Guinness World Record Holder Gregg Fisher Interview

A conversation about being a Guinness World Record Holder, and more besides. It’s so great to hear Gregg talk after so many glimpses into his life as a collector. We could all benefit from being so keyed into the idea or indeed reality of having a passion that we see through to the nth degree.

Being a record breaker is a far more meticulous process than many would consider. From Gregg’s insights we can see why it would be daunting for some to go through it, but then of course that’s what it takes to hold a world record. It has to meet a high standard of proof in terms of both authenticity and beyond. Not just a numbers game (in terms of chips, or anything!). No doubt that rules some people out to begin with, because there is a level of seriousness, documentation and professionalism that has to be adhered to.

Resorts World, NV, Las Vegas

Casino Chip collector and man about town Gregg Fisher has once again been bursting through the doors of a newly opened casino / resort (this time with his lovely wife accompanying him!).  News of the grand opening was music to his ears and arrived at Resorts World, NV, just 12 hours after it opened and had a glowing appraisal of it, deeming it ‘the best on the strip’. High praise indeed! In fact it’s the first new resort to open on the Las Vegas Strip in over a decade. With tens of food and drink options, three Hilton hotels, and a 117,000-square-foot casino, to say that the resort has a lot to offer would be an understatement.

So early was the casino chip world record holder to the venue that opened up a table for him. Without pause he captured images of their chips, and indeed the venue as a whole. This is a $4.3 billion resort (yes, you read that correctly!), so is appropriately ‘easy on the eye’. Opening on 24th June and described as combining a blend of technology and luxury urban appeal, visually Resorts World certainly stands out from the crowd. Some of the impressive images taken by Gregg on the day are below ‘hot off the press’ style. Enjoy!

Charles Fox

Charles Fox was a prominent, and fiercely radical, Whig politician of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. He was, in fact, the first British Foreign Secretary but, while he was a famous champion of civil liberty, he was an equally infamous drunkard, gambling addict and libertine. Indeed, Fox was said to have debts ‘like Caesar’s’ but, thanks in large part to his irresitable charisma, his political ambitions were hindered more by his hostility towards King George III than his financial situation.

By 1772, while still in his early twenties, Fox had already accrued £20,000 in gambling debts, which he asked his father, Henry Fox, First Baron Holland, to pay off. Baron Holland died in July, 1774, but the previous November had agreed, once again, to pay off debts ‘not exceeding the sum of one hundred thousand pounds’ on behalf of his son. Simultanenously, Frederick Howard, Fifth Earl of Carlisle, stood Charles Fox security for an additional sum, somewhere between £14,000 and £16,000, including interest payments of up to £2,000 a year.

By 1775, Carlisle was no longer able to service the debt, which was the equivalent of approximately one-sixth of his personal annual income at the time, and was forced to mortgage his home in St. James’s Place, London, and retire to Yorkshire. That November, James Harris, First Earl of Malmesbury, wrote that Charles Fox, who was a personal friend, ‘was not worth a farthing’ and, a year later, ‘had spent £175,000’. Fox continued his lifestyle, unrestrained and unrepetant; he was declared bankrupt between 1781 and 1784. It was not until late in his life, after his friends and family freed him from debt and provided him with a comfortable income, that he finally abandoned gambling.

Gregg Fisher – Casino Chip World Record Display

An update from Gregg Fisher and his display. His Guinness world record holding collection will feature as part of the Casino Chip & Gaming Tokens Collectors Club (ccgtcc) annual convention. Held at South Point Hotel/Casino, Las Vegas from 17th to 19th June if you’re in the area do check it out. As you can see Gregg has been kind enough to give a meaning nod to HotChip.co.uk as part of his display. We’re honoured!