"LE's are produced for promotion purposes... to get players in, to add interest during the play, to show that they are "progressive". They are not made to improve the bottom line of the corporation."

Your comments are why I think it would actually be more in the casino's interest to put the chips at the tables. They would generate a lot more profit by enticing us collectors to play for them. As I read somewhere here today, someone mentioned that dealers and brokers are in and out and the casino does not benefit as much. Like I said. Their stake is the difference between say .50 cost and $5 per chip face. If they put some of the chips at the tables they would probably generate more business in the casino and restaurants etc. Putting all the chips at the tables would suck for folks like me though. I get to Vegas maybe once a year and would probably not have access to many of the chips I would want.

That is why I suggest that the casinos who produce so many LE chips produce, some, more chips in an edition and not produce as many editions. They could divide them between cage sales and the tables. That way some will be there for collectors and maybe to generate new collectors and some will be available for dealers and NISs to sell to their out of town customers like myself. I read a post a while back about "What Was Your First Chip" or something like that. One person told a story of how he got started collecting when he saw an odd chip on the table. He asked the dealer about it and the dealer replied, "They are special chips...Some people collect them." A new collector was born. I went to Luxor on my last trip and was playing blackjack with a friend. He noticed that I took a couple of chips and put them in my pocket. He asked what I was doing. I showed him the Blue Man chip and told him how I collect chips. A couple of hands later he got a Blue Man chip and kept it. When we left the casino, Not only did he keep the BMG chip but he had a house chip and a full set of the 5 Luxor Slot Tokens. There are some houses that put chips at the tables. Like I have said before, it is kind of fun when you get one. It adds a new dimension to the game when you see a player bet that GO chip. Not only are you then watching the cards but you start watching that chip hoping that the other player will loose and you will get the chip on your next win.

As you and others have mentioned, the casinos produce these chips for marketing and promotional purposes. Look at all the chips for Danny Gans, Sigfried and Roy, Blue Man Group, Penn and Teller, Lance Burton and just about every other stage act in vegas. The casinos are obviously producing a lot of these chips to promote their headliners, buffets, restaurants, clubs, roller coasters etc. Other chips are for holidays and other special events to commemorate your visit. The George Burns 100th birthday chip for instance. I heard that that chip was produced in connection with a celebration that Caesers had for the birthday party. So many of these chips are clearly designed to draw people in for one reason or another. It is odd that so many of them come out so long after the intended event and are sold out within a couple of hours at the cage. It seems contrary to what should be the intention.