As I sit here thinking about the economy, Korea, space shuttle Columbia, Iraq, France, Code Orange, rat poop, GW vs. Powell... my mind starts to wander and I start thinking about casino chips. I think to myself... if a casino produces 200, 500, 1000 LE chips and EVERYONE collects them (and saves them in pristine condition), how many will be available in 5... 10... 20 years? Then I start thinking about my collection... all House chips (unless a Riverboat produced a LE chip $2.50 or under.) In 5... 10... 20 years, will we all still collect Beanie Babies, Boyd's Bears, LE's, etc.? Or will we tire of paying a substantial premium for an item that was never meant to be utilitarian and see them fall out of favor?

I guess my ultimate question is: "When I try to buy a house chip, there's a very limited supply... whereas I see a plethora of LE chips everywhere. What will the true #'s be in 5... 10... 20 years? LE $5 1 of 500 = 475+... House $5 = 10-20?

I understand "supply and demand" but I'm not an investor, but a collector of chips and history. I've almost completed my collection of Riverboats from $.25 to $2.50... all 301 of them. I'm thinking about expanding to $5 chips (400+ counting LE's). Now, I can take the easy route and collect only house $5 chips, but I'd like to collect all or nothing. Can anyone provide a real arguement as to why I should add LE chips to my collection (not the canned "collect what you like" answers (because I like riverboats))...

I'm trying to look past current "supply and demand" and "collect what you like"... and am looking for a reason to add LE chips to my collection. These will be a permanent part of our household. I guess my argument against them is the shear numbers of "limited" chips and the fact that they all start to look-alike.

Thanks and be gentle... I'm still a newbee!

Larry