So much of the history of illegal clubs is done through research of written sources, and very little through personal interviews of those involved. The generation that built the gambling clubs of the 1940s-50s have more or less disappeared. Doing the math, if a 30 year old casino owner opened a club in 1950, he’d be pushing 100 years old now. It’s no wonder when we do find the occasional original owner that their memories are a little hazy. More often, the family members to do get to meet are one or two generations removed from the “action”. They may remember bits and pieces from their relative’s places, but getting solid information, especially about chip attributions, is (in my opinion) very sketchy.

Every once in a while though, we do get lucky with family members who are able to help, even if they never once stepped foot in the casino themselves. This is one of those stories.

A couple weeks back I received an email from a guy who was looking for information about gambling in Havana, Illinois. The IOTD team has dabbled in Havana a few times already and it was through those past postings that led him to me. He said his great-grandfather was named Herman Kipp and he owned the Stag Bar back in the 1940s. He saw posted in an old IOTD of chip that was attributed as coming from the Stag Bar and wondered if I had one. I looked through my stuff and found this…

Going through my notes I discovered that these chips were found in 2012 and “attributed” to the Stag Bar in Havana, Illinois. It was one of those attributions that is hard to substantiate, but impossible to refute. They were found in the area with other known Havana chips, but whether it belonged to “The” Stag in Havana… not easy to prove.

I told the great-grandson he could have the chip if he agreed to share any information or pictures he might be able to find. Enthused, he started calling family members until he came to a cousin who was big into researching family history. She said she had a file on Herman Kipp that she accumulated after cleaning out her grandmother’s (Herman’s daughter) house after her passing.

In it were pictures of Herman Kipp and interior shots of the Stag – one with a shot of the craps and roulettes tables and a slot machine! Sure enough, the Stag had gambling!

She then followed with a picture of some of the chips she found in the house.

I was happy to see the “STAG” chips because that gave me assurance that the Havana attribution was indeed correct. But the presence of the KSR chips was a little confusing. In my database I had these chips as belonging to the Pastime Club in Havana with my source being Gene Trimble. Unfortunately, Gene can’t speak for himself anymore, so I started digging a little deeper.

The Mason order card for the KSR chips shows these chips being ordered by Louis E. Becker at his club at 118 N. Plum Street, Havana, in 1946. Becker and Long’s Victory Room was pretty well known and we have a large number of chips going there. Before this, I’d just assume they belonged there.

The Stag was just a couple buildings down the street at 106 N. Plum (compared to Victory Room at 118 N Plum). Doing a very brief search online found a couple of references tying some of the club together. On a Facebook posting, someone said… “Shawgo and Long opened their Plum St. Restaurant in the 1921. That partnership ended in 1937. Louie Becker bought out Frank Shawgo's interests. They also backed Kipp's Stag in August 1943.”

Now I know Facebook posts aren’t the best source for researched facts, but I just haven’t had the time to do a deep dive into Havana history. I do know that Louis Becker did have his hands in a multiple casinos, both within Havana and outside. If anything, finding these chips ordered by Becker in Kipp’s possession seems to indicate the connection.

So… one last thing. What do the initials KSR stand for. From the above we might say (K)ipp, (S)hawgo and ??? – surely not Becker or Long. Hmm… I was sitting there, looking at all my information. I pulled out my matchbook on the off chance it listed a manager or something. Nope. It had very little information. Just the name of the club and city.

What a minute. Kipp’s Stag Restaurant? K-S-R!

Attributing chips sometimes takes a random email, a little digging, and a whole lot of luck.

I know this IOTD was a little light on history, but I thought it showed a fun process. I love it when a good attrubtion comes together!