I am a fairly new member and this was my first convention. I am happy to report that I had an amazing time. Being that I am pretty new to the hobby, I wasn't sure how I would fit in with the more experienced chippers, but I quickly put any worry to rest. When I arrived on Thursday for the ribbon cutting, I easily made my way through registration since I had per-registered. The volunteers working the registration were very friendly and welcoming. Once the ribbon was cut and I stepped into the hall, I looked around and thought, "OK, where do I start?" I decided to go from left to right and I had initially told myself I would make one pass around the hall before buying anything. That plan went out the window at the first table I stopped at. My biggest concern was that I would only find high priced, valuable chips at the convention. Since I'm still trying to build my $1 Las Vegas collection, I was looking mainly for cheap, common chips at face value or slightly above. The Bargain Bin quickly became my new best friend! Thank you to all the sellers who helped me fill in the many, many gaps to my collection. I was given great, fair prices for all my purchases. I had already known that this group was made up of very respectful people, but while walking around and putting faces with the names I've seen on the message board, I solidified that belief. I don't think I walked by a table without a greeting or a hand shake from a member. I was pleasantly surprised when a few actually knew who I was. Sellers listened to my story and were more than happy to help me find what I needed. I had only allocated 4 hours to visit the convention since I put my wife up for a Spa Day back on The Strip. That easily turned into 6 hours. Luckily the masseuse did a great job on her and she went back to the room for a nap. I ran out of money on day 1, so I ended up carving out 2 more hours to go back on Friday to pick up a few chips I had to walk away from. All in all, the convention was a great way to help me feel more like one of the family. If I learned anything at my first convention, it's BRING MORE MONEY THAN YOU THINK YOU WILL NEED. I am soooo ready for next year!

Here is the majority of the $1 Las Vegas and surrounding area chips I picked up. I was buying for my cousin too and I have already passed his along so those are not shown. Thank you again for the wonderful time!