I am surprise that no one has mentioned Gregs favorite method. Take those current house chips and throw them into the back of a closet for 10 years. By the time you find them again they will be obsolete and worth a lot more than face value. This sounds like a joke but it really does work. Of course the problem is you are tying up your money for however long you hold the chips.

As you continue to collect you will be surprised at how many traders you end up with. Remember that even if you don't collect chips from a certain casino/location there are lots of people who do. They will become your trading partners. So whenever going thru a casino pick up the chips you think will make the best traders. That means you don't get the old beat up El Cortez house chips but get the new LE's. I use a guide where if I can get a chip at face value that I would never normally see, in my case chips from the Northern tier states, I pick it up. Even if I have one in the collection I know that it will make a good trader.