that I know of) producing casino grade clay chips to the public after CPC. If you're wanting that level of chip your option is to either budget enough to where you can buy new CPCs in sufficient quantity or scour the PCF classifieds here for a set of Paulsons or CPCs that you like.

IMHO high grade plastics from Abbiati are extremely good quality chips so don't ignore any lots of those you might find on the classifieds. Two quality group buys of those chips have ensued in the last couple of years and every now and then a lot of them shows up for sale.
 

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