Dear Mr. Rodgers, "a black eye to the hobby?" .... how dare you to come off a say such a ignorant remark about me and my sales. FoR those of you who do not know me (Rich Burgel) past Club Member & Director of Public Relations for the Club ... who spent hundreds of hours donating my time & energy to promote the Club and the Hobby. Short memory Charles ... who got Mayor Oscar Goodman & Actor Steve Rossi to MC and Host our Annual Convention at the Tropicana? I DID ... Who created and and donated the Award Plaque to the Mayor? ... I DID. Who got the Club & Hobby on Television several different times ... ABC, NBC, CBS, History Channel ... I DID. Who had 2 Gambling Museums in Las Vegas and handed out Club Membership Applications as Ambassabors? I DID along with my staff! Who got Chip & Casino Collectible sarticles published about the Hobby & Club in the LVRJ & NY Times and other publications? I DID! Who donated over 20 Historic Videos on Las Vegas and Gaming History to Janice Oneil for the Clubs Museum? ... I DID! .... Who offered FREE ADMISSIONS to all Club Members at both the Tropicana Museum & Neonopolis Historic Museums? I DID!

So Charles before you make unwarranted broad statements ... please jog the old memory please! Now about all the silly fuss about the Sahara & Thunderbird remake Comemerative Retro Chips. Does Bill Borland, Mike Spinetti, JT Plastics, Gamblers General Store, Paulsons, Chipco and others have an exclusive on selling or creating Kool Fantasy Chips? Do these chips not have opening and closing dates? Does the sales description on the Ebay Auction, not only say once, twice, but 3 times mentioned the words "re-creation" and "retro" chip, opening in 1952 and closing in 2011? Do not blame me or my auction on Ebay for the high bids they received! In fact the winning bidder is a past regular customer of ours and at the auction end I contacted him to call me to discuss (a) The fact that he is aware of the chip being a retro or remake ... (b) To make sure his high bid was what he wanted and to give him a no harm, no foul release on this sale. I have received several requests for this chip if the high bidder backs out etc. After collecting chips since 1959 before you knew what a chip was ... I have done nothing but produce GOODWILL for the Hobby. Do you know why I did not renew my Club Membership? It is because of small minded people like you and others who say they promote the Hobby, and try to make a buck with a poorly attended Chip Shows put on like yours. Where is the FREE ADMISSION for Club Members to your dismal Shows?

Enough said ... when certain members retire or go to hevan, I may consider to renew my membership. NO BLACK EYE HERE! It sounds like a little jealousy .... To all you other reading this response, some of you know me as a respected business man, collector, and dealer. Others are new to me and have yet to form an opinion. I was called on the telephone by some of my friends in the hobby to post a response at some mud being slung my way! Belive me ... I have a thick skin! Thanks for listening to my rants, but this whole thread was unnecessary at best! Stop by my Kool Store Downtown "LOST VEGAS ANTIQUES" and to all of my friends ... have a great time at the Annual Convention! Regards, Rich Burgel