Ohio: This is our 37th stop on our trip across the illegal clubs of the USA.

I am purposely only posting one chip in this “Illegal of The Day” post. The rest of Ohio’s story of Illegal gaming is rich in history and will be told another day.

Update on the Arrowhead Inn, Branch Hill, Ohio. Branch Hill is a suburb of Cincinnati. The Arrowhead Inn was the forerunner to Beverly Hills and The Lookout House and the first of the areas big Supper Clubs with gambling.

I wrote the 5 articles back in 1999 and 2000.
They turned out to be the gift that just keeps on giving. If you have not seen the articles here is the link.
http://www.marlowcasinochips.com/links/genetrimble/genetrimble.htm

Over the years I have received numerous emails from people in Cincinnati area and other states after finding the articles. They either lived close or had relatives that worked at the Arrowhead, including a policeman from Clermont County, Ohio. He actually went out and walked the area where the Arrowhead Inn building used to be, looking for leftover items.

An heir of the mayor of Elmwood, Ohio in the 1930’s emailed me several years ago. He also had a chip case with several 100 Arrowhead Inn chips in it. No different chips. He wound up selling the set on ebay.

Also emails from several Nason relatives that were not aware of their family’s history. That can’t be my Uncle Sam! Yes it can honey!

The Nason’s controlled Elmwood and southern Ohio gambling and reached into N Kentucky gambling for the Cleveland Syndicate 1932-1951. Estes Kefauver all but ended their reign in 1951.The Arrowhead Inn articles are their story from bootlegging in the 1920’s through their deaths in the 1960’s, as told by Harold Nason’s son, Danny, my friend of many years.

Danny fought every day of his last two years of life, for one more day. He finally got the call last year:
“Seven and out.” Rest easy dear friend.

Enough of that:

Here is another chapter in the Arrowhead Inn saga. Doubtful it will be the last chapter.

On December 26, 2009, I received this email with attached pictures.
From: John
Sent: Saturday, December 26, 2009 12:40 PM
To: poker4@cox.net
Subject: Arrowhead Inn Poker Chips

Hi Gene,

We read your article at http://www.chequers.com/magazine/trimble/cpgt0200.html and thought you might be interested to see some pictures of the poker chips we just discovered in our family. My aunt knew she had the chips for a long time but only recently found where they were stored. Her mother (my grandmother) was a court reporter near Cincinnati and was present for the trial surrounding the Arrowhead Inn being shut down. Somehow she apparently received a confiscated set of poker chips. In the attached images you can see a few images of the set. It has a cover (looks like something you'd put over a cake with a rectangle cut in the middle) and there are 301 chips. On the inside of the cover my grandma taped a news article about the casino being shut down and on the bag that covers the entire thing, she wrote a little description of what the chips are. The wooden case is engraved on the bottom, as you can see, by a company called Drueke from Grand Raipds. (The chips came from the Jack Todd Co, Kansas City MO, 1933-1950. The wooden case is from Drueke)

Have you seen an entire set like this before? Please let us me know if you have any thoughts/comments about the set. We've seen a few of the single chips online going for about $10 or so a chip, so I'm curious as to how much the entire thing might be worth. That said, I am not interested in selling it so don't go to any great lengths to find that answer.

Best regards,
John

There was some question on whether the white chip in the pictures were actually faded green chips. John was kind enough to send me one of the chips.

Scans went out to Roy Klein, Jim Linduff, and David Spragg. Roy and Jim are about as close to experts on the Arrowhead Inn as we can get. I have tons of newspaper stories they have dug out.

David suggested that Diamond mold chips may be white all the way thru like TRK crowns. I did not know that. I snapped a diamond mold pink chip. One diamond mold trader, bit the dust. Color went all the way through the chip.
Jim and I questioned the green shade close to the hot stamp.

Roy’s reply.
“Gene, Gene, Gene,”
“That green is just moldy, dirty gold hot stamp. I've seen that on zillion old hot stamped chips.”
(com on Roy, a zillion?)

I have examined the chip with a good power magnifying glass. Outside of the green shading around the gold arrowhead hot stamp, I can find no green color. The rims are perfectly white. There is 1 small nick on the edge. No green in the
nick.
Best I could do on a rim scan.

Roy Klein, Jim Linduff, David Spragg, and I agree it is not a faded green but a white chip. This confirms 4 colors of the “INN” in an arrowhead chips, used at the Arrowhead Inn.
Here is an updated scan of the known Arrowhead Inn chips as of September 2010.
Only 7 black “INN” chips known.

The 7th color, white, Maltese Cross chip is a recent find also.
Credit to Rich Hanover for finding the dark blue and green JSB chips.
All of this info and scans will be added to the Arrowhead Inn articles as part 6.

Below are a few articles and pictures concerning the Arrowhead Inn.

Arrowhead Inn raided.

The raider!!!!!

The trial about to start.

Harold Nason at the Arrowhead inn 1935

An envelope with a letter from Sam Nason to his sister in Texas, 1936. She also has chips from the Arrowhead. I checked, no white chips.

Arrowhead Inn postcard.

Harold Nason’s watch.

Danny Nason and wife 1948. Danny still missed her the last day of his life. I live in Danny’s house. It is my wish that Danny made it to wherever she is. Her presence is in the decorative items in the house to this day.

Danny at a Desert Inn Golf Tourney.

The Nason's - Bob, Harold, Danny, Frank & Sam.

Bobby is the only Nason still kicking. He is a retired Air Force Colonel. Bobby was never involved with illegal gambling. Notice the cigarette in his hand. He is in mid 80’s and the cigarette is still always in his hand.