# Casino chip counterfeits **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 11, 2008, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casino-chip-counterfeits/467453 "2008-10-11T09:56:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GreedySmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a698b9/32.png) [@GreedySmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreedySmurf)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casino-chip-counterfeits/467453/21 "2008-10-13T23:35:38Z")
I saw a very interesting Crime & Investigation show a little while ago, about a guy in the States who did in fact counterfeit Millions in Casino Chips. He had done it in the 80’s IIRC, so no RFID chips to worry about then. He focused on metal ‘chips’ not sure if the casino’s still use them. He was putting the chips/coins through the Pokies (Slot Machines), to avoid extra attention. And on of the things he had to figure out was how to fool the weight sensor on the chips. Even without the RFID stuff it was apparently a very difficult process. It cost him ten of thousands to get set up with a computer controlled milling machine, and press. Sending samples off to determine the exact mix of metals to get the weight exactly right. His chips/coins where virtually perfect. The thing that eventually caught him was all these casino’s were coming up with overcounts when they audited the numbers of chips in inventory. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casino-chip-counterfeits/467453/22 "2008-10-15T02:20:50Z")
> [@GreedySmurf](#): > > I saw a very interesting Crime & Investigation show a little while ago, about a guy in the States who did in fact counterfeit Millions in Casino Chips. He had done it in the 80’s IIRC, so no RFID chips to worry about then. He focused on metal ‘chips’ not sure if the casino’s still use them. That was a cool episode of Breaking Vegas. But I remember them being referred to as “tokens” rather than chips. I think that these are intended for use in machines rather than on a table the way chips are. And I love that he got caught because they saw him not report getting ripped off by a slot machine. He thought it was a bad token when it really was the machine that was broken. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casino-chip-counterfeits/467453/23 "2008-10-15T02:50:48Z")
Thirded on the coolness of that episode. IIRC they had to get the metal from out of the country. I guess there are sensors that can detect the composition of the metal’s electromagnetic signature. They managed to get it nigh perfect but one of the casino guys knew it wasn’t. He couldn’t say why, but it just wasn’t right. There seemed to be some really gray areas to me. Tokens aren’t legal tender, so can they be called counterfeit? And in some of the shows in that series, it seemed like the security guys got downright nasty and physical with the perps— I wasn’t sure that was kosher either. In any event, technical kudos notwithstanding, it seemed a plan that was doomed to fail. Lugging around all those heavy coins, making off with maybe a few thousand at a time, you might get rich but not quick. And the more you show up, the more security will notice you. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casino-chip-counterfeits/467453/24 "2008-10-15T05:02:35Z")
> [@si\_blakely](#): > > Well, they probably wouldn’t stay in your pocket once the magnet powers up (or is that an MRI) 😉 > > Anyhow, hospital gowns don’t have pockets, so those chips have to be … > > somewhere else… > > and I doubt that the cashier will take them after that sort of storage, anyhow. > > Si I got an MRI this year, and they’re pretty strict about taking metal in there. Of course, it’s really only magnets and ferrous metal that they have to worry about, but since much of the public thinks that magnets “attract metal” and is unable to distinguish the difference, they’re much safer to just ban metal in general. Come to think of it, though, I don’t remember having take off my pants. That’s interesting. Why wouldn’t they have been worried? ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casino-chip-counterfeits/467453/25 "2008-10-15T12:40:13Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > And the more you show up, the more security will notice you. And the more they will notice that you always seem to come out ahead. The surest sign that you are up to something. No one can beat the odds for that long or that consistently. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2008, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casino-chip-counterfeits/467453/26 "2008-10-17T13:07:51Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > There seemed to be some really gray areas to me. Tokens aren’t legal tender, so can they be called counterfeit? I was just wondering about that. Have casino chips ever run afoul of currency laws? Maybe chips can be considered a form of credit, a physical representation of a persons account balance at that establishment. I suppose that if both parties agree, _anything_ can be used for a transaction. Only federal currency is required to be accepted as a medium of trade. So chips are OK from that point of view. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2008, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casino-chip-counterfeits/467453/27 "2008-10-17T13:32:42Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > There seemed to be some really gray areas to me. Tokens aren’t legal tender, so can they be called counterfeit? [[QUOTE=Dictionary.com](http://QUOTE=Dictionary.com)] 1. made in imitation so as to be passed off fraudulently or deceptively as genuine; not genuine; forged: [/QUOTE] I think _counterfeit_ would be the appropriate term. However, the **legal** consequences of attempting this would not be the same as counterfeiting legal currency (the Secret Service would not get involved) - it would be some sort of fraud charge, or obtaining pecuniary advantage, or something similar. Plus (of course) the extraction of interest in the form of broken limbs 😉 Si [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casino-chip-counterfeits/467453.md?page=1)