I am in the process of preparing a completely unscientific article for inclusion in one of the next issues of the club newsletter. I am not concerned with how big your collection is or what makes for a big collection. I would like to know WHY you began to collect casino chips, slot cards, r-------s, swizzle sticks, decks of cards, table felts, ashtrays, & sundry other casino related memorabilia. I have my theory, as Freud had his. I have searched the literature as it relates to collecting, in general, but this should be a fun exercise just limiting it to casino "stuff". Rather than having a thread that runs on for pages, could you kindly e-mail me with your reasons. I don't need to know that you were weaned too early or had poor toilet training or that your childhood was less than pleasant. I already have that data on everybody that has posted a note to this BB in the last 6 months.<g> I could make up some sort of questionnaire, but that would be too limiting. Keep it short if possible. I will keep all responses confidential & will only utilize the data collected to formulate a "general" theory as it relates to the respondents. Thanks in advance for any input you may provide. I am also a very lonely, ex-hippie, & love to hear the "DING" when I go to my mail box every day.