THE 2013 OTY AWARDS CONTEST IS OPEN!

That’s right! It’s time to Nominate!

Inside this issue of the award winning Casino Collectibles News you will find an Official Nomination Form for the 2013 OTY Awards. Every Club member is encouraged to take a little time and reflect back on the fabulous array of chips, tokens strikes and cards issues by casinos worldwide during the calendar year of 2013. If any of them standout in your mind, or take center-place in your collection, then perhaps you might want to recognize them by nominating them as a candidate for the OTY Awards.

Only as a member are you 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, aka: The OTY’s!

The 2013 Awards will be marking the Club's 24th year of COTY and TOTY competitions, our 14th year of the SSOTY competition and our 12th year for CKOTY honors. I am both honored and pleased to be serving as the COTY, TOTY, SSOTY and CKOTY Awards Competitions Chairman, along with my son, Casey, the Assistant OTY Chairman.

The rules for this year’s competitions are pretty much the same as last year, and for our newer members (a very big Welcome to our newcomers) and as a refresher for our seasoned participants, I will go over the requirements once again.

Between January 1, 2014 and February 01, 2014 the Assistant OTY Chairman 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 can participate. Note: A .pdf version of the form is available for downloading at this link: http://www.thechipgallery.com/ebay/pics/Nomination_Form_2013_fill_in_form.pdf

Completed, original nomination forms were designed to be folded, taped (stapling is acceptable, but the Post Office prefers tape), affixed with 1st Class postage (.46 cents) and then mailed. Providing that the insert is printed correctly 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. That address is also re-printed below for your convenience. As we did last year we will accept nominations via email to 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. Please do not make piece-meal submissions. If you do, then the most current submission form will replace, in total, any previously submitted form. Emailed submissions must be sent prior to midnight (PST) January 31, 2014.

Judging will be open to any and all , Inc. members in good standing. The March-April-May issue of the Club’s Award winning magazine may include a full-color presentation of all the Nominees, along with a mail-in ballot. These ballots must be returned via the postal system and must be postmarked on or before a date to-be-determined and announced later. However, voting may also be conducted via email, the details of which will be announced later.

The fine print:

All nominee candidates must have been issued, for use, for the first time, during the calendar year of 2013. 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 Club shall be called upon to verify this criteria for Silver Strikes. The Officers of the Slot Card and Room Key Club 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: Simply stated, an eligible Silver Strike is a bi-metal coin made in follow-on to the Silver Strike Program of IGT. This includes $300 strikes.

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.

Casey and I look forward to receiving your nominations shortly. We may be contacted 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 2013 OTY candidates. There are four locations to visit:

http://www.thechipgallery.com/gallery2013?dir=COTY
http://www.thechipgallery.com/gallery2013?dir=TOTY
http://www.thechipgallery.com/gallery2013?dir=SSOTY
http://www.thechipgallery.com/gallery2013?dir=CKOTY

Jim Follis
OTY Awards Competition Chairman