"But if you like them because they are art, I do not understand why it matters whether everyone else has one. It it any less art because there are many of them?"

You are correct, It doesn't matter if everyone else has it. I, as most collectors, can not afford every chip that comes out. What I was trying to refer to in my post are verious different criteria that I consider when deciding whether I want a chip. Art, Uniqueness, Historical significance and as you mentioned about Elvis, Personal interest. I would not be too interested in Elvis as I was a bit young when he died,(grade school) and really wasn't much of a fan. However I am a fan of Penn and Teller, Nascar etc. and would probably overlook some of the other criteria for a chip with a personnal interest. Produce a chip of Emeril Lagassi and I will kill for it. Just Kidding Point was that with the over abundance of chips being released, sometimes for rediculous reasons, some are naturally going to get lost in the shuffle because they are too abundant or ordinary. I tend to weed through the pages and pages of eBay listings by noticing those that jump out at me. That is usually the unusual or unique. As for why casino chips and not commemorative plates, Space. I also collect a lot of racing dicast. Mostly NASCAR and some Indy. They take up shelves and shelves. My Chip collection, right now, occupies about one cubic foot.

Take for example the HR $25 Cure chip. Although I had been a fan of the Cure in the past, I doubt that there were many Cure fans among collectors (most of you being OLD). The chip was not particularly attractive. Sure there are collectors who collect all the Hard Rock chhips, but lets face it demand for that chip should not be very high. ... Now we see that the chip will be hard to get, we want the chip because we want to have hard to get chips and also maybe because if we ever sell we figure this one will go up in value..."

Yes, I do consider my collections as an investment as well as collection. Of course I do not want to think that my overindulgence in this collectable will loose money. It would be nice if I can pass it on some day and my heirs can appreciate the value of it. However, your mention of buying ugly chips just because they are rare. I do not buy just because something is rare or no one else has it. I buy primarilly because I LIKE IT. After all, that is the first rule of collecting ANYTHING, whether it is art, antiques or casino chips. Only buy what you like and what gives YOU pleasure.

"IS THAT THE CASINOS FAULT? NO. That is the collector's fault. And while I sympathize with the collector who can't get the chip that he would otherwise have wanted, I no longer have any sympathy for those who complain that they can't get a chip that the only reason they want is because it is hard to get."

I tend to agree with you here. I guess I didn't mention it in my post but there were no bad feelings about MM or Palace Station Boxing. Reason, I am not a BBall fan or a Boxing fan and could care less that I wasn't able to get those chips. I had no interest either way. I just think that a lot of suggestions that casinos should just make large quantities of all chips because people are upset that they can't get them, is misguided. The casinos have their reasons for limiting the editions. It may have significance as is the case of 1040 for tax chips or 2000 or 2001 for New Years. Or, they may just be going from experience from how many chips are just sitting in cages because there was not enough demand. I think if something could be done to more fairly distribute the chips so that more people could have a fair chance at them, that is where there is a problem. I agree partly with your assesment of the problem. I think, however,that the casinos do have some blame for not being responsive to the collectors and giving preferences that only promote the greed of some collectors and brokers who take advantage of the policies to control the releases. I just can't help but believe that some casinos are taking the interests of some of their preferred brokers into consideration before they consider the collector. Some are producing rediculously low numbers of some editions. Is it because the casino wants to create some rarity, I doubt it. I do not believe the casinos really care. I have to personally believe that they were acting on advice or requests from some people who thought they could make a killing on an extremely limited release. Perhaps the dealer lists were created with good intentions to distribute the chips to collectors over a wide area. However, It appears from alot of the comments here that some of those who benefit from this privelidge might be abusing it. It is a shame that some dealers and collectors are being shorted in this system and it would be a shame if some of the reasonable dealers that are getting these chips loose their opportunities because a few might be taking an unfair advantage of their situation.