When I first came here..I had the very same questions. I'm sure that you are probably like most new collectors in that you are trying to collect a $1.00 chip from all casinos. This is fine...and a great start. But to dramatically increase your collection, you'll need to start trading.

Grab 4-5 $1.00 chips from each casino you visit. This will be crucial if you are going to participate in a "shotgun swap" You'll need 3 chips from approx 10 casin os for this (or 30 chips) If you arent aware yet what a shotgun swap is....its where you get about 10 people on a list...then you send them all 3 chips...and they all send you 3 chips. This (and round robins) are the fastest way outside of a major casino road trip) to increase your collection.

I also found that as a new collector I was more likely to be able to trade $5.00 commemorative and Limited Edition chips that i picked up in various casinos. There are plenty of collectors that would be more then happy to trade you five $1.00 chips for one $5.00 chip. This was very successful for me. Seasoned collectors dont usually need common $1.00 chips...but they almost always need $5.00 LE's and Comm's. So pick up a few whenever you can.

Then make a list on xcel of both your collection as well as your trade list. Offer your trade list here on the board with a simple message of "New collector looking to trade"

Then...buy a bunch of chip holder pages for your now massive collection!