Back in high school I fell in love with poker and got one of those $100 plastic poker chip sets. I used to be really proud of those chips and fast forward 15 years, I decided to get a local game together, pulled out the old plastic chips and they just felt cheap to me. I decided I wanted casino quality chips and now I'm neck deep in this world.
What got you all into chip collecting? What keeps you going? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter MPC_Exec
- Start date
I've been collecting single casino chips for about 25 years. Had a set of Bud Jones chips made back when you could do that. Found this site and bought China Clays and now building an HSI Secondary set. Not sure if I'll ever felt them as my players could care less.
What got me into it? Always loved casinos and gaming/gambling. I'm a bit nostalgic, and always had a fondness for the old casinos around Reno - I'd been driving to Reno since I was about 18 (had friends at UNR, and it helped that Coors used Reno as a test market for 'test' beers, and we'd end up with cheap or free beer and a fun nitelife!)(ex; Coors Extra Gold before it was redone and released publicly - it was a different beer back then as well).
Nevada Club. Harold's Club. Riverside. Mapes. Fitz. And so on. Walking down the strip when every entrance used to be a casino of some type (and now they're souvenier or pawn or junk or liquore stores). It was a combination of seedy, exciting, and adventure awaiting around every corner. The $1.99 breakfast buffet at Circus Circus. $2 rooms at the Fitz in the winter. Fri/Sat King Crab and steak buffets with crab legs as big as a kids' arm. Clinking of coins dropping, All the excitement!
I know most of those places were dives at the end, but they were still something to be experienced. And having chips of some of those places helped soothe my nostalgia of "what once was". Plus, I also enjoy a good poker game or two. It also helped that I'd kept commemorative chips from various trips over the years, which also helped fuel my 'collecting' bug.
What keeps me going is the illusion that I'll eventually complete some sets. But it's mostly the thrill of the hunt. That, and doing my best to try and harvest chips from places that are really tight with their chips. For example - the Circus Circus Reno hasn't had live game in months and months. BUT, I was able to get a barrel of chips on one trip. It's also sharing stories with old-timers that have been around the area all their lives. And even though I'm new to PCF, it's a great place.
Nevada Club. Harold's Club. Riverside. Mapes. Fitz. And so on. Walking down the strip when every entrance used to be a casino of some type (and now they're souvenier or pawn or junk or liquore stores). It was a combination of seedy, exciting, and adventure awaiting around every corner. The $1.99 breakfast buffet at Circus Circus. $2 rooms at the Fitz in the winter. Fri/Sat King Crab and steak buffets with crab legs as big as a kids' arm. Clinking of coins dropping, All the excitement!
I know most of those places were dives at the end, but they were still something to be experienced. And having chips of some of those places helped soothe my nostalgia of "what once was". Plus, I also enjoy a good poker game or two. It also helped that I'd kept commemorative chips from various trips over the years, which also helped fuel my 'collecting' bug.
What keeps me going is the illusion that I'll eventually complete some sets. But it's mostly the thrill of the hunt. That, and doing my best to try and harvest chips from places that are really tight with their chips. For example - the Circus Circus Reno hasn't had live game in months and months. BUT, I was able to get a barrel of chips on one trip. It's also sharing stories with old-timers that have been around the area all their lives. And even though I'm new to PCF, it's a great place.
Deep pain from a weird childhood. Mental illness. It's healthier than drugs.
Sure about that?
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