The agents want to verify they are not casino tokens.The poker chips resemble other items on the x-ray, and your bag is selected to be searched by hand.
There are 3 main reasons you may be singled out for questioning if you choose to take casino poker chips home with you: In this article, you will learn how to travel by air with poker chips and some travel hacks that can help make flying with poker chips easier. They are allowed on both domestic and international flights. Ultimately, poker chips are entertainment items that have no monetary value. Poker chips can legally be taken onto a plane either in checked baggage or carry-on and are not considered contraband in the United States or other countries. However, allow extra time for security as a TSA agent may ask questions about your poker chips if they are seen on an x-ray. So, I placed a call to the TSA to get a definitive answer for you and this is what I learned. No one likes arriving at their destination and finding that something has been taken out of their suitcase by the TSA or that items have been thrown away when passing through the security checkpoint. Knowing what you can take on a plane can help prevent this. One item people often wonder about when traveling by plane is whether they can bring poker chips along for the ride.