Purple chips are limited-issue chips given to event winners and folks who help produce chips and put on BARGE. Main event winners get a permanent entitlement to purple chips moving forward.

This has created a lot of work, especially with a few chip sets not produced in time for BARGE. Chips have been sometimes held for years hoping someone eligible would attend again. This is an unwelcome chore, so we are trying to streamline things a bit.

This seems to have worked well for the 2025 batch (which had four chipsets produced) so we’re keeping to this plan fof 2026.

Our goals are these:

  • We want to give out purple chips at BARGE, and ideally, only at BARGE.
  • We want to be done distributing purple chips at the end of BARGE.
  • We do not want to make chips for people who no longer want chips.
  • We want to avoid producing “extra” chips.
  • We want to make this easy on Organizers, future main event winners, and RBCC.

For the current year (i.e., 2026 as of this update), here are the guidelines for purple chips:

  1. In order for someone to receive a purple chip for which they are otherwise entitled below, they must attend the BARGE. The RBCC will not ship current purple chips.
  2. The Previous Main Event Winner will be given discretionary chips. These are theirs. They may do whatever they want with these, including (but not limited to) keeping them, or shipping them to people not otherwise eligible. They may also buy extra purple chips as part of the chip order. (The intended minimum number of discretionary chips is 5, although this could be reduced if a mistake happens somewhere.)
  3. No one else may buy purple chips from RBCC.
  4. One purple chip is reserved for:
  • the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winner in major events
  • the 1st place winner in second chance events
  • all Previous Main Event winners who attend BARGE
  • members of the chip production team (RBCC)
  • each Organizer
  • the Banquet Speaker
  1. Event winner chips will be given out at the event, ideally at the same time cash or trophies are handed over. (The Organizers generally handle this.)
  2. At most one purple chip will be given per person other than the Previous Main Event Winner. Any second (or further) chip will be given to the Previous Main Event Winner as an additional discretionary chip.
  3. 3 purple chips are reserved for the host room and given to the poker room manager for their distribution.
  4. All chips not distributed by the end of BARGE will be forfeit.
    • Prize chips are intended to be awarded at the events, at the time of the events.
    • Other chips (ME legacy winners) should be collected before the start of the Main Event dinner break. If not, these chips will be released to the Previous Main Event Winner as additional discretionary chips.
    • A Previous Main Event Winner who wants these additional discretionary chips should be sure to collect them on Saturday night.
  5. In the event something crazy happens (BARGE is cancelled, postponed, moved online) RBCC will make reasonable efforts to get chips to people.

History suggests we have been somewhat haphazard in giving out purple chips. This will likely continue. Everyone involved is encouraged to obey the spirit of these rules, not the letter.

We have other make-up sets. As of this writing, we hope to make up the 2022 and 2024 sets soon. These are a little harder to distribute because we can’t just hand them out. These chips will be distributed somewhat similarly:

  • We are making a limited effort to get purple chips to event winners and previous main event winners.
  • We will produce fewer chips, since we can just not produce chips that would violate the one-to-a-customer principle.
  • For anyone who buys a sampler set, we will include purple chips with sampler sets.
  • If you are entitled to chips and attend BARGE, we will have chips for you.
  • For anyone else, please let us know how we can get your chips to you. We will not absorb shipping costs, but we can give chips to your designee, for instance.
  • In any event, make-up chips not claimed by the dinner break of the Main Event will be forfeit and will be given to the pictured main event winner as additional discretionary chips. Exceptions must happen in advance, because once we hand over chips, we won’t ask for them back.

This plan will cover 2026 chip distribution and could change in the future.