Chips in Chips

RFID (radio frequency identification) is the hot new chip-tracking technology that is taking the casino industry by storm. RFID (the patents to which have been obtained by Shuffle Master Inc. for use in casino applications) works by way of microchips that are placed inside objects and communicate via radio waves with special readers. Anyone with an AVID microchip in his family dog or cat is already using this technology. For our purposes, however, we're concentrating on the microchips that will soon be put inside our chips (poker, not potato).

Some people might argue that this is simply another "Big Brother" conspiracy straight out of an Orwellian nightmare, but anyone using a member card at his local grocery store or her neighborhood slot club already has made these privacy issues moot. And when it comes to poker tournaments, the benefits certainly outweigh any concerns one might have about privacy, unless one is cheating, of course – in which case it's safe to assume that one would be prone to being very anti-RFID.

For instance, by eliminating the human-error factor, chip counts would become instant and accurate. Instant chip counts make for better reporting, allowing news sources to immediately and precisely pass along the data to you via television, Internet webcasts, and so on. Are you vexed by the time it takes to get player standings at a break? Well, fret no more!

Other benefits include putting a stop to the passing of chips between players, and providing a safeguard against any foreign chips being put into tournament play. Also, chips can be immediately verified and tracked at the end of a tournament, should they go missing or be stolen.

None of this even gets into the aspects of casino security or live play. Imagine how much time can be saved at the casino cage when cashing in at the end of an all-nighter at the tables when you're tired and not double-checking the cashier's counting. The house will now be able to know which cocktail servers are really hustling, and who the big tippers are. Comping as a means by which one's play is rewarded will become an even more exact science, while the old-school hustler's move of palming chips will become all but obsolete (be it on the part of the cheater or the dishonest dealer).

Do you still have doubts? Well, look at it this way: In true Las Vegas fashion, now even our poker chips will have silicon implants!