I had only been chipping for a couple of years; was visiting my mother at my old home and learned of the market. i parked my car and began the long walk through the market when I came to a stall and saw chips. I reached out for them when a hand grabbed me from behind and a voice said, "You can't have those.!" I turned around and there was a stranger who was laughing. He introduced himself (and for give me I've forgotten his name but the old collectors will remember). He was a retired police detective; when he learned I was a beginning collector he went over the seller's chips, picked out a few, made a deal withe the seller and I had my first L.B. "score." Later I went to hiis home in nearby Hawaiian Gardens. He had an upstairs rec room filled with gambling items including a craps table with an extraordinary history. I didn't have many chips to tradew but he filled a bag of his extras). I lost track of my newe friend after a few years but will never forget being "arrested" at the Long Beach Flea Market in 1978.