Casino staff usually refer to chips as "cheques," which has its origins in France. In reality, there’s a difference between a cheque and a chip. A cheque is just a chip with a denomination written on it and is forever worth the value of the imprinted value. Chips, however, do not have values imprinted on them and the value is defined by the table. For instance, at a poker tournament, the dealer might value white chips as one dollar and blue chips as ten dollars; whereas, in a roulette game, the casino might value white chips as twenty-five cents and blue chips as $2. A different example, the inexpensive red, white, and blue plastic chips you buy at the department store for your weekend poker game are called "chips" due to the fact that they do not have denominations printed on them.
When you plop your cash down on the table and hear the dealer say, "Cheque change only," he’s simply informing the boxman that a new bettor wants to change cash for cheques, and that the money sitting on the table isn’t in play. Money plays in many casinos, so if you place a $5 bill on the Pass Line just prior to the shooter rolls the ivories and the croupier doesn’t exchange your money for chips, your cash is "live" and "in play."
In reality, in actual craps games, we compete with with cheques, not chips. Occasionally, a player will approach the table, put down a one hundred dollar cheque, and inform the dealer, "Cheque change." It is amusing to act like a beginner and ask the dealer, "Hey, I’m a beginner to this game, what’s a cheque?" Generally, their wacky answers will entertain you.