[FL70]

Manufacturer: Unknown
Retailer(s): SBSupplies
Average Price: 16¢-18¢
Material: Metal slugged plastic

Pros:

• Relatively inexpensive
• Eye catching design
• Stickerless - design is printed directly on chip
• Solid stacking ability

Cons

• Extremely metallic sound
• Smaller diameter
• Manufacture dimples

Price

The SBSupplies website lists these at $100 for a 500 chip set - aluminum case, card setup, button and 5 dice (without which no poker chip set would be complete). They sell the 500 and also 1000 chip sets (for $180) on eBay with both auction and Buy It Now pricing.

If you roughly estimate a $20 retail price for the case/cards/etc, then these chips come in at about 16¢ each. That said I am not sure if the chips can be purchased without the case/cards/etc or what the price per chip would be if it were possible.

Feel

The PP727s have a very hard ‘plasticky’ feel. The narrow outer area (with the edge spots) is very slightly grainy, while the inner area has a much more discernable grain to it. Whatever the actual weight of these chips might be, they feel heavy and solid.

Each chip has a small manufacturing nub on one side of each chip (photo #2). It is more raised on some chips than others.

Stacking

The sample set only consists of 5 chips, but as a test I held two of them between thumb and forefinger and tried to slide one against the other with varying levels of pressure. At a medium level of pressure, the chips would slide, but only in slow, jerky movements. Stock inlay 11.5g chips, which also have a subtle grainy inlay, slid freely and smoothly in this same test.

Additionally I gave the chips a slide on my poker table (as you would generally see a player do to show the chip count). Each chip slid about halfway off the preceding chip. See photo #3 for comparison to the 11.5g chips, NexGens, & Paulson NYNY.

Given the ‘grippiness’ of the PP727s, I believe that they would stack quite well.

Sound

In looking at the SBSupplies photos, I could not quite tell what the composition of these chips was (hence the samples order). I was a bit dismayed, although not surprised to find that the chips are metal slugged plastic. However more disappointing was the sound of the PP727s. Riffling the chips yields a MUCH more metallic, clinky sound than the 11.5g chips from the tests above. Given the greater weight yet smaller diameter of the PP727s, this is not very surprising.

In grinding away a bit from the edge (photo #4), you can see the metal slug is no more than 1-2mm from the edge of the chip and comprises probably just under 1/3 of the total chip.

Looks

When I found the PP727s I actually didn't mind the inlay design too much. While I do think it is a bit busy, its simplicity helps to keep it from being overwhelming. One advantage is that there is no sticker applied to the chip. The design is printed directly on the face. I think the narrowing of the numbered denominations towards the middle of the chip is unnecessary and slightly distracting, but it’s not something most people would pick up on.

The colors are pretty bright – the green $25 being nearly neon - but this is an area of personal preference. Upon very close inspection the colors of the outer ring and the inner area do not match precisely, but you would really have to be looking to realize this.

Each chip has four edgespots. On the positive side, the edgespots on the face are all perfectly aligned to those on the side. On the negative, the edgespots on all chip denominations are black, which would make a splashed pot appear somewhat dull.

Security/Originality

As inexpensive, mass produced chips available on eBay, clearly these have little in the way of security. I would certainly never use or recommend them for use in a cash game or a tournament with medium or high stakes.

In terms of originality, I would give the design average marks. It’s plain and simple. Most people wouldn’t hate it or love it.

Durability

Ever see that Samsonite commercial with the gorilla really laying into the suitcase? I did the basic home equivalent – I gave the chips to my 20-month old. She dropped, threw, bit and slid them around on the linoleum floor. The plastic edges of the ones that absorbed the most damage showed stress marks if not outright dents (photo #5). So the plastic itself is not very forgiving. However if they never leave the cushy comfort of your poker table, they should hold up OK.

The faces seemed very resistant to any kind of marking from sliding against the floor or other chips.

For the sake of testing I took the rounded edge of a butter knife to the surface of one of the chips. This left almost invisible marks on the face that you could only really see if the light was at just the right angle. The cutting edge of the knife however scraped away the surface, revealing the white plastic below.

Reviewers Comments

With a decent design printed directly on the chip face and a price coming in the 16¢-20¢ range, they would be an OK chip for home use. However, for approximately the same price you could get wider inlay design options and less ‘clinkiness’ from most 11.5 gram chips.

I would surmise that even at ½ their price, for most true chip aficionados, the extremely metallic clink sound of the Prestige Pro 727s would be enough to quash any notion of a purchase.