As a new collector, I went to LV once just to collect all of the $1 house chips from every casino on the strip. Just ask the cashier for the best looking chip they have. Some cashiers will think you are crazy, but others will be very helpful. A lot of the casinos will have mint chips to offer.

As for LE chips...I went to O'sheas one time to collect their car set release. I read about the release on this board...release was at 7pm...I showed up at 6:30. No one was in line at the cage, so I went to get something to eat, came back at 7:30, and was told all the chips were sold out. That experience turned me off to LE chips. I seldom acquire a LE chip because of that. Watch out you don't get burned by some crazy LE rules that appear to govern certain casinos and releases. Rules that a new collector will have no idea exists.

BTW, out of all the casinos I visited on the strip, the Riviera was the only one that made it clear to collectors when a certain release was coming and what the rules were (it was posted on the wall near the cage). They also had a display of previous released LE chips right in front of their cage.

And they even put the $1 house chip I requested in a little paper envelope for me. That's what I call chipper friendly.