The Flamingo just announced that they are switching all their BlackJack tables to the Bally MindPlay system. The Hard Rock is going to do a 10 table trial of RFID chips (they transmit their value to the table, so that you are rated precisely on what you actually play). As of yesterday, the Hard Rock trial hasn't started, because they are waiting for the new chips to arrive...

The Bally MindPlay system doesn't use a wireless transmitter like RFID, but it depends on the dealer's chip rack to optically read the striping patterns on the chips. Traditional chips don't have patterns that can be accurately read, so the Bally MindPlay system will require an entire new rack of special chips. Bally MindPlay system will also read the cards; and there are card-counting algorithms to determine if a player is getting creative... (SOON)gone will be the days when you play-up on the first few hands to get a higher rating, or sneak off when the Pit Boss isn't looking so you might get more time recorded as playing at that higher rate - both these systems will accurately measure EXACTLY what you played, and for how long. The RFID chips may also be able to "know you have them", and realize this if you bounce around to the other tables - a feature lacking in the optically read Bally MindPlay chips. RFID will also allow the Casino Manager to know EXACTLY how much money is in the cage, or at specific tables - I'm not sure how well Bally MindPlay chips do in these circumstances.

IN ANY EVENT, all your current chips will be from an older era, technologically speaking - and it's about to happen. It will be interesting to see how well the Flamingo & Hard Rock do in preserving the "look" of their chips.