Quick Introduction from Milwaukee - Causal Collector Questions (1 Viewer)

Brian Weis

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Hello everyone. As the handle implies my name is Brian.

I joined a few years ago when I tried to take my home games to the next level. Never posted. Maybe because I found what i was looking for in the search menu.

Started informally collecting single casino chips as a way to have physical evidence I visited a casino. At the time it was the cheapest momento from the 40+ casinos I walked to over a long weekend in Las Vegas. Fast forward 2 decades later I have a nice collection...I really should index my chips in some form or fashion based on states or countries. (Is there an app for that???)

Places I have visited (larger gaming destinations)
Las Vegas
Henderson
Atlantic City
Tunica
Phoenix/Tucson
Lake Tahoe
Reno
French Lick
Midwest (WI, IN, IL, MI, IA) - various golf course casinos or ones around the state.
Lake Charles (Louisiana)
Santa Fe (NM)
Mesquite

International:
Monte Carlo (surprisingly underwhelming)
Puerto Rico
Dominican Republic
Ireland
Cannes (France - I think but have to double check)
Mexcio
Various Cruise Ships

This year, I am headed to Germanfest in Munich. Traveling to Baden Baden and heard there is a casino there. (yahoo!) Anyone been there??!!

Here are my questions but first let me explain my collection or collecting habits.

For work I do a fair amount of travel. If there is a casino I tend to gravitate toward it. I typically grab or save 1 - $1. Sometimes i keep a $5 chip if there is some quasi-collector chip flowing throw the BJ tables. If they have a 50cent or $2.50 chip i save as well after hitting BJ. Sometimes I have a handful of singles or several denominations and forget to go the cashier. If the chips are worn I see if I can get fresh ones at the cashier.

I purchased 3 frames that hold 50-60ish chips and hung them on the wall in my man cave. I recently moved so my theme regretfully is no longer casino focused. I plan on keep the frames and will hang those up. I have 3-4 chip trays full of more chips.

I am not really collecting to someday sell (maybe what i did as a 14 year old baseball card collector) I contemplating using the chips as poker chips. Due to the wide variety of colors and inconsistencies I would just play with them as 1 unit. (not face value) You know play poker and everyome starts with 50-100 chips. They would be a great conversation piece as many of them have stories.

1) should i use them or is there value to these and i should try to keep them crisp as possible?
2) should I be grabbing more than 1 from each casino. Maybe for trade someday should i become more serious in collecting?
3) golf course casino chips (ball markers) and promotional items. I been buying chips from courses i play. In many cases i stumble on chips from vacation destinations. Any value to these. Once again i was just going to use these for poker play.
4) should i not use them for poker?? Any other display options? I do not really have the wall space for more display frames.

5) Anything else I should be aware of as a causal collector?

Thanks in advance.

B.
 
1) should i use them or is there value to these and i should try to keep them crisp as possible?
2) should I be grabbing more than 1 from each casino. Maybe for trade someday should i become more serious in collecting?
3) golf course casino chips (ball markers) and promotional items. I been buying chips from courses i play. In many cases i stumble on chips from vacation destinations. Any value to these. Once again i was just going to use these for poker play.
4) should i not use them for poker?? Any other display options? I do not really have the wall space for more display frames.
5) Anything else I should be aware of as a causal collector?

Welcome! Individual chip collecting can be obsessive for some, and most of those chips get locked up or displayed--never played. Many of the users on this site use their chips in games, but certainly not all of them. From a chip user perspective, here are my thoughts:
1) Mint chips are generally more desirable; however, some people prefer chips with a little bit of playwear, as that facilitates shuffling chips.
2) Many individual chip collectors trade chips to build their collections, so getting multiples for trading makes sense. An entire group is meeting in Vegas next week to do just that. For chip users, getting multiple racks from a casino is best, as that is the start to achieving a playable set. For example, if you have three racks of desirable $1 chips, someone can easily use that to build a mixed casino set. I would generalize and state that the most commonly requested unit of measure is a rack of 100 chips, or a barrel for high denominations (e.g., Barrel of Hundreds = BOH).
3) Value depends on desirability. Some single chips sell for tens of thousands of dollar, and some are essentially worthless. I've seen large sets of mixed chips be substantially overvalued by their owners, who are disappointed when their hobby collections do not sell.
4) This depends on what you want from the hobby. Some folks like displaying chips from casinos they have visited. I prefer displaying chips from sets that I have been fortunate enough to play with in home games (or sets that I want to use).
5) Condition is important to most everyone, meaning that definitions of Mint vs. Near Mint vs. Played are highly subjective as you are buying/selling. Use good pictures and detailed descriptions. Some folks care a lot about profiting on deals, and others are in it for the hunt rather than transactional buying/selling for profit. Both approaches are fine, but just be vigilant and ask questions if you aren't sure if an item is valuable or not. Buyer beware, seller be aware.
 
Hello everyone. As the handle implies my name is Brian.
This year, I am headed to Germanfest in Munich. Traveling to Baden Baden and heard there is a casino there. (yahoo!) Anyone been there??!!
B.

Welcome! I really can recommend the "Oktoberfest" in Munich. You should get a traditional shirt (checkered) and maybe one of those short leather pants. It's a nice souvenir and everybody seem to wear it over there (only in Munich during these days).
I have never been to Baden Baden, but I am pretty sure that there is a casino. If you have any questions regarding to Germany feel free to pm or ask here.
 
1) should i use them or is there value to these and i should try to keep them crisp as possible?
Here's my mini rant. Keeping them as crisp as possible is a fool's errand.
1) You got them at the tables, so they'd been played, so they weren't mint to begin with.
2) Practically speaking, there's no such thing as mint anyway. Unlike baseball cards and comic books, this hobby has no rating system. Yes, a mint chip is generally worth more than a non mint chip. But unless you're talking about really obscure, valuable chips (of which you likely have none) then the difference in value is somewhere between negligible and zero
3) A clay chip isn't going to get noticbly worn because it wasn't kept in a protector case or because it was played with occaisionally. These chips last for years in casinos, being played with, tossed around, and shuffled 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You'd have to put in serious, abusive effort to make your chips non-crisp.
 

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