(This is re-print from the current issue of the Club's Award Winning magazine, the Casino Collectible News (CCN) about the 2011 OTY Awards.)

That’s right! It’s time to Nominate!

Inside this issue of the award winning Casino Collectible News you will find an Official Nomination Form for the 2011 OTY Awards. Every Club member is encouraged to take a little time and reflect back on the fabulous array of chips, tokens strikes and cards issues by casinos worldwide during the calendar year of 2011. If any of them standout in your mind, or take center-place in your collection, then perhaps you might want to recognize them by nominating them for a chance at winning an OTY Award.

Only as a Club member are you entitled to participate in the Club’s annual; Chip of the Year (COTY), Token of the Year (TOTY), Silver Strike of the Year (SSOTY) and Slot Card/Room Key of the Year (CKOTY) competitions, aka: The OTY’s!

The 2011 Awards will be marking the Club's 22nd year of COTY and TOTY competitions, our 12th year of the SSOTY competition and our 10th year for CKOTY honors. I am both honored and pleased to be serving as the COTY, TOTY, SSOTY and CKOTY Awards Competitions Chairman for 2011, along with my son, Casey, as the Assistant OTY Chairman.

The rules for this year’s competitions are pretty much the same as last year, and for our newer members (a very big Welcome to our newcomers) and as a refresher for our seasoned participants, I will go over the requirements once again.

Between January 1, 2012 and February 03, 2012 the Assistant OTY Chairman will be accepting nominations from any and all Club members in good standing. As a reminder to all Regular members, please be sure to make a copy (or copies) of the nomination form for the Associate Member(s) tied to your membership number, so that they too can participate.

Completed original nomination forms were designed to be folded, taped (stapling is acceptable, but the Post Office prefers tape), affixed with 1st Class postage (.39 cents) and then mailed. Providing that the insert is printed correctly, the mailing address will be pre-printed on the reverse of the form. However, completed forms (original forms or copies) may be sent in an envelope to the address that appears of the back of an original form. Postage will then be .44 cents.) That address is also re-printed below for your convenience. As we did last year we will accept nominations via email to oty@ccgtcc.com . However, if you take advantage of this method, you will need to format your submission into the same headings as the Nomination Form AND you must include all of your nominations at one time. (As an alternative, the Nomination Form has been eletronically converted into a Fill-In the Blanks Form and is available for downloading as detailed in the next post on this subject.) Please do not make piece-meal submissions. If you do, then the most current submission form will replace, in total, any previously submitted form(s). Emailed submissions must be sent prior to midnight (PST) February 03, 2012.

All nominees must have been issued, for use, for the first time, during the calendar year of 2011. Various members of the CC>CC may be called upon to verify that nominees meet this criterion for chips and tokens. The Officers of the Silver Striker’s Club shall be called upon to verify that this criterion is met for Silver Strikes. The Officers of the Slot Card and Room Key Club shall be called upon to verify that this criterion is met for slot cards/room keys.

Chip of the Year eligibility criteria: A chip must be issued by a casino. It must also serve a gaming purpose.

Token of the Year eligibility criteria: A token is one that is intended to be inserted into a slot machine for play. Excluded are coins (money), currency and tickets. The emphasis is on the minting of coins for slot machine play.

Silver Strike of the Year eligibility criteria: Simply stated, an eligible Silver Strike is a bi-metal coin made in follow-on to the Silver Strike Program of IGT. This includes $200 strikes.

Slot Card/Room Key of the Year eligibility criteria: Slot Cards must be issued by a casino and are intended to track player action at a slot machine. Room Keys must be issued by an affiliated hotel/casino establishment. The key (looking like a plastic credit card) must be used to open a guest room.

Casey and I look forward to receiving your nominations shortly. We may be contacted via email: oty@ccgtcc.com . Lastly, for those who are Internet connected, be sure to visit the Un-Official OTY Viewing Sites, where you can view many of the potential 2011 OTY candidates. There are four locations to visit:

http://www.thechipgallery.com/gallery2011?dir=COTY
http://www.thechipgallery.com/gallery2011?dir=TOTY
http://www.thechipgallery.com/gallery2011?dir=SSOTY
http://www.thechipgallery.com/gallery2011?dir=CKOTY

Jim Follis
OTY Awards Competition Chairman