I was sharing my thoughts to a very good friend and I thought I'd post them here. We started collecting strikes in the late 90's so we missed out on all the trading to get additions for our collections. Ebay was already up and jumping and we thought we'd hit a gold mine when we first looked at it. We had a ball buying all the older strikes to fill in our blanks. We found Randy's website which listed all the strikes we needed and went like gangbusters. We had met a few collectors at shows and they helped us alot. We happened to be in Tunica and was delighted to find a casino collectible show going on at Sam's Town. We started talking to a lady who had a table full of strikes and she gave us several hours of great information. Her name was Lisa Jung. Through the years, we have made some of the best friends you could ask for.....but back to collecting strikes. We never felt comfortable trading strikes because we just didn't know enough about them to make a good decision. We do know that when we first started, we got the short end of the stick several times because we were "newbies". We feel more comfortable buying strikes because we know what we are willing to pay and don't have to worry about getting involved in a bad deal. I do trade some non Nevadas and value the friendships I've made doing this and, yes, it was fun. It seems like we, the collectors, not too long ago, were begging the casinos to put in new strikes. The hobby had gone flat. Nothing new and it was boring. Now they've done what we asked and we complain. I agree with the discussion on the "limited editions", they have gotten out of control. I just hope the hobby continues to thrive which I think it will. I'm not one of the "good ole boys" and don't remember the "good ole days" but I do enjoy collecting and will continue to do so. Hope to see everyone in June.......Christie