Ask the Wizard #7
Jay from USA
Both games are both shuffled after every hand. Thanks to Darla with Gambler's Palace (another Unified Gaming casino) for her help on this one.
Steve from Albuquerque, New Mexico
A $240 bet on Vargas will win $100. A $100 bet on Quartey will win $190. Of course, you can bet any amount, but the winnings will still be in the same proportion. If you bet $100 on Vargas, then you will win $100 × (100/240)=$41.67.
Paul from Calgary, Canada
Yes, you can. They even sell them in the casino gift shops. However, it is bad etiquette to slow down the game by checking the card frequently. The least you should try to do is memorize what to do with a hard total, these situations happen most of the time. For non-obvious soft hands and pairs you can be forgiven for checking the card.
Bob
This is way out of my area of expertise. However, I can say that most casinos use RFID chips (Radio Frequency Identification) in their chips of $100 denomination and higher. As I recall, there was a case where somebody painted $100 black chips to look like purple $500 chips in Las Vegas, thus appearing to pass the RFID test. Other than that, counterfeit chips are not a problem you hear of often in Las Vegas.