Poker Chips No Longer Redeemable at Competing Las Vegas Strip Casinos
Poker players can no longer redeem casino chips from one competing Las Vegas Strip property at another.
The major resorts along the Strip have stopped accepting poker chips from competitors. It wasn't a decision made by the Nevada Gaming Control Board (GCB), but the board approves of the efforts to help thwart money laundering.
Casinos involved include all MGM Resorts, all Caesars Entertainment properties, Wynn Las Vegas, and Venetian.
Impact on the Vegas Poker Community
The casinos above will no longer cash poker chips from other properties. There is one exception, and that is that the new rule doesn't apply to sister properties. If a gambler attempts to cash in, say, Bellagio chips at another MGM Resorts property such as Aria, the request will be honored by the cashier. The same rule applies within the Caesars brand of casinos.
There are 11 brick-and-mortar card rooms on the Las Vegas Strip. That's down significantly since COVID, as rooms such as Mirage, The Strat (formerly Stratosphere), and Harrah's never reopened.
Many poker pros who frequent multiple Las Vegas poker rooms enjoy the convenience of cashing in chips from one property at another casino. Those days are over as the biggest gaming brands in town are attempting to combat money laundering.
The main impact of the new policy, for those who aren't money laundering, will be losing the convenience factor of being able to cash Venetian chips over at Bellagio. Poker players traveling to Las Vegas who play in multiple card rooms should cash out their chips following each session. This will prevent having to run up and down the Strip on the last day of the trip to cash in chips at various casinos.
Poker rooms previously permitted cashing in rival casino chips, as it made it easy for players to buy into games if they didn't have cash available. Las Vegas has long been considered a hotspot for poker in the United States. Many of the biggest tournaments and cash games, and the juiciest low-stakes games, have been hosted in the popular tourist destination. But some pros believe other cities, such as Los Angeles, Austin, and Miami, have surpassed Las Vegas poker.
