This is the first post in the Chip Board Gift That Keeps on Giving Chain (or Gift Chain for short).

Here’s the basic idea in a nutshell: I’m giving one person a gift. If you want to be the recipient you must be willing to give somebody else a gift. I’ll decide who to give my gift to based on what those who want it are willing to give somebody else. Once I decide who to give my gift to that person must offer up their gift in the same manner. And the chain of gift-giving continues.

1. The picture below is the gift I’m offering. It’s a Palms 2002 $8 Year of the Horse chip. It was limited to 800 and is uncirculated condition.

2. If you want the chip I’m offering, just post a response to this message and include a photo or scan of what you will offer next in the gift chain. Post ONLY a picture of what you’re offering. I’m not going to select from a group of items like I might do in a normal trade. You will be offering EVERYTHING in the picture you post, so DON’T POST A PICTURE OF ALL OF YOUR TRADERS. Pick one item or group of items that you’re willing to give up in exchange for what I’ve offered. IMPORTANT: Each person may post only one offer in response to my offer, so make it your best shot.

3. After allowing a day or two for offers to be posted, I will award the chip I’m “giving away” to the person who offers what I feel is the most generous or "cool” item offered by those who respond to my post. (EXAMPLE: I offer to “give away” a $5 Hard Rock Hotel chip. One person posts a picture of a $5 Paris Pinup Girl. Somebody else offers a $2.50 Harrah’s Dry Heat chip. Somebody else offers an older Stardust $1 chip. Somebody else offers a set of Palms Playboy room keys. I decide that the Stardust $1 chip is the best offer, so I send my Hard Rock chip to the person who offered it.)

4. Once I select who I'm awarding my free chip to, that person should make a new post, re-offering their chip in the same way that I did, requiring those who want it to offer another chip up as a gift. (EXAMPLE CONTINUES: The person who offered the Stardust chip makes a new post offering the chip to the person who will post the best “gift” to be passed on to the next person.)

5. The chain of gifts should continue with each person making a gift offer on the board requiring the party accepting their gift to offer up a new gift on the board. Chip offers that don't get any takers should be reposted every few days until they do.

6. Once I select who gets my gift and send it to them, I’m out of the transaction and it will be up to whoever accepts my gift to keep things going (until they award and mail the gift they’re offering and a new person takes over).

7. If I decide I really, really like one gift offered by the person who wins my gift, I’m free to respond to their post and offer up a new gift in the chain. This way, people can be involved in the chain at several different points along the way. I just can’t forget the chain and offer to trade directly with them for what they’re offering--that would “break the chain”.

8. Theoretically, the value of each gift in the chain will increase, since the giver should always be selecting the offer with the greatest value. Eventually, the value of the gift will be so great that the number of trade offers will dwindle. If this happens, and the chain is nearing the point where it stalls, the giver may accept offers for a specific amount pledged as a donation to the Building Fund in exchange for the gift they are offering. This will end the chain, with the last person receiving the last gift offered and subsequently sending their donation to the Building Fund.

Those are the rules as they stand, with the understanding that we may need to clarify things along the way.