Table Value: Just how much are poker accessories worth?

Author: Simon Dexter

Book Review
Table Value: Just how much are poker accessories worth? By Timothy Martin

Poker’s boom has been responsible for many things: from spawning considerable global interest in online gaming and creating a succession of card playing millionaires, to wall-to-wall television coverage of the game.

Running parallel to this has been the astonishing growth in collecting poker and other snippets of gaming memorabilia. Today, everything from poker chips and playing cards to autographs and WSOP bracelets are deemed to have a value, almost irrespective of their origins.

For example, as a direct consequence of their nation’s involvement in two foreign wars, the US military has played a surprisingly pivotal role in sustaining the value of selected poker and gaming memorabilia.

In 1966, the US government commissioned the production of several million packs of cards which comprised nothing other than the ace of spades on every card. They were intended to strike fear into the Vietcong for the ace of spades was known as ‘the card of death’.

These decks were shipped to Vietnam in large plain white boxes marked only “Bicycle Secret Weapon”, named after the card’s design. As anyone who has ever seen Apocalypse Now will recall, whenever American GI’s killed a member of the Vietcong, they left an ace of spades on top of the deceased’s body.

Although few, if any, white boxes containing the cards are believed to have survived the war, unopened complete decks are now highly collectable and equally highly valued.

Tim Martin’s book is full of such interesting anecdotes and when reading the, it’s possible to see whey poker’s accessories would become so collectable.

Not surprisingly, given the concentration of casinos, collecting poker and gaming memorabilia started life as a hobby undertaken by visitors to Vegas and so it is to the US that serious collectors usually turn when searching for rare and valuable gaming-related items.

Until the Casino Chip and Gaming Token Collectors Club was formed in 1988, most collectors probably believed they were involved in a harmless solitary pursuit. Not so. The club now has more than 2,500 active members and holds an annual convention in Las Vegas every year when more than 100 dealers and traders from across the globe assemble to trade all manner of casino memorabilia.

For them, stumbling upon a Wilbur Clark Desert Inn chip from the mid-1950’s would be akin to discovering a Renaissance masterpiece in the attic. Less than a dozen of these extremely rare chips are believed to still be in existence; they can change hands for more than ,000.
Equally rare is an original issue 0 chip from the now defunct Hacienda Club in Las Vegas, which opened its doors in 1956. In mint condition, it is now worth in excess of ,000; even damaged versions can be sold for up to ,000. Lovers of the bizarre can buy a Ronald Reagan commemorative poker chip for a more modest .90.
The UK market is not yet large enough to warrant organisations hosting fairs designed solely for collectors of gaming memorabilia, although most of us would still be amazed at what obscure surprises can be found at coin fairs for example. Nevertheless, as poker becomes ever more popular, so too will the game’s artefacts and other memorabilia. It follows that, as Martin suggests, buying that Ronny Reagan casino chip might not be a bad investment after all.

Tags: Poker accessories, poker book, Table Value, Timothy Martin

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 12th, 2007 at 4:09 pm and is filed under News & Promotions Blog.