This was my third time going to an AC Club meeting as a guest. My first observation was immediate when I entered the room with everybody was that this was definitely a larger crowd than I had seen before. The noise level was much higher and there was a buzz. Lots of people looking and talking and having fun.

I got to see a bunch of people I know, some of whom I met from these shows, but some I have known a long time or have corresponded with for a long time. I really enjoyed seeing Doug Balduini and his wife, Barry H and Susan, Pete Volberg, my Caribbean buddies Charles Kaplan and Scott Harmon, Ron Bayne, John Chopek, Jerry Birl, Dave Trevett and others. I also got to talk with Bob Baker, who is selling off what is certainly one of the most remarkable collections in the hobby. Bob has an unimaginable collection of players cards, room key and paper ephemera, most of it incredibly cool. If you specialize in a casino or just collect all sorts of casino collectibles, I highly recommend that you get in touch with Bob to see what he has from your collecting area(s). And he's really a nice guy.

At my first two meetings I had a great time but only came home with a couple of chips. Here, I got some really good stuff:

I'm really excited about a few of these. Charles gave me a great price on two chips (one is the New Bahamian chip, which I love), Doug Balduini had a few great chips and Scott Harmon even showed up chips especially for me. Really nice. Thanks Dave for the two chips I got from him.

I will keep coming to as many of these shows as I can. The photos are great, but the room was much busier than it would appear from them. And the meeting is just 2 miles from the casinos. A great day.

Michael Siskin