Poker players spend countless hours handling chips, but how often do we stop to think about just how clean (or dirty!) those chips actually are? For poker rooms and casinos, keeping thousands upon thousands of chips clean has traditionally been a tedious, time-consuming chore. Norwegian poker enthusiast and entrepreneur Rein Ørbø decided there had to be a better way.
What began as an improvised experiment ultimately developed into The Chip Cleaner, a purpose-built machine designed to bring professional-scale poker chip cleaning into the modern era. In this interview, I speak with Rein about his background, the inspiration and development behind The Chip Cleaner, and his ambitions for bringing cleaner poker chips to card rooms and casinos around the world.
First things first, Rein, tell us a little bit about yourself. Where in Norway do you live, what do you do outside of work, and what are some of your personal interests and hobbies?
I live in Drammen, 40km south of capitol Oslo, Norway. It’s both where I live and work, as my office and warehouse are here. I have two grown sons, one working with the air force, and the other studying economics. Outside of work, I enjoy socializing and being a part of the Norwegian poker community. I have a dog, love Formula 1 and maybe also take up model railroading when I get old enough. But playing poker at local clubs takes up much of my spare time.
How did poker first enter your life? To what degree do you spend time around poker rooms and casinos as a player beyond your business interests?
I have always been fascinated by casinos, but just as a poker player as I stay away from roulette, blackjack and other games. I don’t remember exactly when this fascination first emerged. I play poker a lot, as a recreational player, with the regular disbelief of variance and equity. At the Norwegian Poker Championship in September, I finished in 40th place out of more than 2,000 players, which was my best Hondonmob result. But I keep trying to improve my game.
Poker and casinos are banned in Norway, with some acceptance of home games and Charity Games. To get a feel of the real casino atmosphere, Norwegians needs to go abroad, and we do. These days, I must focus my bankroll on my business, so I visit casinos as a business trip. I often get done with the business part of the trip pretty quickly in each casino/card club, and after that there is time to spare to play poker. I love it!
Tell us a little about your professional background, in particular any experience that helped prepare you for developing a product like The Chip Cleaner.
I have a degree in marketing, business and economics. So I know my way around a spreadsheet, and the difference between red and black numbers. I have no technical or engineering background, but this expertise can be purchased. I have leaned heavily on competent constructors and engineers in different fields.
It has taken a lot of trial and error to develop the machine, and 2.5 years after the initial product release, we are still improving it. First users, or Early Adopters, have been very helpful in the process, being honest about what they like or not. Then we improve parts, reinstall new parts, and try again. On the bright side, I have not received any negative feedback in six months, so things are looking good.
The Chip Cleaner is modular, so a new and better module will fit in the old model. You will not have to buy a new machine to get a better model.
The Inspiration Behind The Chip Cleaner
What first prompted you to develop a machine specifically designed to clean poker chips? Was there a particular experience or moment when you realized that this was a problem worth solving?
Short answer: Dirty chips at the club. I aired my frustration to the owner, and said he must improve his chip cleaning routine. He told me the chips were cleaned not long ago, and it was a time consuming chore. “Well, get a machine, then!” I told him. It turned out, there was no machine available to do the job more effective than cleaning by hand. “Well, how hard can it be?” I thought, and built something from scrap wood, duct tape and a yoga mattress. This “de facto prototype” cleaned the 2,500 chips from the club in one hour. Manually operated. The owner just laughed and told me I had saved him two days of work.
What steps were involved in making your vision a reality? How long did the journey from initial concept to a functioning machine actually take?
Well, my prototype proved that it was possible to clean chips at “industrial speed”… so, business opportunity! In mid-2023 I mortgaged my house, and made an electric version, cleaning and drying in one process. A real beast! This was made with help from a Norwegian company, New Tracks, whose purpose is to help new inventions go to market (at a price, of course).
I also needed to do some market research. I met with a friend at Casino Gothenburg who convinced me that I should take the idea forward. The phenomenon of dirty poker chips in a casino isn’t limited to my native Norway. But since it seems impossible to clean them regularly, at volume, that’s why the issue persists, so I conluded that there is a need for The Chip Cleaner.
The first electric machine was mainly designed and made functional to attract investors. I also spent nine months crafting the business plan. In 2024 an Angel Investor came forward, which allowed me to quit my day job, and I’ve been working full-time on The Chip Cleaner since June of that year.
What have been some of the biggest technical challenges you have encountered along the way?
During product development process, each challenge seemed to be interconnected with another one. The hardest part was making chips cooperate. They never do; not in the machine, and not at the poker table. So we developed a way to “convince the chips to behave” during cleaning. The run rate of The Chip Cleaner is approximately 300 chips in 35-40 seconds, which translates to 30,000-35,000 chips per hour.
The effective run rate is less, because it takes time to move chips from a shelf, and it takes time to stack them afterwards and put them back on the shelf.
The bottom line is that you can clean a large casino’s worth of chips in a day. That has never been an option, for anyone, until now.
Introducing The Chip Cleaner
So, let’s get to the machine itself. Walk us through how The Chip Cleaner works. What does the process look like from the moment dirty chips go into the machine until they emerge clean and ready for use?
The machine takes approximately five minutes to start up before it is ready to receive chips for cleaning. You add water and a tiny bit of soap, check if everything is in place and fixed, then start it. The internal heater will make sure the water has the correct operating temperature. Then you fill up The Chip Cleaner magazines – which are designed to accept full racks of chips — and off you go.
Approximately six liters of water circulate throughout the machine per minute, as the chips are passed through brushes, turned, and then cleaned on the other side before drying with a system of cloths. This absorbed water is swiftly removed by the machine, so you can literally run it for hours. Moreover, The Chip Cleaner is set atop wheels, so you can easily roll it wherever you like, instead of moving the chips to the machine.
When you’re finished cleaning the chips, it takes approximately 10 minutes for the machine to shut down. During this time, the machine’s water tank empties out and can be cleaned, and the brushes can be removed so they dry out, too. Notably, The Chip Cleaner is a “dumb machine” — no WiFi, Bluetooth, RFID, or cameras are necessary. Just plug it in, and you’re good to go; simple and easy.
Poker chips come in all sorts of materials, sizes, and designs. Are there particular types of chips that The Chip Cleaner works best with or limitations in terms of the chips it can accommodate? How do you ensure that the cleaning process doesn’t damage chips, their artwork, or their inlays?
The Chip Cleaner is designed for the most common chips. Our custom designed Chip Magazine can accept 0.38mm-0.41 diameter chips. If a casino has larger size chips in circulation, we can make the appropriate adjustments. Plaques, on the other hand, are not advised. It’s a machine meant exclusively for circular poker chips.
The Chip Cleaner does not discriminate the make or design of chips. Ceramic, clay, plastic, RFID, inlays, UV… everything goes, and this is BY DESIGN. To avoid damaging inlays, there is a strict temperature regime that the machine abides by. This tender treatment of the chips during the wash cycle means that very dirty chips may have to be run through a few times before you have the desired result. Since the machine does the work so fast, though, it’s no big deal.
What sort of maintenance does The Chip Cleaner itself require? What would a poker room need to know about the ongoing costs and upkeep of operating one?
The machine’s motors will run for 1,500 hours, and the pumps will run for 600-700 hours. Other components and modules have parts sourced from food and beverage production manufacturers, designed to work flawlessly 24/7/365. Because The Chip Cleaner will likely be used less than 24/7/365, the maintenance needed is thus marginal. My own unit, used for testing, service cleaning for local clubs, and demoing across Europe, show no signs of wear and tear after 18 months.
The machine also comes with a 3-year warranty. It’s pretty robust and durable, so there shouldn’t be any breakdowns. Also, it’s modular, so if any component stops working, it can easily be replaced and I’ll ship a new one. The running cost of The Chip Cleaner is marginal (essentially just the cost of electricity). At the end of the day, this saves operators far more than they’d have to pay employees or a third party to manually clean the chips.
A mid-size casino with 100,000 total chips in circulation ought to see a full ROI on their investment after less than a year, versus manual chip cleaning (if they clean their chips at all). But business matters aside, I believe that casinos and poker rooms should endeavor to keep their chips clean as a service to their valued guests and as a matter of practicing good hygiene.
Taking The Chip Cleaner to Market
What sort of feedback have you received from the poker room directors and casino staff who’ve had the opportunity to see your machine in action? Have any of their suggestions led to changes or improvements in the product?
They love it! Staff love the idea when I show them videos of the machine at work. One dealer at Kings Resort Rozvadov exclaimed that “this was a days work in 5 minutes!”
Videos are one thing, but The Chip Cleaner needs to actually be out there in the casinos and poker rooms. Casino Barcelona has been remarkably kind to me, making a purchase immediately. They reported a couple issues, and I flew there in person to install improvements. Early Adopters have a special place in my heart, so I need to thank PokerStars and the EPT as well. The improvements they’ve been the catalysts for will benefit every new buyer, who gets an even better machine.
How much does The Chip Cleaner cost and what does a typical purchase include?
My business has evolved into reality from an idea that I became passionate about, so honestly I just want to see The Chip Cleaner in more casinos and poker rooms, more so than have more money in my company’s bank account. Still, the business needs to be profitable and sustainable.
The machine costs €23000, which is similar to other items in the same class, like Chippers and card shufflers.
A purchase include anything you need to have a full-scale cleaning operation going, for a long time. Water containers, soap, troughs, absorbents, magazines… just open the shipping crate, and get going. If you need to add consumables, those are inexpensive. Our branded Chip Cleaner soap is special, but it costs just a little more than your regular dishwasher soap from the supermarket.
You’re essentially an entrepreneur bringing a new product to an established industry. What has that experience been like? What have you found most rewarding, and what’s been the most difficult aspect of turning your idea into an actual business?
I love meeting new people and every casino I have visited has always been very welcoming. Overwhelmingly, people seem to love that I have taken this idea to the extreme and made a business out of it. Their reactions tell me that I’ve done something right, so in that sense I already feel like I’ve been successful.
The difficult part is actually getting casinos to spend money. They don’t gamble, right? But despite the hurdles, I do my best to make sure that every purchase comes with a service level above expectations. If the casino is not happy with The Chip Cleaner, I will bring it home and credit the purchase. That’s my level of confidence in the machine.
At the end of the day, it solves a problem. It’s comparable to returning your SmartPhone to the shop, and reverting to the telegraph. Would you do it? I think not.
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