This is what you'd see if you tore apart one of the new $25 Hard Rock Peacock Lounge chips...

Although I think this is the slickest thing to come around in a long time, it's not eligible for the Chip of the Year (COTY) award, since it's a 2005 chip (next year, maybe?). Anyway, I think the $5 Flamingo, which is the competitor to the RFID system, will get my vote for chip of the year. The $5 Flamingo, which is just a gorgeous chip to begin with, has special edges that are optically read (vs. radio frequency read as with the RFID chips). Time will tell which technology will win-out, but it is entirely possible that both (or a combination of both) will prove to be the industry standard in a few years.

I've posted the $5 Flamingo on the COTY site, it's currently the fourth chip on the first row - hit the link below to check it out...