About Classic Poker Chips
One craft, carried for over a century.
Classic Poker Chips LLC continues the same high-quality, hand-crafted real clay poker chips that have been made in Maine for more than 100 years — now from our new factory in Woodinville, Washington. The owner is Mike Amirault.
The Full History
From billiard balls to poker chips.
Alonzo Burt Sr. founds the Portland Billiard Ball Company in Portland, Maine, making patented billiard balls — plus checkers, dominoes, tally balls, and bowling balls.
The company begins manufacturing poker chips alongside billiard balls — simple designs in clay-like composition and an early plastic called Plaskon, sold as “Breaknot”.
Renamed the Burt Company, the firm develops the metal die-cut chip — foil designs applied to chips become its signature product before the war. Within a few years, clay chips as we know them are developed and supplied to wholesalers for hot-stamping.
Chip production is limited as the company turns to government contracts — primarily manufacturing ammo cans.
Burt purchases United States Playing Card's chip-making equipment, eliminating its main competitor and becoming America's leading chip maker. The late '40s bring higher-quality printed-center chips and the first colored edge spots.
Burt introduces the first multi-colored edge spots and the first house mold, at the Golden Nugget. The Flamingo puts its new Champagne Tower on its roulette chips; Wilbur Clark and Benny Binion put their own faces on theirs.
Jim Blanchard acquires the Burt Company's assets, renames it Atlantic Standard Molding, and keeps making chips in Portland, Maine for 24 more years, retiring in 2012.
Chip enthusiasts David Spragg and David Sarles purchase the assets, persuade Jim out of retirement, and set up a new factory near the original location. Classic Poker Chips launches in March 2014.
David and David retire; CPC is sold to repeat customer Mike Amirault.
The entire factory — presses, molds, and all — moves from Maine to Woodinville, Washington. Same equipment, same clay, next chapter.
CPC Bulletin
The latest from the factory.
January 15, 2026. We've completed the move of all the equipment from Maine to our new factory in Woodinville, WA. We are working with multiple contractors on plumbing, electrical, and other infrastructure to bring the factory online, as fast as we can. Until we're operational we are not taking any new orders for chips, samples, or anything else. We appreciate your patience as we start this next chapter of CPC! — Mike
2025. The sale of Classic Poker Chips LLC to Mike Amirault was completed in April 2025. All orders placed before April 27 were manufactured at the Maine factory. As Mike put it on taking over: as a repeat CPC customer, he's thrilled at the opportunity to lead and grow the company — with thanks to David Spragg and David Sarles for saving the company in 2013 and building it into the maker of the best custom clay chips in the business.
Why It Matters
The last of the real thing.
We are the only remaining manufacturer in the world offering genuine compression-molded clay chips to the retail market. The molds exist only at our factory; the process is a closely guarded secret; and every chip is still made by hand, the way it was when the Golden Nugget got its first house mold.
Whether you're a casino or an individual planning a home game for the ages, you're ordering from the same works that has been pressing chips since 1912.
