Design review for the Pharaoh's Club Paulson chips

[messenger309]

FYI
ASM Horsehead mold: 39.8mm
ASM Roman mold: 39.4mm
ASM Blank (Rounders Chesterfield) mold: 39.3mm

Rob

[Medisin]

That's strange...

[toots]

Ok, I might be in the minority here, but while I'm bothered by Paulson's rigidity on the whole mold/color/inlay/edge spot issue, I don't really think they're such bad choices.

The mold that says Paulson just ain't that hideous in real life. It's got texture, which is half the reason for the molding. The inlays are small for the mold, but they're so well done (recessed into the chip, with very little bump where the edge leaves off and chip starts) that I don't hugely dislike it.

But I love the colors, the edgespots are good, and the chip feel, sound and bounce are outstanding.

I'm not in a rush to buy anything, so I'll happily wait for egyptians if they're Paulson. I could happily live within the restrictions that we know today.

[warewulf]

I don't see the point in going with ASM. They dont give volume discounts, we would essentially be splitting the artwork fees. If they will do different edge spots, different story altogether.

[duma]

[ QUOTE ]
I doubt that. Apache Poker chips bought probably at least 100,000 chips and they had no say in the inlay size or the mold or the colors.

GPI (Paulson) barely got back into the home market probably thanks to Trademark Poker and they probably didn't have any say in the mold design. If they couldn't get Paulson to budge on the colors, why do you think we as consumers can do it when a distributor the size of Trademark couldn't?

Don't count on GPI thinking $100,000 gonna even make a trickle in their bottom line when they have majority of the casinos in the world as their clientele.

I'm not trying to be a downer but I'm being realistic.

[/ QUOTE ]

so youre saying that GPI is just going to denounce the $60,000+ that it will cost to buy 100,000 chips? i find this hard to believe. any person in their right mind would not deny someone a purchase of this size, no matter how big the company is.

[duma]

intersting but more inline with option #1

[toots]

I think there are several considerations that the (new) management at Paulsons has been going through.

1) Worry about chip counterfeiting. One reason why they're being so picky with molding and colors would be to make sure that there's no chance of someone taking fantasy chips and "building" counterfeits.

2) Did they have a 2-year non-compete clause for the home market with the Endys when they bought the company? There may still be some contractual thing there.

3) I've noticed when companies get big, they convince themselves that they can't afford to be at all flexible. Once, working for a large company, which at the time was selling more dumb terminals than anyone else, I read some straight-faced analyses where people decided that it'd bankrupt the company if they tried to start shipping Dvorak keyboards. This sort of "Can't do" think can cripple a company's ability to pursue otherwise profitable ventures.

4) Maybe they really are making so much money from casinos that they don't have to care anymore. After all, there is a boom lately.

5) Maybe they don't have the expertise/interest/staffing to know how to deal with onsey-twosey orders.

I doubt #4, but it's possible.

[MeridianFC]

[ QUOTE ]
Has anyone asked ASM if they are willing to lift their restriotions re single wide edge spot for a 100,000 chip order? At some point, money talks and BS walks. The question is what point Paulson, Matsui, and ASM have in mind.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'd be curious about this too. Paulsons are far and away my favorite chip, but as far as pure design, me being more for the classic school and all, is the ASM Borland chips.





http://www.antiquegamblingchips.com/Borland.htm

[AZnuts]

Personally, my interest in this concept is directly linked to custom inlays on the new Paulsons. Colors are fine; they are great chips except for the inlay.

If it morphs into someone else's chip, I'm no longer interested. (especially pokerchips.com; had a horrible experience with them and vowed, never again).

I bring this up since there may be a sizable chunk here who feel the same way, which could affect the size of the committed pool of people.

No matter where it goes, good luck, and kudos to Ten.

[TenPercenter]

[ QUOTE ]
Personally, my interest in this concept is directly linked to custom inlays on the new Paulsons. Colors are fine; they are great chips except for the inlay.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm 80% in agreement with you. The main reason I wanted to do this project is for a better Paulson than the James Bonds. If I am told by 10 people "in the know" that I can't do it my way, then it may be a moot point. Why switch manufacturers if 30% of the group members drop out? It takes minimum 100,000 units to place a custom order. I am fully confident that I can make that happen, otherwise people are stuck with a choice of the James Bond chips, or the standard Trademark stock chips.

I think that if I am right about April, and the next Paulson mold will be modified to match standard inlays, then we are back in business. Otherwise, I'll weigh the difference of staying with Paulson despite the goofy inlay, or choose another manufacturer. This order is not to that point yet, so there should be no rush to judgement.

Color changes are not necessary for me to continue with this project. I don't like that the white and orange get dirty fast, but it's gonna happen with any light colored clay. I had a grand idea to make my $1000 chip "gold" instead of dayglo orange, but it would be a bonus that I'm willing to accept not getting. (see the Le Cove 1000 for the gold I am referring to)

Modified inlay edges (saw, cog, hex, etc) would be great, but not integral to the project. Once I posted my proposal, I was bombarded with "you're crazy if you think you can get modified inlay edges" type messages. If nothing else, we can make the inlay round, with the edges as part of the graphic design. I'm not 100% sure I like the idea but I will consider it. A full set with round inlays may be the best option, and I'll weigh that choice when the time comes.

It looks like we, as a large group buy, present somewhat of a threat to some of the distributers. I think this is a GOOD sign, a sign that this group buy could pull more weight than some think. But we cannot have much influence only as a concept, but as a dedicated group with a record of commitments to buy.... the sky's the limit.

More to come.

Ten