I am and will always be a seriously low roller in the chip collecting world. My collection is small with very few chips worth much of anything. And, I'm OK with that. Early on, I only collected chips that were in play in casinos I played at (oh, there must be something seriously grammatically wrong with that sentence). It wasn't long before I had most of those, so I just branched out to anything that caught my fancy or chips I obtained just to make some trades. I quickly decided, though, that I wanted something to make my collection stand out and be special in my mind. Since I knew I could never have a really special Vegas collection, or probably even a Nevada collection, I looked for some quirkier areas. I thought, better to be a fish in a small pond where I can get some chips that are more unusual, that you wouldn't see in every collection. And, as I found out, those off-areas are a whole lot less expensive, so I could afford some of the scarce and possibly even rare chips. As it happened, I took a trip to Aruba, where I picked up a bunch of chips to trade. I fell in love with the place and went back a few years later. I kept up with the chips, found ways to get chips outside of the hobby and researched like crazy to learn as much as I could about the island, the casinos and the chips. I quickly got the common chips and moved up to uncommons and scarce chips. By chance, I got a few that are actually quite scarce, one may even be unique.

I love the posts about casino stuff by Pam G, Charles Davis, Doug Deems, Mark Englebretson (while he could still post here), Eric Miller, Don Lueders and others. So, when I started running low on chips to buy, I branched out to playing cards, players cards, tokens, some dice and then matchbooks, a few postcards and even business cards. And even some oddities. I have expanded to other Caribbean islands, but for chips only. And, I don't care if my collections for other islands are complete. I'm more interested in the aesthetically pleasing chips, not that I have stopped there. I did something similar when I visited Newport, Oregon. I don't collect Oregon chips except from Newport, but I know alot about the clubs there and have a decent collection.

I find that, as Gene is always espousing, knowledge really increases my interest in my collection. I learn and I collect. In a different way, I began to collect dealer buttons. Not the ones that actually say "Dealer" on them, but the ones used by dealers, especially at poker tables.

I suppose they are lammers, I don't really know. I collected them because I found a few on the floor at the Borgata soon after they opened. I thought they would make good chip spacers for my poker set, so I don't have to count out the chips at the beginning of every game. They do make good chips spacers, by the way. I developed a preference for what the AC casinos were using when I started to look for them, plain mold, hot stamped dealer buttons. I will only get them if they are very cheap. And, of course, there are a few others that collect them.

Along the way, the Borgata Poker Room had actual chip spacers with their "B" imprinted on them, even when they first opened. I asked for a few and got them. I used a couple in my poker set (I wish I hadn't because they scratch really easily) and kept one pristine. Since then, I have only seen a few more logo'd chip spacers. I have all of the varieties I have seen but one (anyone got one with an arrowhead/spearhead on it?).

Here they are (since they are clear, I found the green background made them most easily legible):

I just recently got the Celebrity Cruises chip spacer. Thanks, Fred.

I also collect ncv chips that were used in tournaments I played in (and usually did well in). I don't harvest myself, but if I can get the chip at the right price!

The key thing is finding out what you love and keeping it all fun. I remember asking another chipper, who began collecting and posting at the same time I did, why he liked to collect what he collected. I explained my interest in Vegas World (I stayed there when I first went to Vegas as an adult and had a really memorable trip). He never responded. He was out of the hobby within two years.

What do you collect and why?

Michael Siskin