In 1997, I was helping take care of my grandmother after she had a stroke. She always let us snoop and doing that, I found a small bag with several old chips in it. Having been to Las Vegas a couple of times, I recognized the Horseshoe and El Cortez names and asked if I could have them. She said no and took the bag away from me. I never saw it again. Found out later that they were from a trip my grandad took before I was born and apparently my grandmother was still upset about it!

Returning home, I remembered seeing a “chip collectors” bb on Prodigy. I read a bit and then sent a note to the person ( Michael Knapp) who seemed to be answering most of the questions, asking about the chips I’d found. He couldn’t help me much without descriptions. I remembered a chip I had from my first trip to Las Vegas and dug it out of the drawer and asked him about it. He gave me a number and price range for it. (N1388 for anyone who cares)

Then he said that there was a chat and auction each Thursday night and I was welcome to participate if I wanted. I did and soon met Landau and Skelton and Steffner among others. That was in August of 1997 and I joined the Club in September. Soon after that I met the Skeltons in person for chips and chips. Mike was my “pusher” for a long time. Bruce would always send me an IM during the auction and ask which of his chips I’d rather bid on. For a while there was an understanding that I always won Bruce’s lots.

Attended my first convention in August 1998 and the rest is history.

So I’m blaming:
• my grandad because I’d never have been interested without his chips
• Knapp for answering my questions and inviting me to attend the Prodigy sessions and introducing me to the Club
• Skelton/Landau for sharing their enthusiasm and helping me grow my collection at prices that were well below what the chips were worth.