The Desert Diamond is no longer using their diamond hot-stamped tournament chips for poker tournaments. I am not sure what they have done with the rack of 5 different colored chips, but I will try to find out. However, the yellow "re-buy" chip is still in-use, but with a twist. Previously, the re-buy chip was purchased from a runner and then handed to the dealer who in turn counted out the re-buy value amount in tournament chips and collected the re-buy chip. What is different now is that when you buy-in to the tournament, you are given the re-buy chip. When you want to exercise your re-buy option, you give the chip and cash to the dealer. Tournaments only permit one re-buy and if you are without a yellow re-buy chip, it means you have already done the re-buy (or you harvested the re-buy chip).

Anyway, here are two of the new tournament chips. They come in at least 3 colors/denominations. The third is a lavender $500. I am not sure (yet) if there is a higher denomination, but I don't think there is.

Have we noticed that these tournament chips are not marked as "tournament" chips, nor are they marked "NCV" or "No Cash Value" and for all intent and purposes look to be actual value, live action chips, but they are not.

And now, another unusual twist in the history of Desert Diamond no value chips. As I pointed out above, from the replaced diamond pattern hot-stamped tournament set, they are still using the yellow re-buy chip. We it seems that they are also using a very old "DDC" chip as a "Player has already bought the re-buy" chit. When you buy-in to the tournament, you have the option to immediately buy the one-time re-buy (for $1,500 in tournament value) or do the re-buy at some point in time during the first hour of the tournament (for only $1,000 in tournament value).

If you buy early (for the better value) you are given the much older, blue "DDC" chip. When you go to your pllace in the tournament, the dealer will add the $1,500 to your stack and NOT give you the yellow re-buy chip. So, the blue "DDC" chip is an accounting chip.

Greg Susong has first dibs on one each of the $25 and $100 above. Until further notice, I do not have other traders. The tournament schedule is but two games per week. Tuesday and Wednesday night. Most of you know I play the Chipboard PokerStars tourney on Wednesday nights, so that only leaves Tuesdays AND my ability to buy-in to the tournament at $75 and $50 for the re-buy. So, unless the harvester wins the tournament, it makes for very expensive tournament chips!

I will also note that the Desert Diamond has completed their slot club card player tracking software provider switch-over a few days early. As of now, they are no longer using the "SDS" vendor and all older cards and interim (temporary) cards are being pulled.

They now have three levels of play, regular, silver and gold. All three cards use the same artwork, but just as the card below is predominantly blue, the silver card is predominantly silver (charcoal) and the gold card is predominantly gold (dark yellow).

Thanks for looking,

Jim