Dirty Chips

Quote: GWAE

Can you use it to just wash with no dry cycle and then air dry them. Also I would doubt that you would need to wash all 40k.

I don't think it's the dry cycle that's the enemy. Rather, a dishwasher, by design, is a very aggressive cleaning appliance, as it should be. Plus, it operates at "near boiling" temps during the wash cycle. Not good for some chip surfaces. http://i62.tinypic.com/2i8yux5.jpg

Frankly, with all this Ebola noise going around, I am curious why any/every casino anywhere does not slug in the tag-line: "all chips washed and disinfected every 24 hours". Think about it.

It probably depends on the casino. The Casino I go to quite often I believe cleans them maybe once every year or two, but talking to a few pit bosses that I talk to regularly, they were saying they haven't washed them for quite a few years.

Quote: Riva

...Frankly, with all this Ebola noise going around, I am curious why any/every casino anywhere does not slug in the tag-line: "all chips washed and disinfected every 24 hours"...

I'm pretty sure it's because they would have to wash and disinfect them... hehe

Quote: Ayecarumba

I'm pretty sure it's because they would have to wash and disinfect them... hehe

If there was a "mini tie-breaker" between going to "Casino A" and "Casino B" and, "Casino A", all things being equal, said that they wash and disinfect their chips every 24 hours, that could tip me to spend my money there.

Conversely, as a non-profit, making the same kind of grandiose statement, could make people think...."why on Earth would they be making a statement like that?" and avoid the place.

I see people all of the time eating while playing poker. Hell I may have done it as well in the past. Yes chips are gross but most people don't care at all. I remember when I was a kid, I ate dirt and bugs and everything else and I am very healthy (when it comes to getting sick anyways).

As for TSP, it would be a really good cleaner but it is really hard on the inserts. I wouldn't do it very very often or you will be replacing chips. As a collector of chips, I would never wash them in it. When I wash my chips I put a little bit of dawn in with warm water. I take a soft bristle tooth brush and dip it in the water and scrub the chip gently. Then I put the chip dry and let it air dry standing up over night. I can imagine it would take about a year to do 20k chips.

If it were me, I'd be doing the Girl Scout thing with "ditty bags". Net drawstring bags about 12-14" square (easy and cheap to make) with 300-500 chips/bag, dipped in a mixture of Dawn and clothes detergent (gentle amount) and warm water, then dip in hot weak bleach, then final dip in warm clear water. Agitate them in each bucket (not just a swish, but light rub handfuls of chips thru the net), to get the chip faces exposed. No soaking; you're just after surface dirt, and they are clay. Dump out onto old beach towels and hand dry.

You said you have 3500 volunteers; you could knock this out in an evening with 20 of them. Buy the pizza and beer and go for it.

Quote: beachbumbabs

If it were me, I'd be doing the Girl Scout thing with "ditty bags". Net drawstring bags about 12-14" square (easy and cheap to make) with 300-500 chips/bag, dipped in a mixture of Dawn and clothes detergent (gentle amount) and warm water, then dip in hot weak bleach, then final dip in warm clear water. Agitate them in each bucket (not just a swish, but light rub handfuls of chips thru the net), to get the chip faces exposed. No soaking; you're just after surface dirt, and they are clay. Dump out onto old beach towels and hand dry.

You said you have 3500 volunteers; you could knock this out in an evening with 20 of them. Buy the pizza and beer and go for it.

Security is a concern with too many "helpers". Checks and balances mean this is a job that can't be done by just one person either. I think six folks, and an independent verification of the count before and after the cleaning should be able to do it in a day.

If you put them in a washer, they will tend to warp and then you will not be able to match stacks of chips.

The best way is a bucket of TSP water and a bucket of rinse water. Works like a charm

I would avoid the ultrasonic cleaning process (like the ones used to clean window blinds). We tried that once and it really leached the colors out of the chips. Especially the red chips.

I work in small card rooms and we wash them by hand. We buy a cleanser meant for chips and put it in a bucket. Then we dunk about 100-300 chips in the bucket and scrub/mix them around with a toilet brush for a few minutes. Then dump the chips out on towels and hand dry them. We use an smaller bucket with holes drilled in the bottom to hold the chips so when we pull it out, the cleanser stays in the original bucket. It is usually good for 7-10 washes (depending on how dirty your chips are).

We have to go through about 3-4 of the gallons of cleanser and it takes a team of 3-4 people about 2-3 hours to finish it up, but it is a lot cheaper than paying someone else to do it.

Dishwashers are tough because once the chips get wet they tend to stick together, which is why we scrub/mix them around with the toilet brush.

Takes some elbow grease, but it works. We do this for our supply of 30,000-40,000 chips. Just do it in smaller sections and verify the count prior to and after cleaning each section.

Quote: Riva

A few years ago, we purchased new chips for our fundraising events. They are casino quality and have the school logo and other graphics printed on them. They are VERY nice however, it was no small investment. And, when not in use, they are kept in a remote storage room that requires two different keys to access. No one individual has both keys. http://i58.tinypic.com/j9nd5h.jpg

With our previous currency, metal coins, they always stayed very shiny and clean looking. The new clay chips are now a bit grimy and we're looking in to methods/products to clean and disinfect them. One system I am looking at cost about 10K and that is hard to justify having events only about 10-20 days per-year. http://www.tcsjohnhuxley.com/en/live-gaming/utilities/chip-washer-mini-system.html

This got me to thinking...I wonder how often a casino cleans and disinfects their chips? If you were to ask them, I would bet they would not give you an answer. Literally tens of thousands of thousands of people handle these chip each and every day and they have to be a breeding ground for germs and transmittable diseases, let alone grungy, oily and dirty. I'm sure many of you here have horror stories to share surrounding this subject.

If anybody here has any insight as how chips are cleaned at a casino and how often, please share. Thanks.

Are the real chips cleaner than the counterfeit chips or do they all match?

I bet you lose 2k in EV per night due to shenanigans.

No Video surveillance = Rampant easy 3 rd rate cheating, any 1 day practiced armature can do. No doubt some people feel they are justified(Robin Hood) due to your horrible raping odds of charitable type people.

I would hire a team to secretly show you how easy any average Joe can swindle you.