This will be number 145 in our “Illegal Of The Day” series. It is only the 2nd one from Oklahoma. They have been from 46 states in the US. The most by far, 20, are from Illinois. I am aware of Illegal chips from 3 of the 4 remaining states, I just don’t have them. That leaves one state without an illegal chip attribution.

Some of you will recognize the name, Doc Finstuen. He used to be active in illegal chip collecting and research. He is the one that found the Jack Todd ( Diamond mold) heirs. He got a lot of good info and pictures from them. The records had already gone to Paulson in Las Vegas. After Doc’s story in Gambling Times (both Doc and I wrote columns in every issue of Gambling Times back in the late 1990’s) I went to Paulson and actually saw the Jack Todd records. I could not get them at the time. Since then I have tried through GPI several times to get them. GPI cleaned out the warehouse and it appears the records went to the dump.

My main reason for mentioning Doc’s name is he had Illegal chips from 49 states. For years he was on a quest to find one from that 50th state. Today there is still not an Illegal ID in TGT from that 50th state. Doc has been inactive in the hobby for a number of years. I miss him. I know he worked for NASA in Texas. Maybe he went to the moon to find an Illegal from there.

Warning Will Robinson:
An Illegal chip from that 50th state has been found and is undergoing research. Coming soon to an “Illegal Of The Day” post.

It will be the1st entry from that state in the new TGT. If you are an avid Illegal chip collector you will want this one. Who knows how long or even if, it will take to find another one from this state.

Enough Of that:

Oklahoma:

I got 2 colors (chocolate and white) of the CG chip back in 2007. They have a lot of history going back to the Alaska gold rush and from today, a town that is almost a ghost town. Mining both built it and destroyed it.

CG
Brass Rail Taproom
Pitcher, OK

I am trying to remember how many different Brass Rail’s we have documented. Maybe 4?

Frank W. Potts, a native of Missouri, died at Picher, OK in 1943 age 73. During the Klondike
Gold Rush, Frank left his home in Kansas and went north to Alaska where at least for a while he operated a saloon in Anchorage called the Silver Dollar. By 1905 he had returned to Parsons, Kansas. In the late 1910’s a large discovery of lead and zinc in Picher, OK turned that place into a boom town and Frank moved a few miles south of Parsons to Picher where he was involved in the operation of several enterprises (hotel, hardware store, drug store, bar, athletic association).

Frank became a druggist while in Picher and for several years operated a place called Central Drug.
I never saw any gambling reported at the place, but Frank had problems with liquor laws there both during and after prohibition. In late 1935, a few months prior to the CG chip order, Frank sold his drug store—but retained ownership of the building. That same year Frank partnered-up with John Rutherford and began operating the Brass Rail Taproom at 214 1/2 E. Second St. (a few doors down from the drug store). Frank and Rutherford were partners in the place until Rutherford’s death in Oct.1942 (Frank died a few months later).

A side note: Frank had a brother Albert who operated a pool hall in nearby Joplin, MO in the 1930’s.

Although it changed locations, the Brass Rail remained in business until 2007.The plight of Picher is well documented—the mining that created the town ultimately destroyed it. A virtual ghost town today, most people having accepted the Federal Government payoff to leave, the remaining buildings in Picher are scheduled for future demolition.

Here’s a pic from the 1920’s looking down E. Second St. from S. Connell Ave.; Central Drug far left, took-up the corner of E. Second & S. Connell; a few years later the Brass Rail would have been located a couple doors down.

Current Google street view of above—the building and telephone poles about the only things still there:

When Alaska became a state in 1959 an Oklahoma newspaper interviewed an old timer in Picher named Bill about his experiences there during the Klondike Gold Rush; the Frank mentioned is Frank Potts:

Joplin Globe—8feb1924:

10 years later.
Joplin Globe—18nov1934:

Brass Rail raided when the Mayor of Picher, fed-up by the lack of action by county officials, decides to lead his own gambling raids—3 months later he lost his bid for re-election (3 months after that he died).
Joplin Globe—18feb1939:

Raided right before Christmas.
Joplin Globe—24dec1941

Looks like a long series of raids at Frank’s places of business.