James,

Yes, a lot of collectors have advanced notice that new chips are going to be distributed. This is not to say they always have an "inside" contact, but that the casinos themselves want to "sell" the chips to collectors, so they announce a date that they will hit the cage.

Check out the link below, which is the glossary page on the Casino Chips and Gaming Token Collectors Club, Inc.'s website.

http://www.ccgtcc.com/glossary.html

Hope this helps.

Scott