Welcome to 2004! With the celebrations behind us and the football season almost finished, it is now time to move on to something really import. Yes, that’s right, its OTY time!!! As a CC>CC member we are all entitled to participate in the Club’s annual Chip of the Year (COTY), Token of the Year (TOTY), Silver Strike of the Year (SSOTY) and Slot Card/Room Key of the Year (CKOTY) competitions. More simply referred to as the OTYs.

The 2003 Awards will be marking the Club's 14th year of COTY and TOTY competitions, our 4th year of the SSOTY competition and our second year for CKOTY honors. Once again, I am both honored and pleased to be serving as the COTY, TOTY, SSOTY and CKOTY Awards Competitions Chairman.

The rules for this year’s competitions are pretty much the same as last year, but for our newer members (a hearty Welcome to our newcomers) and as a refresher for our seasoned participants, I will go over the requirements once again. In general, we will proceed as described, below.

In the upcoming issue of the CCTN you will find an Official Nomination form to be used for making nominations to any and all of the four OTY categories. Between now and March 20, 2004 I will be accepting nominations from any and all Club members in good standing. As a reminder to all Regular members, please be sure to make a copy (or copies) of the nomination form for the Associate Member(s) tied to your membership number, so that they too may participate.

Every member should keep in mind that YOU MUST NOMINATE, at least one item, in at least one category, IN ORDER TO QUALIFY YOURSELF AS A JUDGE in the final voting process. Simply stated:

YOU MUST NOMINATE TO PARTICIPATE!

Completed original nomination forms were designed to be folded, taped (stapling is acceptable, but the Post Office prefers tape), affixed with 1st Class postage (.37 cents) and then mailed. Providing that the insert was printed correctly this year, the mailing address will be pre-printed on the reverse of the form. However, completed forms (original forms or copies) may be sent in an envelope to the address that appears of the back of an original form. Which is also re-printed below for your convenience. As a slight change from years past, I will accept nominations via email (oty@ccgtcc.com). However, if you take advantage of this method, you must format your submission into the same headings as the Nomination Form AND you must include all of your nominations at one time. Do not make piecemeal submissions. If you do, then the most current submission form will replace, in total, any previously submitted form(s). Emailed submissions must be sent prior to midnight (PST) March 22, 2004.

As the nomination forms begin arriving I will be very busy tabulating all the selections, in each of the four categories. The top ten nomination-getters, in each category, will then be designated as the Ten Finalist in their category. I will then acquire a complete set of the Ten Finalists and use them to produce a full-color Judge's Pamphlet. A Judge’s Pamphlet will then be sent to each and every member who submitted a legitimate nomination form and will be used to view and judge all the Ten Finalists.
Note: Associate members making legitimate nominations will receive their own Judge's Pamphlet and will not have to share with their Regular member affiliate. Judge’s Pamphlets, just like last year's, will depict the front and back (obverse and reverse) of all Ten Finalists in each category in their actual size. A separate Balloting (Voting) Form is included so that the pamphlet may be kept as a souvenir of your participation in the Club's highly prestigious COTY, TOTY, SSOTY and CKOTY Awards Competitions for 2003.

Judging will take place from about May 1st to about May 17th. All ballots must be returned via the postal system and must be postmarked on or before May 17th, which is a Saturday. (This date may change.) ATTENTION International members, I am inclined to make allowances for voting if these deadlines prove to be a hardship.

By the end of May, I will likely know the top three place finishers in each category and will be going about the task of preparing the various award plaques, which like last year will be awarded through three places, Gold, Silver and Bronze, for a total of 12 awards. I will also be taking care of the Club's acquisition of the four First-place finishers to add to the Club's Permanent Display.

For our newer members (and also as a reminder) the Permanent Display is the Club's own collection of all past winners of the Chip of the Year, Token of the Year and Silver Strike of the Year Awards Competitions. That collection will once again be on-display at the Convention as a non-competitive Exhibit right along side a complete set of all 40 Finalists, ten each from all four categories, from the 2003 competitions.

Well, that about covers it, except for the fine print below. I encourage each and every member to participate in this event, as I see these competitions as an opportunity for the Club's members to tell the casinos and their suppliers that we appreciate their efforts to produce a quality product.

The fine print:

All nominees must have been issued, for use, for the first time, during the calendar year of 2003. Various members of the CC>CC may be called upon to verify this criteria for chips and tokens. The officers of the Silver Striker’s Chapter of the CC>CC shall be called upon to verify this criteria for Silver Strikes. The officers of the Slot Card and Room Key Chapter of the CC>CC shall be called upon to verify this criteria for slot cards/room keys.

Chip of the Year eligibility criteria: A chip must be issued by a casino. It must also serve a gaming purpose.

Token of the Year eligibility criteria: A token is one that is intended to be inserted into a slot machine for play. Excluded are coins (money), currency and tickets. The emphasis is on slot machine play.

Silver Strike of the Year eligibility criteria: The criteria is more full described by the Silver Striker’s Chapter of the CC>CC, however, most simply stated, an eligible Silver Strike is one made by IGT under their trademarked Silver Strike program.

Slot Card/Room Key of the Year eligibility criteria:

Slot Cards must be issued by a casino and are intended to track player action at a slot machine.

Room Keys must be issued by an affiliated hotel/casino establishment. The key (looking like a plastic credit card) must be used to open a guestroom, but not as a burglar tool!

I imagine that there are other pertinent details, but I will discuss those in the next issuance of the CCTN, if need be. I trust that everyone had an excellent New Year’s celebration and I look forward to receiving your nominations shortly. I may be contacted at (520) 529-3245 or via email: oty@ccgtcc.com . Lastly, for those who are Internet connected, be sure to visit the Un-Official OTY Viewing Sites, where you can view many of the potential OTY candidates. There are four locations to visit:

http://www.gamingore.com/gallery2003?dir=COTY
http://www.gamingore.com/gallery2003?dir=TOTY
http://www.gamingore.com/gallery2003?dir=SSOTY
http://www.gamingore.com/gallery2003?dir=CKOTY

Jim Follis
OTY Awards Competition Chairman

Nominations may be mailed to:

Jim Follis (OTY Nominations)
5466 Jacobs Field St.
Las Vegas, NV 89148