Man Tries to Cash Casino Chips Bought from Online Auction
After purchasing about $60,000 worth of casino chips (389 total) from an online auction from the defunct Playboy Hotel and Casino (which was in operation from 1981 to 1984), the man who did so (Keith Hawkins) is unable to redeem them despite the Treasury Department’s Unclaimed Property Administration being responsible for the value of all outstanding chips.
LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE:According to a New Jersey appellate panel, the reasoning was that they were “pilfered” by an employee instead of destroying them like they were supposed to.
More About These Chips
The man went to the Treasury Department’s Unclaimed Property Administration because Playboy Hotel and Casino transferred funds to them to cover redemptions after they closed. As mentioned, the man in this case tried to cash 389 chips in Jan. 2023.
After New Jersey Police investigated, it was determined that the casino hired a company to destroy the chips, but instead, one of that company’s employees “had pilfered several boxes of unused chips” around 1990 and put them in a bank deposit box.
The employee who hid the chips later declared bankruptcy but claimed to have forgotten about the box. The bank then, in 2010, confiscated the chips and sent them to the auction house, where then Mr. Hawkins purchased them.
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The Final Ruling
After attempting to redeem them in Jan. 2023, the man filed a claim that was rejected in June 2023. The UPA did so because the chips had not been issued in regular casino operations.
Hawkins appealed, saying that the UPA relied on limited evidence and acted arbitrarily. On April 1, the appellate court said Hawkins wasn’t entitled because he didn’t provide chips that the casino issued.
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