I have mentioned in other "Illegal Of The Day" posts, I am one of a small group of illegal chip collectors that takes care of each other with new finds. One of our group found these on ebay and the rest of us benefited.

After the ID came back, we were elated. A new Southland Hotel chip with a new (to me) name that ordered them. Shades of Benny Binion, Ivy Miller, Red Scarborough, The Dallas Mafia, and murder on the streets of Dallas. All documented in "Illegal Of The Day" posts.

When the research came back I was amazed. Not only a new name to add to the Dallas Mafia but a new (to me) Dallas illegal club, and on top of that it was a "Carpet" Club. Carpet joints catered to the Hollywood elite, politicians, and the wealthy. One of the first "Carpet" joints was Moe Dalitz's (Cleveland Syndicate) Arrowhead Inn, in Branch Hill, Ohio, circa mid 1930's.

I have a few of both C-C colors for trades.

Enough of that:

Texas:

Earl Dalton
Delivered to the Southland Hotel
Used at the Cipango Club, in Turtle Creek, north of Dallas.
Dallas, TX
1000 white $1, 1000 yellow $5
1600 red $25, 400 green $100
12/19/46

These have denominations up to $100.
After the research came back an earlier order of C-C chips was discover in the "Special Die" section of the Mason records, 10 years earlier on 2/4/36. Long before the Cipango Club was ever thought of. There are no yellow or red chips nor denominations on the 1st order. What did Earl Dalton order them for? Unknown but research is under way. I guessing a different club, C......Club. Hopefully a new "Illegal Of The Day" future post.

Earl Dalton
c/o Jefferson Hotel
Dallas, TX
1300 white, 900 green, 400 brown
10 years earlier on 2/4/36.

My 1st email went to Ed Hertel.
Ever hear of Earl Dalton?

Email from Ed Hertel.
Oh yeah, I thought the name was familiar. Earl Dalton was one of Binion’s boys along with Ivy Miller, Ben Bickers and Red Scarborough. They began their association in 1932 when Benny’s mentor and friend Warren Diamond committed suicide after being diagnosed with cancer. Bickers and Dalton were Diamond’s partners in the racket and needed a replacement and asked Binion to join. The rest is history. Your research guy should have a field day with it. My note: He did!

Enter our "Friend Of The Hobby."

Earl Lee Dalton, a native of Arkansas, moved to Ft. Worth in the 1910’s and then over to Dallas in the 1920’s. Along with Benny Binion and Ivy Miller, Dalton was a principal figure in the Southland Syndicate when it controlled Dallas gambling during the 1940’s.

Prior to the Southland Syndicate taking over in Dallas, Dalton spent part of his time in New Orleans. In the early 1930’s he was the manager of a very popular nightclub there called the “Suburban Gardens.” The Suburban Gardens was owned at the time by Joe W. Brown—yep, the same Joe W. Brown who took over the Las Vegas Horseshoe Club in the 1950’s when Binion went to Leavenworth Penitentiary on a tax charge (more on Brown at the bottom of the page).

Here’s an ad from 1931 when Brown owned and Dalton managed the Suburban Gardens (Louis Armstrong and no cover charge...):

From 1945-1951 the location was the site of the Beverly Country Club—said to have been named after the Beverly Hills Country Club in Newport, KY. According to the FBI, the BCC was owned by several men including underworld figures Frank Costello, Meyer Lansky and Carlos Marcello (The Godfather Of New Orleans.)

During the 1940’s Earl Dalton spent a lot of time looking after the Southland Syndicate’s interests at the Top O’Hill Terrace in Arlington, Texas, located half-way between Dallas and Ft.Worth (a couple miles down the road from Cowboys Stadium and Rangers Ballpark). A place for high rollers, the Top O’Hill was owned by Fred Browning but the Southland Syndicate had 50% of the gambling room.

My note: The Top Of The Hill Terrace is a future "Illegal Of the Day" for a another day. Many chips are known from there. Another Dallas "Carpet" joint with exit tunnels for the guests to avoid arrest in raids. Big name Hollywood stars appeared there. Someone sent me the above book. I apologize as I have forgotten who sent it. The building is still there and owned and operated by Arlington Baptist College. Vicki Bryant, the wife of the college's president co-authored the book.

This is an autographed copy signed:

From Poker To Preachers - Vicki Bryant ( I busted a gut when I read the autograph line)

The book is a very good read and I recommend it. The authors might have been a little light on some of the clubs activities.

The C-C hub chips were delivered to Earl Dalton at the Southland Hotel in December 1946. At the time of the chip order the arrangement between gamblers and Dallas authorities which had allowed gambling to flourish in Dallas during World War II was about to change.

A new district attorney and a new sheriff had been elected and both would take office January 1st, 1947. The new DA was a reformer and would seek felony indictments against gamblers. The new sheriff didn’t mind gambling as long as he got his cut. Unfortunately for Binion he was backed by supporters of Herbert "The Cat" Noble. So, as Dalton was ordering the chips Binion was making plans to leave town for a while and give Vegas a try.

My note: Binion's Horseshoe in Las Vegas was the result of this move along with the murder of Herbert "The Cat" Noble after the 12 attempt.

A month prior to the C-C chip delivery to Dalton, a group of investors had begun renovations on an old Dallas mansion north of downtown in an area known as Turtle Creek. The mansion was being renovated in order to become the home of a new very exclusive private club which would cater the wealthiest of the wealthy in Dallas—a place where those with plenty of money to throw around could get sore arms. The new place would be named the Cipango Club and Earl Dalton was one of the owners.

Here’s a certificate produced by the club containing its own self description:

The Cipango formally opened March 22nd 1947:

Here’s a photo from March 1948 inside the Cipango dining room as a chef prepares Crepe Suzette:

The guy seated front left is Elijah E. “Buddy” Fogelson and the guy front right is Cipriano “Dick” Andrade, III. Both were very wealthy Dallas oilmen, “sportsmen” and legendary partiers. In the 1930’s-40’s during Kentucky Derby Week they would take over a portion of Louisville’s Kentucky Hotel and throw a non-stop party. Both owned their own string of race horses. Fogelson was the husband of British born Academy Award winning actress Greer Garson.

The lady seated in the middle with the black hat is Mary Lou Dalton and the guy she is cozied-up next to is her hubby and purchaser of the C-C chips Earl Dalton. In 1938-39 the above mentioned Joe W. Brown owned and raced a thoroughbred named “Marilu Dalton” in honor of Earl’s wife (Brown’s horse “T. M. Dorsett”, named after a member of his wife’s family, was one of a ten horse field in the 1939 Kentucky Derby).

The Cipango was often the hangout for the rich and famous when they visited Dallas. John Wayne and Frank Sinatra spent time there when in Dallas. Sports legends and Dallas residents Mickey Mantle and his friend Bobby Lane, both hall of fame drinkers, put dents in their livers at the Cipango (Mantle would later use a line attributed to Lane: “If I knew I was gonna live this long, I’d taken a lot better care of myself.”).

pic of Andrade with Bob Hope at the Cipango in 1949--

Earl Dalton died in 1950 at the age of 56, only a few years after the chip order. The Cipango Club continued to operate at the location until 1986.

Here’s a pic of the mansion which would become the Cipango when it was a private residence, built 1907:

The structure was torn down in 1991 and replaced by this:

The original entrance drive still exists; the club was located at the top of the hill on the right:

A side note on Joe W. Brown and a question--

Joseph Warlick Brown was born northwest of Ft. Worth, Texas in 1897, moved to Houston in the 1910’s and then to Dallas in the 1920’s. In the late 1920’s he moved to New Orleans where he became rich running gambling operations (Brown once claimed: “I am one of the few people who ever made a million dollars gambling who never got his name mentioned in the Kefauver reports”). Brown put a lot of the money made from his gambling into oil properties and became a very wealthy man. When he took over the Horseshoe Club in December 1953 he said he did so “to do a favor for Binion” who was on his way to the Federal Pen. Binion was released from prison in March 1957 but for various reasons was not able to officially take back his club and it continued to run under Joe W. Brown’s name until the summer of 1958 when a heart attack forced Brown to sell his interest in the club and move back to New Orleans where he died in Feb.1959.

portrait of Brown:

My note: Neither Binion nor Brown could ever get a gambling license in Nevada today. The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) came into being in 1955. The minutes of the meetings for the 1st five years are posted on the "Preserving Gaming History" website. Larry Holibaugh and I had them copied when we were researching my article on The Reno Card room in Carson City. The license process was much different pre 1955. In the early days of licensing money talked and bull shot walked. The process is described in my Sal Sagev article.

In addition to putting his name in neon outside the Horseshoe, Brown put his name on all kinds of paraphernalia--matchbooks, pamphlets, ashtrays, key chains, keno cards, dice, etc. Has anyone ever seen a Horseshoe chip with Brown’s name on it?

My note" No known Horseshoe chips with Brown's name. Brown took over in 1953 when Benny left for a Federally paid for vacation.

The B------S scratched off chips are credited to the Brown 1953 takeover by most collectors. I have evidence this is not the case. It leads me to believe the B------S scratch off chips were used in the1951 opening of the Horseshoe and not scratched off by Brown in 1953. Story will be forthcoming.