Hi Glen. Two things for you.

1) You are missing the quarterly Mag. if you aren't a member. It's well done and good reading. Also being a member of the club is a way to support the hobby in general. There's also the national convention and the poker tournament. I'm sure the list of benefits is much longer, but you might consider this.

2) When you ask us to see what slabbing did for coins and cards, you are making the oppositions point. :) Cards have been ruined by slabbing. The dealers have been hurt and the collectors as well. So that may be a good reflection on the possibilities of slabbing chips and how it might possible be detrimental to chip collectors.

My simple and honest personal view of the issue is that the only people who want slabbing are those who strive to profit from sales and marketing, and have no personal interest in the hobby of collecting casino chips. Nothing wrong with dealers or collectors making a profit off of buying and selling chips. It's those that enter and only have their own agenda of raping the hobby for every dollar they can grab, that don't really belong.

One of the greatest attractions to chip collecting, is the nice people and honest dealers. The fact that we don't have a grading system or a bunch of plundering pirates. In other words, it's still fun!

You might wonder why cards, coins, stamps and many other similar collectibles have diminished in popularity, while chip collecting is the fastest growing area. Because it hasn't been taken over by the vultures.

ps Join the national, you'll love it. Welcome to the club...