I sincerely apologize for my mistake....
I wasn't aware that "stupidity" is ONLY permitted on this Board WITH FULL DISCLOSURE.

So - my name is Jill Bitner. I am a chipper. I am a member of the CCGTCC, #R-4943. I collect poker chips. And casino chips... but most people know me because I collect Harrah's. Should I have mentioned... I do not collect strikes?

But I hate to say I DON'T collect strikes because my Harrah's collection includes a few strikes - as well as chips, slotcards, keys, matches, ashtrays, tokens, pens, lighters, stationary, mugs, cups, signs, postcards, trinkets, coupons, pins, buttons, beads, glasses, coin cups, coasters, jewelry, shampoo, soap, sewing kits, roulettes, NCV's, coins, keychains, playing cards, trophies, literature, artwork, bungee clips, dice, swizzles... you get the idea.

I must admit....I'm confused...
See... I have LOTS of "books" on chips . TGT - 1st & 2nd edition, TCR 7th, 8th & 9th edition, C&W Guide, Seymours, NV Chips & Cheques, and of course, "Every Light Was On (the Bill Harrah's story).
I DON't have any speciality books... too expensive for someone who only uses the 3-5 H-pages. Because of this, a few years ago, a generous striker sent me a full database with ALL the (known) Harrah's strikes in it. I still use it

BUT ONCE IN A WHILE (every couple of years) SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPENS:

A friend of mine in CA. -who is NOT a striker - NOT a chipper- just a nice lady who found a couple NV strikes at an antique shop.
And she bought them.
And ummmmm... she doesn't have a "book".
So she emailed me looking for a little help - information... and I agreed to "check them out." I admit I was pretty cautious in my response... it was close to:
"Uhhhhh... duh... errrrrr... Ummmmm...
I'll have to get back to you. Strikes are NOT my area."

So off I went to cyberland. Found Strike 1 quickly - common LV Caesar's Palace
Strike 2 (the one I posted) was a little harder.
However, I recalled having the ugly Flamingo Madonna chip, so I checked the ChipGuide, hoping the chips and strikes shared artwork. Nope - nothing there...

I checked TCR for "a list" of people featured in the Superstars Series. Nope... guess not.

So I looked for websites. Found a great page with lots of links but half of them didn't work.
Marv's site is great but no Superstars. Then there's the site that hits hard under silver strikes, but seems to be selling travel tapes instead
and the site that says: "Check Back Soon". So I did. Guess they didn't mean "in 10 minutes" One site was ok until I found I couldn't get past the Home page...
And I found coins at Katz but no strikes? Surfed round to various websites hosted by people like Joe Shaw, Lisa Jung, Skip ( SKIP?? MY FRIEND IN VEGAS??? ), Johnny, and Dave & Debbie from Cheques...
Didn't see ONE funny looking male Superstar like the one I was trying to find.

Randy's site IS the one that SHOULD have helped me. My fault - not his - I got sidetracked (looking for Harrah's ) was "lost" in unfamilar jargon and product codes. Was more concerned about not being able to "assess rarity" because his db didn't include "values", (although this wasn't even an issue yet! I was just frustrated enough by then to lose focus). Today - I went back to Randy's site and Reno database... and guess what? He lists Michael Jackson as a Superstar strike. I may have saw it if he had the "Superstars" in a "neat little Superstar group" (it wasn't) as the "non-collector wanted the Superstars to be... that I wasn't doing well processing ANYTHING correctly. After seeing LOGO 3, (wonder what 1 and 2 look like), I stopped reading... and FLAT OUT MISSED the very next "square" - which would have told me Michael WAS a featured artist.

It was that darn 3-LOGO panic that "did me in" I knew I needed to ask the pros for a little guidance. The last message I posted before yesterdays was on April 7, 2002 (a year ago). I didn't think my question (as dumb as it was) would offend the "busy", insult the mentors or take up much time .
And the sad part is - ALL I WANTED TO DO IS HELP A FRIEND!
In a timely, but accurate answer. NOTHING more... nothing less

To jan - THANK YOU again! Seriously!
You provided a straight and solid answer.
(even if I thought you were kidding because that's ONE UGLY MICHAEL JACKSON! I guess that's why he likes surgery

Maybe I should have offered to pay someone... oh... $10?? There is no way I can justify spending $30 - $50 on "catalogues" in case I have an "annual" challenge. I am surprised it would be the opinion of experienced strikers to suggest that a person spend $30 - $40 for a "peek" that is initiated by one person trying to help another? (NON-collectors at that!)
OUCH!! No wonder I collect chips!

I was stunned to hear someone instruct me to "Buy a Book" for such an insignificant detail.

STUNNED.

I am wondering now... do I buy a book? or sell my strikes?
By having one - and not the other - does that make me Cheap? Lazy? or just outright stupid?

DOUBLE OUCH!