Just getting back to normal.... I want to thank everyone who was a part of the convention, it was a blast! This was our first banquet and what a treat to hear
old time stories by Michael Gaughan. I tried to introduce myself to most of the members that I had not had the pleasure of meeting yet but I missed a lot... so will try even harder next year. Thanks to everyone for being so kind and welcoming. It was a lot of fun to go table to table and see great wish list chips along side dealers and friends. The days flew by so fast. I missed the caribbean collectors meeting and the florida meeting, because I was chatting away on the showroom floor. I was bummed for that. Just lost track of time. Next year! Alisa and I entered into the poker tournament and I wound up making the final table... wow! that was fun!!! I really enjoyed playing in the tournament. (It was my first tournament ever) not bad for a first timer! All the late night WSOP watching payed off.
We rented a car and cruised to downtown one night and did the strip the other. Before we left we drove out to redrock to check out the scenic drive... very worth it. I had some great trades and a couple unexpected gifts... The members of this club are like no other! I can't say enough about the generosity of fellow collectors.

Thanks to the dealers for being buyer friendly as well, I think I got some good deals with a little haggle. One of the things that I'm going to try and do for next year is bring some friends to the show. I think that if everyone who attended this year could commit to working to get one other person to come to vegas for the convention it would double the turnout for the show. Remember that you have to start early on people. This hobby is awesome and we need to include more people in it. I thought that attendance for the lectures could have been a little better. We also need to make sure that dealers have enough visitors to sell to. Without the show being positive for the dealers... it will decline. Maybe we should do a "new attendee" signup pledge through current members. OK... I'll work on that, stay tuned.

A real positive topic during the business meeting was the conversation regarding our need to interest younger members in the hobby. A lot of these potential hobbyist's will not have had the opportunity to visit the old clubs, because they were not of age to gamble before the clubs came down, but the poker craze is still in effect and our club needs to bridge the gap between those who experienced the early clubs and those that can learn the history and appreciate the past of gaming and the artifacts that remain. I look forward to the club growing responsibly and serving the new collectors to come. Can't wait till next year!

This chip was my favorite pickup this year. Love the pretty caribbean chips.