Definition
A Fill Slip and a Credit Slip are the two primary documents used to track the movement of chips between the casino cage and the gaming tables. A Fill Slip records chips entering a table to replenish the tray, while a Credit Slip records chips leaving a table to return to the cage.
In context
If a blackjack table is losing and the dealer’s tray is almost empty, the supervisor requests a “Fill,” and a Fill Slip is generated to bring $10,000 in chips to the table. Conversely, if a roulette table is winning and the tray is overflowing, the supervisor requests a “Credit,” and a Credit Slip is used to send $5,000 back to the cage.
Why it matters
These slips are the “debits and credits” of table game accounting. They allow the casino to calculate the “Win” of a table by adjusting the opening inventory for any chips that were added (Fills) or removed (Credits) during the shift.
Related terms
In detail
To understand the difference between a Credit Slip and a Fill Slip, you have to look at the casino as a giant bank with dozens of smaller “branches” (the tables). Each branch starts the day with a fixed amount of “cash” (the chip inventory). Because players win and lose at different rates, those branches constantly need to move inventory back and forth to the main vault (the cage).
The Fill Slip: Replenishing the Table Think of a Fill Slip as a “delivery receipt.” When players are winning, they are taking chips out of the dealer’s tray and putting them in their own pockets. If the dealer runs out of $25 chips, they can’t pay out winners. The Pit Boss will “call for a fill.” The cage sends a security guard with a tray of chips and a Fill Slip. Once the chips are verified and the slip is signed, those chips are added to the table’s mathematical responsibility. Math: Opening Inventory + Fills = Total Responsibility.
The Credit Slip: Clearing the Table Think of a Credit Slip as a “deposit slip.” When the house is winning, the dealer’s tray fills up with chips. Eventually, there is no more room to hold them, or the table has too many of one denomination. The Pit Boss “sends a credit” to the cage. These chips are physically removed from the table and taken back to the vault. This reduces the table’s mathematical responsibility. Math: Total Responsibility - Credits = Net Inventory.
The Accounting “Win” The reason we care about these two slips is to find the “Win/Loss” of the game. At the end of a shift, the “Drop” (the actual cash and markers in the box) is counted. But the drop isn’t the profit. To find the profit, the casino uses this formula: Win = (Closing Inventory - Opening Inventory) + Credits - Fills + Drop.
If a dealer started with $10,000, ended with $12,000, had a $5,000 Credit, and a $2,000 Fill, and there was $1,000 in the drop box:
- Inventory grew by $2,000.
- Add the $5,000 they already sent to the cage (Credit).
- Subtract the $2,000 they were given for free (Fill).
- Add the $1,000 in cash they collected (Drop). Total Win = $6,000.
Without the distinction between these two slips, the casino’s books would be a disaster. If a supervisor accidentally marked a “Fill” as a “Credit,” the table’s win/loss would be off by double the amount. This is why the slips are often color-coded (e.g., white for fills, yellow for credits) and require signatures from the dealer, the supervisor, the security guard, and the cage cashier.
In terms of security, both slips represent a point of vulnerability. “Paper hangs” are a type of casino scam where someone tries to manipulate these slips to hide the fact that chips were stolen. For example, if a supervisor can make it look like a $5,000 “Fill” happened but the chips never actually reached the table, that money disappears from the books. This is why every single Fill and Credit is watched by surveillance and why the paper copies are carefully reconciled in the “Count Room” or the back-office accounting department every 24 hours.