Merchant Spotlight: Casino Supplies & Poker Chips

Q: Why did you choose to open online store dedicated to the gambling and casino industries?

Kiet Tien: I have played No Limit Texas Holdem Poker at many casinos prior to opening our website in 2004. I usually play 4 to 6 hours, 3 to 4 times a week and make a living that way. When I noticed in 2004, there were a significant amount of new poker players, I knew right there and then that I was going to sell poker and gambling supplies and give up my poker sessions at the casinos. It was a life changing experience, getting away from the casinos and now just working hard and finding new gaming supplies for consumers in the USA. Poker is my passion and will always remain the same, whether its playing a home game, at the casinos or buying and selling poker supplies.

Q: What are these markets like currently and how have they changed over the past decade?

Kiet Tien: The market for poker and gaming supplies have changed dramatically over the past decade or two. In the early 90's, prices were inflated for poker chips and poker tables because there were only a few suppliers then. You would have to go to your local B&M store to purchase your supplies. Later in the 90's, a few of us had computers and online access where there were only 2 to 3 big retailers at most for poker supplies. When the "poker fad" came in 2003, that is when the market exploded. It was the talk of the town, where everybody would be playing poker. Prices for poker chips and supplies were the hot commodity between 2003 and 2007. We then started the recession around 2007, and the market for poker chips and supplies dropped over 50%. There was way too much competition in the online business for poker supplies. Price dropped significantly during this period. A regular set of 500 poker chips would go for $120 in 2004, but in 2007, the prices have dropped to $40 for the low end poker chips and around $90 for the higher end poker chips. Since then, the prices and market demand have been stable. New poker players come in to our store daily to purchase poker supplies.

Q: Where have you seen your products used and who are your typical customers?

Kiet Tien: Most of our products are purchased by consumers and are used for home games. There are commercial buyers as well, who would purchase these for their private poker tournaments. There are a few smaller local casinos that purchase playing cards from us.

Q: What are some tips for purchasing gambling and poker accessories?

Kiet Tien: Some tips I can give you about purchasing poker chips are if you want casino quality or shelf life. Casino quality chips are made of clay material and weighs around 10 grams each chip. There are usually wear and tear after a few years. However, the wear and tear would make the chips look more natural and casino-like. The other type of chips sold are a little cheaper and are called composite or plastic poker chips. These chips were design and made for consumers, so that they would last a life time. The difference between the chips are the sound they make and how real they feel compare to poker chips in casinos. For purchasing poker tables, I would recommend the customer to look for thicker wood surfaces, so the table would be more sturdy and stable. Casino supplies are produced by so many manufacturers that the quality, size and thickness of the poker chips are made in different sizes. So the consumer should pick a supplier and stick to them for the same quality and type of chips.

Q: How do you decide which poker chips to release on your store each month?

Kiet Tien: We have a design team that comes up with new designs every month. We then put that into production and offer it in our online store. If we see that a poker chip sells well, we would keep it on the site. If there are not much demand for one design, we would then take it off and stop the production for that chip.

Q: How can individuals "take a part of the casino home with them"?

Kiet Tien: When poker players or gamblers go to the casino, whether for entertainment or work, they know how fun it is to play the game of poker. Every table at the casino has players with high stacks of poker chips. We offer those same type of chips, affordable to consumers so that they can have the same type of game play at home. Whatever supplies used at the casino, is also available in our online store.

Q: What style or design options do customers have when purchasing your poker chip sets?

Kiet Tien: We change our poker chips design every month, so our loyal customers can come back to our store and have a new poker chip set every so often. All the poker chips are made to specification. There are a few type of poker chips that comes without a design in the middle, where consumers can then take it and make their own design and apply it to the poker chips. There are a few ways for customizing poker chips. They are hot stamping, laser printed labels and silk screen printing decals.

Q: What kinds of specials do you offer customers throughout the year?

Kiet Tien: Poker N Stuff have discounts for each holiday throughout the year. We also offer large volume discounts for businesses or consumers who purchase in bulk.

Q: What else would you like to share with us about your store, PokerNStuff.com?

Kiet Tien: We are the west coast largest distributor of poker and gaming supplies. All of our products you see on our website is also available for immediate purchase in our warehouse located in Ontario, California. So stop by and check us out.