I have a T.R. King story. In the early 90’s, I lived in LA and somebody in the then-small chip community told me the T.R. King chip company was selling old chips. I went to their storefront in downtown LA and met Dennis O’Neill. He had a big display case with piles of old chips just haphazardly stacked. I pressed my nose against the case to try to make them out. Jessie Beck’s Riverside, the LV Sands, and several Gardena clubs were visible. Even some large crowns. He wasn’t giving these away. Some were quite expensive for that time, like the white $100 Sands, which was $300. I remember that one specifically because I went back several times to get extras. There were others that I can’t immediately recall, but every so often I see an uncirculated large crown at a chip show, and I smile and remember seeing it in that display case. Some he seemed to have lots of. Some were in short supply. The store closed not long afterwards, but it was the first example of a chip manufacturer selling obsolete chips to us collectors.
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