I must second the thoughts of Pete Sanders in regards to any perceived slight of Token and Silver Strike collectors while trying to rally opposition to the slabbing companies.

I have more often than not used the term "chips" as a generic form of refering to all chips, tokens and S/S. When I was chairing the convention, I would write or speak about "chips" and Norma Jean would bust my chops everytime for it. She and many others were tokens collectors only and felt they were somehow being overlooked when the word Tokens were not specifically mentioned. This was never the intention, but the perception was, in their mind, the reality.

How many people say or write "Casino Chips and Gaming Tokens Collectors Club"? Or do you refer to it as the "Club"? Even the initials are shortened in BB postings and email for the sake of speed and understanding. Maybe the original founders of the this organization are offended by this shorthand use of the name?

The slabbing of any "monetary unit issued by a casino or gaming establishment, whether legal or illegal" will affect everyone in the hobby of collecting these little round objects. This includes tokens and more specifically Silver Strikes. Many people have posted the reasons they feel that slabbing is bad for the hobby. I tend to agree with all of them.

The one reason anyone can understand is MONEY! Plain and simple, this is about money. The slabbing companies are in it to make money. The collectors who would support this are looking at it as a way to make money. Either one of the aforementioned groups could give less than a hoot about "protecting" the collector! They will slab for the money. And for the collector who just wants to collect little round objects for the pleasure of it, IT WILL COST YOU MORE MONEY TO DO SO IN THE FUTURE! This includes token collectors, Silver Strike Collectors and chip collectors.

Please, everyone put aside this urge for political correctness and see the bigger issue here. This will touch everyone in the Club, regardless of what you collect! Everyone is free to choose how you would oppose this action. I would encourage everyone to sign "The List", join the Slabfree Chapter, do both, visit www.slabfree.com for more info or contact some of the 360 collectors who have signed "The List" to find out more about this issue. Regardless of what you collect.