By Ed Komenda, Las Vegas Sun

All poker chips expire.

But unlike with sour milk in a fridge, casino bosses choose when chips go bad. It can be months, years or decades after they are issued.

“It’s a personal choice,” said Mark Lipparelli, a gaming consultant and former chairman of the Gaming Control Board.

Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts International recently ran newspaper ads warning people that the chips used in several of their casinos will be discontinued in six months. After that, anyone holding onto them will be out of luck.

Expired chips lose their face value. Gaming regulators made the law in the late ’80s to try to cut down on fraud and counterfeiting.

Before 1987, the state didn’t care much about what casinos did with their chips. Today, the process is very different.

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