Owning former Playboy Casino casino chips is officially a loss for anyone who might be in possession. According to the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, this exchange will no longer be accepted particularly because the $875,000 account that was originally designed for chips cashing in has been closed. The former Atlantic City Casino hosted the exchange account but this has since been stopped – with the administration citing fraud control as the main motivation.
By stopping the cashing in of casino chips, gamblers will no longer have access to a unique situation that was first experienced when the property started operations in the 1980s. Financial reports indicate that the funds are there but will be transferred for storage to the state’s unclaimed property division. This process must be preceded by mandatory state legislation.
What we cover
No gaming license for Playboy
At the start of the second half of the year, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE) revealed to the public that the process of exchanging chips for cash would no longer take place. This was obviously a huge blow for some bettors who had been used to this since the account was set up in 1982. At the time of establishing the fund, Playboy did not have a gaming license. This justifies the presence of a company operating on behalf of another.
Playboy had an active partner for this venture; Elsinore Corporation was instrumental in keeping the operations of the casino running even though the approvals had been in favor of another. The casino was renamed as per a court ruling and in 1984 became known as the Atlantis. After years of doing business under this arrangement, the fortunes appear to have changed following a license renewal decline by Elsinore.
All the chips that were on hold by Playboy and Atlantis chips were supposed to be cashed in following the directive to do so. To facilitate it, Gaming regulators forced the management of Elsinore to make a deposit of $875,000 at the state treasury. The director of NJDGE, Chris Rebuck, has shed light on the matter stating that the funds had been set aside to act as a compensation kitty for gamblers of Atlantis and Playboy. By representing debts using gaming chips, gamblers are allowed to redeem their chip balances through the treasury until there is nothing more to give. Luckily at the time, there was no time limit for redeeming the chips.
How many chips are still circulating?
In July, it was decided by the agency that chips would no longer be exchanged for cash. Rebuck has reported that Playboy had entered into a contract with an organization at that particular time to do away with its chips stock; it was never to be. Even though it is likely that many gamblers exchanged chips in their possession, it is possible that a large number of chips are still lying unused. By declaring the process of cashing chips as no longer acceptable, the regulator will have created fool-proof system of weeding out fraudulent claims.
It has been close to 40 years since the physical premises that hosted the casino used the Playboy name as an identifier. Although none of this exists today, 4 decades is by any standard sufficient time for the real gamblers of Playboy to redeem chips or symbols of casino wins owed to them by the casino management. By the time of making this declaration public, it is assumed that any chips intended for cash-in would have been traded. Those who still hold on to theirs might have obtained them as gifts, inheritances, and souvenirs from a primary holder.
Rebuck maintains that the money that was deposited to the treasury was purposed for the benefit of the initial patrons of the casino who most definitely had winnings to lay claim over. By no means was the intention of the fund to apply an open invitation for gamblers who would suddenly acquire chips with the hope of cashing them. A loophole in the law has been identified and it is time to do away with any rough edges.
In 2008, a construction site worker from Hernando, Mississippi landed a jackpot when he came across a concrete slab full of casino chips as he dug through rubble in a community infrastructure project. When the company that had been contracted to destroy the chips got wind of the matter, they distanced themselves stating that they were not aware how they did not have them on record. Furthermore, it was a mystery that the chips had been found buried over 1,000 miles from the actual casino location.
A discovery of casino chips is equivalent to a discovery of hidden treasure; no wonder residents flocked to the discovery site to loot the chips. People used any vessel they could find to transport the chips. Seeing this, the New Jersey attorney general’s office started an investigation. The lucky ones rushed to the exchange facility for the cash payout while the others stayed on to accumulate as much as they could. There was no shame in grabbing this loot and the mayor and police were among those who made away with hand fools of the chips.
Conclusion
It is true that chip balances in holding by gamblers are now a waste; but not entirely. A loss is only as huge as the bearer allows it to be. The setback suffered by chip owner is at the moment a real issue but that is not where the story is going to end for everyone. At least they have a measure of value which they can use to engage in various forms of business. For those who are interested in long term benefit, try looking at the chips as something that will soon go into extinction; they will soon be a collector’s item that will be sort after by history keepers.
