Gambling fascinates people since the beginning of civilization. We can see that some of the first gambling games are depicted on vases in ancient Rome and Greece. The uncertainty about the final result of the game has always sparked an interest with many people all around the globe, and from different civilizations.
While there are many more gambling games in the world than we can count, it should be said that some kind of standardization was done with the introduction of casinos a couple of centuries ago. Participating in these games has resembled nothing short of social status, meaning that only people from the upper classes of society could enter them.
But, with the introduction of modern casinos, especially in Las Vegas during the middle 1940s. We all know the story about Bugsy Siegel and how he influenced the birth of what we know as the “Heaven for Gamblers”. Since then, we are witnessing the fascination people have about what occurs in this town. So, this was a source of many different myths and stories about various situations that occurred here.
We can see that even Hollywood was fascinated with it. There are a plethora of movies that show us different periods in this town. We are talking about movies like “Casino”, “Bugsy”, and a lot of different movies that follow them. However, it should be said that there is a part of this narrative pretty unknown to the people today.
Its story is much more than we can see in movies, books, and TV shows. Now, we would like to talk about untold stories about casino chips. We believe that they are not as popular when it comes to talking about the history of casinos. So, now we will present you with some of the most interesting facts about casino chips that you probably didn’t know.
A Lot of Different Denominations and Colors
While some colors are characteristic of some denominations, we can see that there are a plethora of different casino chip combinations you can find. Especially when we are talking about online casinos. In case you would like to see some of the most unique ones, go to Playamo now.
There, you will see that there is a major reason for these differences.
Dealers can tell the difference between your bets based on the color of the chips. So, they don’t need to count them whenever you bet on something, either in poker, craps, blackjack, or roulette. One of the most interesting chips you will ever see is a $25,000 chip, which is violet, and it’s often referred to as cranberries. Also, it should be said that different casinos often use different types of color patterns with their chips.
A Lot of Things Preceded Them
The first mention of what we know today as chips happened back in eighteenth-century France. At that time, the higher social levels played a game known as a quadrille. We are talking about a highly-structured game that required some real skills to master, even more than it’s required for today’s poker. It was played with a deck that consisted of 40 cards. Even though this game is not played today, it made a significant impact on the whole concept of gambling as we know it today.
However, what they used back then weren’t chips. The thing they used was called a jetton. Since then, a lot has changed before we got to what we have today. We all know the scenes from classic western movies when cowboys put their guns on a table instead of money. At the same time, it wasn’t uncommon to include golden nuggets into gambling. Naturally, some of these practices are still pretty much alive, even today. However, these kinds of bets are not acceptable in casinos, as you can imagine.
Stealing a Chip is a Crime
We are not sure why is that, but in the highest majority of areas in the US where gambling is permitted, stealing a chip from the casino is a serious criminal offense. So, putting one of these in your pocket can mean a lot of legal problems for you. However, there are differences to this rule. It all depends on how you’ve obtained the chip.
For example, in case you’ve found a chip on the floor, you will have no problems, in case you go to cash it. However, if you have stolen a chip from a table or some other players, you can be sure that you will face legal problems. Therefore, you should be pretty careful about how you obtain your chips. In case there is something wrong with that, things are not looking good for you.
There Are a Lot of Bacteria on Them
We are pretty sure that everyone who’s ever seen a casino chip knows that there are some stains on pretty much all of them. Most of the time, these stains will not go away, no matter what you do to them. This is the case especially with some of the smaller casinos who are not so interested in cleaning their inventory frequently. Since these go from hand to hand pretty much every day, it should surprise you that there are so many stains on them.
But we bet that you didn’t know that the average casino chip has more bacteria on it than a toilet seat. We can support this claim with a report conducted by one of the most prestige universities in the country, which found exactly what we’ve said earlier. Naturally, not all these bacteria can be considered bad. But that doesn’t mean that you should have them anywhere near your mouth, which is one of the commonest things gamblers do or touch your face with hands that held one of these.
The Bottom Line
Since we believed that the story about casino chips is pretty underrated, we’ve wished to provide you with some of the most interesting things about them that are not so well-known. Some of these are pretty shocking, like the last one. However, this is what makes it so interesting. We are sure that chips and gambling as a whole will represent a source of fascination for many years to come.
