Benny Binion opened the Horseshoe Club in 1951. In the mid-1950's he had to serve 2 years in jail, in Texas, for income tax (?fraud, evasion?). During those 2 years, Joe W. Brown ran the Horseshoe and put his name on the ashtrays, matches, and casino (not chips). When Benny was released, Joe W.'s name came off and Binions name went on. (I've seen different dates for the Joe W. Brown timeframe...somewhere between 1952 and 1957)

A Joe W. Brown ashtray and a postcard of $1,000,000 cash in Joe W. Brown's Horseshoe Casino were the start of our collecting casino stuff!