Strip casinos to stop accepting poker chips from other properties

Poker players on the Las Vegas Strip will no longer be able to cash out poker chips from one casino at another starting this week.

Beginning Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, The Venetian Resort and properties operated by Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts International will no longer honor poker chips from competing casinos, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. Wynn Resorts has also confirmed it will follow the same policy.

The move ends a long-standing informal practice that allowed poker players to redeem chips from other casinos at rival poker rooms — a convenience for regulars and tournament players who hop between venues along the Strip.

The Venetian, home to the Strip’s largest poker room in the Grand Canal Shoppes, will implement the policy on Wednesday, July 16. “The Venetian Resort Las Vegas will no longer exchange casino chips based on poker play from other casinos,” a property spokesperson said Monday. “This policy change is another measure in our commitment to anti-money laundering compliance.”

Caesars Entertainment — operator of poker rooms at Caesars Palace, Horseshoe Las Vegas, and Planet Hollywood — will begin enforcing the new policy Thursday, July 17. Signs posted inside Caesars’ casino properties warn guests that, effective that day, Caesars-branded poker chips will no longer be redeemable at other casinos, and vice versa.

MGM Resorts, which operates four Strip poker rooms at Aria, Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, and MGM Grand, confirmed its updated chip policy will also take effect Thursday. However, MGM clarified that poker chips will still be redeemable across its own properties.

Although no official explanation has been given by state regulators, several operators indicated the change aligns with efforts to strengthen anti-money laundering (AML) compliance.

Las Vegas poker rooms have long been flagged as potential vulnerabilities in AML enforcement due to the ease with which players can trade chips for cash, often without formal casino oversight. By limiting chip redemption to within each operator’s ecosystem, casinos hope to tighten internal controls and reduce risk.

There are 11 poker rooms currently operating on the Las Vegas Strip, located at Aria, Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Horseshoe, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, Planet Hollywood, Resorts World, Sahara, Venetian, and Wynn. Players are advised to redeem any poker chips before leaving the casino where they were issued.