The Cotton Club, according to Harvey J. Fuller's "Index of Nevada Gaming Establishments" was licensed for slots, 21, craps, keno and poker. However, an elderly Black man who played in the Cotton Club told me he can't remember ever seeing a poker table or keno game in the place. Never the less the Cotton Club was a very special casino for the Black community. It was one of the first places a Black individual could go after 1944 and not be told to leave because of the color of his skin. It put the Green Lantern to shame which was another casino for Blacks located across the street that opened right around the same time. The Green Lantern closed just after a few years of operation, being unable to compete with the Cotton Club.

It is my opinion, and the opinion of others, the first chip used at The Cotton Club was a $5.00 rectangle mold-inlay. A beautiful chip with a picture of a cotton ball in the middle of the inlay. The second chips ordered for the Cotton Club were small crown hot stamps ordered from T.R.King in 1953. 300 yellow $5.00 yellow and 300 $10.00 blue bearing the name "Cotton Club" Las Vegas on the obverse and the denomination on the reverse. These chips were confirmed being shipped to Jody (Jodie) Cannon, one of the owners, for use at the club. The Cotton Club closed in 1957. Pressure from the newly constructed Moulin Rouge was just too much to overcome. With the opening of the Moulin Rouge, Blacks had a quality establishment that could compete with the finest hotel/casinos on the strip.

See part 3