I am now in New Orleans with my girlfriend, Rona, and was excited to be taking along my new laptop. I logged on this morning to catch up on what was going on n the chip world and I am saddened, disappointed, and, I guess a bit frustrated by what I read in posts about the Stork Club chips.

In my “real-life” I am a Certified Financial Planner. I have been in financial services for over 25 years. My company’s mission statement is to provide state-of-the –art financial planning while keeping in mind people’s human life values and while being mindful that every financial decision if not made purely based on numbers. I pride myself on my (and my company’s) honesty, integrity and compassion. The principle of confidentiality is also critical is our work.

I began collecting chips about 3 ½ years ago. This is not an important part of my personal financial success but I enjoy it very much and would love to have been a fly on the wall in places like Austin or Eureka Nevada in the early days of Nevada gaming. I find the history fascinating.

I have also made some terrific friendships, which I value, a great deal. People like Bruce Landau, Mel Jung, Travis Lewin, Henry Garrett, Jim Smith, Gene Trimble, and many others have been mentors, supporters, teachers, and friends.

The world of chippers, however, is a microcosm of people in general. There are those who are extremely conniving, jealous of the successes of others and whose post on this bulletin board seem to delight in being negative, and accusatory…often without the needed knowledge of all of the relevant facts. I was always told that if you didn’t have anything positive to say you should not say anything at all. I truly believe this and do not engage in negative public posts. I think a private e-mail is much better suited to this type of message. No one enjoys being embarrassed. Everyone has feelings.

This brings me to the Stork Club chips. These chips were obtained from the daughter of Speed Davis, one of the two principal Stork Club owners. A friend of mine in Northern Nevada initially physically received the chips and then forwarded an inventory of them to me. Due to requested confidentiality, this individual’s identity will not be commented upon, confirmed or denied. He is not a chip collector.

My information about the history of these chips was obtained via fairly extensive research from a variety of sources. Although my integrity has been questioned and my character commented upon in a negative light by those that I previously considered friends, I believe no one has questioned the authenticity of the research.

I too have heard that the Stork Club chips can be obtained for much less than my price of $975 per set from a person in Northern Nevada. The individual referred to above who helped obtain these chips is, I surmise, the source of these rumors. I have talked to him about these rumors on several occasions. He assures me that he has not and will not sell these chips.

I would like to confirm that Speed’s daughter, Pat, found approximately 30 of these sets. I continue to believe the pricing of a fifty-year-old set from Las Vegas is very fair. These price levels were set after several conversations with respected dealers and historians.

I would like anyone who has Stork Club chips in their possession to please let me know the circumstances involved in their purchase via a private e-mail. I don’t expect to receive any.

Thanks for reading this long post. I’ll be happy to answer any e-mail with further questions.

Terry Lazarus
Chips Off the Old Block