I am posting Douglas Knight's letter to Commissioner Turner. I want to keep this issue open, for talk at the convention. He makes a good arguement. Even if it does not help, we need to keep trying. Hopefully Alan or Lee, or someone will post the address of Roark and Jacobs again. We need a lot of letters to them.
We can not afford to let this issue die!!!!!

Dear Commissioner Turner,

As you are aware, The Lodge at Blackhawk is selling a grand
opening chip collection worth $31.00 for $100.00. Also, you are aware
that this is not standard practice amongst gaming casinos anywhere in the
world. It is unfortunate that The Lodge is high pricing their set, I
certainly can't afford it at this price and it is deceptive because the
chips don't seem to be valid in the sense they are being used at their
tables. As a Coloradan it seems too bad for the hobby that something
can't be done to remedy the situation. The national awareness of "The
Lodge Problem" has given collecting Colorado Chips a black eye (however I
will always collect them--I'm proud of our hobby and the local casino
pride here). Gene Trimble is a highly respected advocate, historian,
columnist, casino executive, chip designer, and world authority on chips
and our hobby. Please listen to his points and consider them.

There are several things that you need (so it seems). One is to
have some backup in the form of legislation to remove this kind of pesky
situation. I recommend contacting Senator Dennis from the Pueblo area as
she might be willing to sponser such a bill--she is a strong consumer
advocate. I haven't talked to her, but I would be happy to discuss the
situation, and I know Gene Trimble would be glad to furnish a good support
argument for you and her. Another possibility is to rule that chips sold
by casinos are sold at face value and should be acceptable at the
appropriate tables as wagering cheques until deemed obsolete after
reasonable use/time. The Nevada Gaming Commission has this kind of rule
in place (maybe backed by specific law). By sticking to this requirement,
it would not be difficult to rule on similar situations which will
continue to appear as long as table gaming is legal in Colorado.

Our hobby is a young one. Much needs to be learned by all sides
of this business, but the hobby is getting well organized and now boasts
well over 3,000 members of the Chip Collecting and Gaming Token
Collector's Club (CC&GTCC). It is a branch organization of the American
Nuimismatic Association. This organization heavily promotes honesty and
fairness in purchasing chips and has a far reaching effect on the success
of new chip issues. According to Gene Trimble, The Lodge is not having
success with this issue and will be passed by as a collectable by the
organized part of the hobby. In the future, cataloging as in stamp
collecting will be made official. Whether this will be a private
franchise or a club activity is yet to be decided.

Thank you for this rather long, considered opinion, but we are all
behind your efforts to organize the legal aspects and practices in the
State of Colorado. We all sincerely wish you and your fellow members the
best possible success and outcome.

Sincerely,

Douglas W. Knight

knight@meteor.uscolo.edu

598 South Clarion
Pueblo West, CO 81007