Dirty Money: How Clean Are Vegas Casino Chips?

From James Bond in Monte Carlo to Elvis in Vegas, casinos are synonymous with glitz and glamor.

But underneath the bright lights and high-stakes action lies an often-overlooked fact: casino chips are among the most frequently touched items in the building – passing from player to dealer to pit boss and back again, without a second thought.

But unlike cash, which is regularly taken out of circulation, chips stay in play for months or even years, potentially picking up all sorts of passengers along the way. While chips are cleaned periodically, there’s no hard-and-fast rule for how often casinos must sterilize their chips.

So just how dirty can casino chips get?

To find out, CryptoManiaks swabbed chips from some of the best-known casinos – both on and off the strip – to see how many microorganisms could be hitching a ride.

What We Did

We gathered casino chips of $1, $25, and $100 denominations from 10 popular on- and off-strip casinos.

For each denomination, we collected five individual chips from each establishment to create a representative sample, and bacterial samples were taken from each chip using a combination of direct surface contact and sterile swab testing.

All samples were incubated at 86°F (30°C) to promote bacterial growth. We then calculated the average colony-forming units per cm² (CFU/cm²) for each chip denomination, determining their respective bacterial loads.

Each chip was tested for:

• Total bacteria count
• Coliforms: A type of bacteria commonly found in human and animal waste
• Staphylococci: A bacterium that can cause skin infections, boils, styes, abscesses, as well as food poisoning, and in very extreme cases, toxic shock syndrome.
• Enterobacteriaceae: A bacterial family that includes E.Coli and Salmonella that can cause food poisoning, as well as others that can lead to anything from urinary tract infections to pneumonia.

Bacterial Contamination on Casino Chips: What We Found

According to our study, the value of your casino chips could impact how many germs you come into contact with.

Our sample revealed that the humble $1 chip was by far the grubbiest of the bunch, hosting an average of 110 bacteria culture-forming units (CFU) per cm², or 720 CFU per square inch. To put this into perspective, that’s over 14 times more than you’d expect to find on the average toilet seat (7.8 CFU/cm², 50 CFU/in²).

While other slides exhibited more visibly defined or larger colonies, the fine red covering visible in the example above indicates dense clusters of tiny colonies, resulting in a higher overall concentration of germs.

Some of our $1 chips also tested positive for coliforms, a bacterium that can be found in human and animal waste, Staphylococci, a potential cause of skin infections and boils, as well as Enterobacteriaceae – although between 2.5 CFU/cm² (16.1 CFU/in²) and 29 CFU/cm² (187 CFU/in²), this is considered slight to moderate growth.

The $25 chips held the middle ground with a comparatively modest 31 CFU/cm² (198 CFU/in²).

There were little to no noticeable Coliforms present, and Enterobacteriaceae growth was also minimal, with an average of 0.6 CFU/cm² (4 CFU/in²) across our samples.
However, there was a moderate level of Staphylococci on our $25 chips to the tune of 12 CFU/cm² (77 CFU/in²).

With an average aerobic bacteria count of 40 CFU/cm² (258 CFU/in2), our $100 chips were significantly cleaner than our $1 chips, but were still five times more contaminated than a typical toilet seat.

Interestingly, the pattern of being cleaner than our $1 samples but dirtier than the $25 chips was consistent across all bacteria types

Our $100 samples displayed very slight growth for Coliforms and Enterobacteriaceae with 0.6 CFU/cm² (4 CFU/in2) and 2.5 CFU/cm² (16 CFU/in2), respectively, while Staphylococci were found in larger concentration – averaging out at 18 CFU/cm² (107 CFU/in2) across all of our $100 chips.

Average Number of Bacteria Colonies Found on Casino Chips (CFU/cm²)

On-Strip Casinos Vs Off-Strip Casinos

We also wanted to explore whether a casino’s location influenced the cleanliness of its chips.

To avoid singling out specific establishments, casinos were grouped based on whether they were located on or off the Las Vegas Strip.

On-strip casinos typically experience heavier foot traffic, with the potential for thousands of visitors to handle their chips every day. As a result, chips taken from on-strip casinos were significantly dirtier, averaging 93 CFU/cm2 (597 CFU/in2).

Conversely, off-strip casinos, often frequented by locals and fewer tourists, provided a notably cleaner experience. Our study found that chips taken from off-strip locations had 21 CFU/cm² (138 CFU/in2) on average.

Meaning that chips from on-strip establishments harbour roughly four times more (343%) bacteria than those from off-strip locations.
You can also see how levels of Coliforms, Staphylococci, and Enterobacteriaceae compare across on-strip and off-strip casinos in the table below.

Author Ed Acteson at CryptoManiaks commented: “Given how many people handle casino chips every day, you can hardly expect them to be spotless. However, seeing what might be hitching a ride visualised like this can certainly make your skin crawl.

“Our research also found bacteria that are typically found in human and animal waste, which is especially unsettling considering chips often share a table with drinks, snacks, or finger foods.

“While these germs probably won’t pose any serious health risk to most casino-goers, the results of this study act as a friendly reminder not to leave your health to chance, and to wash your hands between the blackjack table and the buffet.”

Whether you’re a casual gambler or a seasoned high roller, check out CryptoManiaks’ rankings of the best crypto casinos for a cleaner, worry-free gaming experience.

Methodology

• All items sampled were ‘real world examples’, meaning chips of $1, $25, and $100 denominations were gathered from 10 Las Vegas Casinos.
• Samples were taken from 5 cohorts of each chip denomination, colony counts are the average across all samples.
• Samples were taken using a combination of direct surface and swab testing.
  Samples were incubated at 86°F (30°C)
• All chips were sterilized before being returned to their respective establishments