With a post like this, I would usually stay on the sidelines and grab some popcorn but Luis is soliciting opinions so….

I think the Brothel Chips have a legitimate place in the chip guide, along with every other form of chip that is not attributed to an actual casino.

Why single out advertising chips from one particular industry? I have no appetite for Harley Davidson store chips. Yet, I see a number of collectors that are actively searching for those chips and I am happy that they are sharing in the same hobby albeit via different paths. Don’t even get me started on the Angel Park Golf chips. They only serve as a reminder to the uneasy truce I have declared with that insipid, maddening, hypertension inducing pastime. Yet no outcry to censor the chips from that establishment has been heard, not a peep. So I have to ask, why denigrate the hobby by asking those that participate to act in a most hypocritical, insecure and even puritanical manner? Before you take exception to my adjectives consider these points:

1) Hypocritical: What would you call it when the majority of participants openly endorse one or more aspects of society that some would find unsavory yet sound the alarm when another aspect is introduced? You know, and I am just spit-balling here, take GAMBLING as an example, for years most of western society took a very narrow view of the evils and social perils of that dammed vice, yet we sit here every day discussing the very nature and props used in such a sinister industry. However, the introduction of Brothel chips suddenly causes some to dress in their Sunday finest and put forth a display of moral pulchritude and indignation usually reserved for castigation of elected officials!
2) Insecure: Why should the inclusion of Brothel Chips raise the hackles on some, resulting in a clamor to purge them from our collective conciseness? I did read where one commenter even claimed the need to shield such bawdy unsavoriness from the younger members of the hobby community. Really? You think nothing of inviting these poor innocent lambs to join in the celebration of gambling, revel in stories of organized crime involvement with a heady sense of nostalgia, and come to a place widely known as “Sin City” for the annual convention. Yet on the odd chance that one of these young’ins comes across an advertisement chip that may display a bare breast or buttock, well now, we must proceed with caution lest we be doing the devils work. (pardon my flippant style, I am not trying to be insulting, just illustrative)
3) Puritanical: Well, I think you get my point of view. Any time a item that even approaches the realm of human sexuality and elicits demands to strike it from the public arena, it immediately evokes images of fundamentalist fervor and outrageous censorship. I am not a fan of either condition and I take the position that a person who is mature enough to understand the implications of collecting items within the world of gaming, both legal and illegal, is also mature enough to handle the concept of the sex industry.

As, I always state in these posts, I have the utmost respect for those that hold a different opinion on issues, particularly when they have the will to voice their opinions and participate in such debates. Some of the names I see in this thread are people whom I owe a great deal of gratitude for their efforts and contributions to the community. That being said, I have no appetite to engage in a campaign of censorship or moralistic posturing as to what someone should collect or enjoy in the hobby.
I too, would like to hear the opinions of many others and then we could move forward as a group but odds are most will share their agreement or outrage with an individual’s position and never publicly enter into the fray and this will simmer for years to come.
I personally don’t actively collect such chips but I have a choice to disregard them, and I do so, along with the Harley Davidson chips and most other advertising chips. But if we are to about to act as the arbiters of what is and is not appropriate, than the decline of this community is being hastened even faster than I feared.

A sincere Thank You to Luis for actually bringing this issue to light, we need to have open and frank discussions about all issues. At the end of the day, everyone might not agree but at least we understand each other.

PS if we were to strike any chip style from the record, I would vote for the Borland other imitations and forgeries, I hate rewarding deceit. (Just lobbing another grenadine into the melee!