First off, when I stumbled onto this site last night I knew there would be some really nice people but I am just shocked at how many warm welcomes were waiting for me this morning.

This has to be the greatest group of people I have ever met on the internet.

I'm hoping that since I live in Vegas that I might be able to help any of you in some manner.

Just PLEASE don't ask me to drive out to Redrock.
I can't BELIEVE how long that drive is. I won't be going back anytime soon and the chips are ugly.
The swizzle sticks are pretty, though.

But just like that Reba chip from LV Hilton that just seemed to come out of the blue and sell out FAST maybe there are some more I don't know about that you guys do and would like me to go pick them up for you.

I'm not working right now and have plenty of time.

The only other board I am a regular on is called LVTalk and that board has several thousand members who are as excited about Las Vegas as we are about chips.

Almost weekly there is a "meet" where we get to see people from all over the USA and beyond face to face.

Their enthusiasm is like a vitamin B shot for me and helps me retain perspective that most tourists are just really wonderful, hard working people and not always the drunks I seem to have a magnet for.

If any of you live here and would like to meet some really great people for an hour or so let me know and I'll tell you when they occur.

The next one is tomorrow (Tuesday night)at 6 pm at Main Street Station.

But back to THIS board, which I think is going to soon become my favorite...

To everyone who left me your address I will be mailing the items I promised you tomorrow.

I try to go to at least one or two casinos a day to collect things. Even scary casinos like the Gold Spike, although I tend to try not to touch too many objects while I'm in there.

My favorite chips are those that have an interesting story behind them and I'd love hearing about any that you have and may have acquired mainly because you fell in love with the story and not the chip.

The ones I have and the stories that go with them are:

1. I live in the old (if you can call Vegas old) Historic District here in Vegas. This neighborood contains houses where Bob Stupac lives and where people like Liberace, Becky Binion and Jimmy the Greek once lived.

Unfortunately there's a higher crime rate since we're so close to downtown and two blocks off the Strip. So I became very involved in crime-fighting (all 115 pounds of me) and one day when I'd had it with a house that appeared to be taken over by a pack of meth addicts I stormed downtown to City Hall and into Mayor Goodman's office.

After all, HE was the one trying to promote downtown redevelopment (which IS working)and being a hot-headed Aries I decided to go straight to the "top". Lol.

After he calmed me down he gave me two Vegas centenial chips he uses as his personal "card". It shows him with a Bombay martini in each hand.

I was still kinda mad and said, "Not good enough!" Then I asked him to sign each and he did.
I just love those chips and will never part with them.

Incidentally the crackouse that our neighborhood had endured for three years was busted bigtime the very next day. Thank you, Oscar!

2. Before I moved here I lived and worked for 3 years at the Atlantis and Flamingo in Reno.

The night Flamingo shut their doors was very emotional for many of us. I went to the cage and told the cashier that I was just beginning to collect casino chips and could I buy a $25 house chip.

He said, hold on a minute, walked away and then came back with a little white box. He opened it up and said that this was the first time they had ever seen the light of day.

He had worked there for almost 30 years as the cage manager and since the early 80's when they were released he had always held back that one box, waiting for who-knows-what.

I will NEVER depart with that chip. It means the world to me.

3. I was sad to learn recently that Las Vegas Club no longer puts out their colorful chips after being sold twice in the past couple of years.

My favorite chips I have from there are those beautiful $10 poker room chips that weren't around very long. There are 5-one of each suit and one that says Poker Room Grand opening.

Unfortately there were no hearts in this limited #500 collection and I must have gone down there daily for over 6 months when one day they FINALLY had a heart. I was in Heaven and again, will NEVER get rid of those chips.

4. My attorney in Reno was a partner of Mills Lane. Before Mills had his stroke I got him to sign my MGM Tyson chip of the fight he refereed, where the ear got bitten off.

5. Final Story. I was working daily in the Atlantis Poker room when I first started collecting chips back in 1998.

One of the dealers I worked with daily didn't really understand this new chip collecting trend going on and said he had one at home that he'd bring in and I could have.

He said he'd gotten it years ago and it was in some drawer somewhere at his house.

Turns out it was a chip from the CalNeva at Lake Tahoe that was put out when Frank Sinatra owned it and it actually was SIGNED by FRANK SINATRA!!!!!!!!

Well, I never did get the chip for several reasons but I know this guy and he's definately not a liar.

So it's out there folks for one of you to catch up to!

I hope one of the nice people here gets ahold of it someday.

Again, thank you for such a warm welcome and please let me know if there's anything I can do for any of you.

Love, Miggy.