When visiting a casino and wondering what quantities of chips to obtain (as a collector), I always remember the Rule of 3.
1 chip now for my collection.
1 chip to trade, more sooner than later. And
1 chip to trade (or maybe appreciate) a year later.
So Jim, what do you mean by "appreciate"?
Sometimes a chipper gets lucky, by just being at the right place, at the right time. For example, the two chips below were released in the normal process for the respective casinos. And if the Rule of 3 was used, a chipper got a favorable deal.
At the Hard Rock (LV) in February, 2004 there was a Friday the 13th release. Starting at 10:00 am, all of the chips (1,300 of them) were released within about 30 minutes. Just by being one of the people in line (it was announced several days before the release), you could have received 5 - $5 chips (for $25) and by the time they showed up on eBay, they were going for $50 each, and still hold that price. I am not suggesting that they should be "sold" for that, but rather that they can be traded for equivilently valued older chips.
The Circus Circus 2003 Super Bowl chip has a different story. Each year the Circus Circus has been issuing Super Bowl chips in a quantity of 2000. None of them were ever of significance and you could always pick one up from $7.50 or so. But this chip was different, as it actually said "Super Bowl" which is a trademarked logo of the NFL. All previous and subsequent Circus Circus Super Bowl chips say "Super Sunday" or "Big Game" or words to that effect, without sayingf Super Bowl.
When these were released there was not a high demand for them and to many people's surprise, the NFL contacted the casino and advised them to cease and desist. Cirus Circus stopped releasing the chips, supposedly physically destroyed what was left, and if any show up on their tables or at the cage, they destroy those as well. Collectors estimate that about 500 chips are in collector hands. The Rule of 3 would have yielded two nice traders within a week of acquisition.
(It is also interesting to note that as reputable that Chipco is, and how Nevada Gaming has to approve all designs, and two previous (other) casino releases of "Super Bowl" chips garnered the ire of the NFL, all parties involved would have been observant of the infringement. I guess "due diligence" is not what some think it is.
)
Jim (Gaming Ore) Follis
Linear Mode
