For me it actually goes back pretty far.

I had known the Spinettis since I was a kid. My mom was friends with Anne, and we’d go over there for Finnish ladies parties all the time. So I was around that world early on, even if I didn’t fully realize it yet.

When I was about 18, my mom mentioned to Anne that I was looking for a job. Next thing I know, Mike wanted to meet me, and he had something set up for me. I worked under his wing for a few months, and then eventually moved into the store doing shipping.

At that point, chips were just part of the job.

It actually took a few years before I really got into the hobby. I’d say it was during the COVID shutdown when things clicked for me. I had more time, started digging into the history, learning about different casinos, molds, manufacturers—everything that goes into these chips.

That naturally tied into my videos too, and the more I learned, the more I wanted to collect.

I went from picking up singles… to racks… to racks of racks. Once I joined PokerChipForum, that definitely poured gas on the fire. Seeing what everyone else was collecting and learning from people in the community took it to another level.

At my peak I probably had around 5,000 chips. These days I’ve trimmed it down to a few hundred, but I still love them just the same.

For me it’s the history. The connection to the casinos, the stories behind them—that’s what really keeps me in the hobby.