I believe they just periodically take the pile of chips over and cash them in, although I’ve never actually seen this process personally. There are plenty of low-wage casino employees trusted with large sums on a daily basis, so it’s no real hassle for the casino.
Again, they’re not quite that liquid. Just two weeks ago I was in the Wynn poker room, and a lady way trying to get the dealer to take her Tropicana $100 chip to no avail. (She was leaving town and didn’t want to have to go back to the Tropicana, so she eventually just sold the $100 chip to another player for $70.)
Of course, there’s nothing stopping them from encouraging you to voluntarily stay and keep playing. If you’re on a particularly lucky streak, you’re likely to find yourself getting alcohol delivered by the pretty girls, compliments of the management, or even things like a comped hotel room if you’re lucky enough.
A lot of people have a hobby of collecting ((and taking home)) Casino betting chips.
2.If you think about it, the Casino actually makes money if you dont turn in the chips. I don’t have a cite, so I will parphrase:
The chips cost less than $1.00 each to make (regardless of denomination). If you take a $5.00 chip home, and never intend to redeem it, the Casino has just made $4.00 off of your “winnings”.
It definitely happens at casinos that are owned by the same parent company. In Las Vegas, for example, Paris Las Vegas, Bally’s, the Rio, the Flamingo, Harrahs, and Caesar’s Palace are all owned by the same company. From what I recall, they all use the same color and style of chips for denominations of $5 or more in every casino, with the only difference being the stuck-on center logo. And they don’t just stick 'em in the vault; I remember receiving Paris chips among my winnings from the dealers at Bally’s.
I suppose they want to make it as easy as possible for you to spend your money at any of their properties.