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On 2/12/24 I posted "Illegal Of The Day New York 4." Here is the link in case you need a refresher on it.
It told the story of Syracuse, New York, George DiGiacomo, Frank Bagozzi, 3 hub chips delivered in 1936 "SLIM," "BUGGS," "TH," The Truax Hotel, arrests from the 1920's through 1960's, and a raid with the Swat Team repelling down from a skylight on to the gambling tables. Would have been a "Reaaallly Big Show."
Here we are 3 years later in 1939 revisiting Frank Bagozzi's 40 year gambling career. Why do I have the feeling this will not be the last chapter in his story?
David Spragg found a few of these and should be along with some to sell.
Enough of that:
New York:
SYR
Frank Bogozzi
C/o Syracuse Club
717 North Salina
Syracuse, NY
6/13/39
The SYR hubs were delivered to Frank Bagozzi at 717 North Salina on June 13th 1939. The address was a known gambling location from the 1920’s into the 1960’s. At the time of the SYR delivery the location housed a place called Simone’s Billiards. I could find no references to a “Syracuse Club” at the address or anywhere in Syracuse at the time. My guess is that Bagozzi used the chips in a gambling room associated with Simone’s Billiards.
My note. We see more and more of these. Gambling rooms that never existed on paper only in name.
Here’s a couple of current street views of the location:
Here’s some ads for Simone’s both before and after the chip order:
April 1939 (the Chiefs are Syracuse’s minor league baseball team)--
1941--
Simone’s was operated by Syracuse gambler Charles Simone who opened the place a few years before the chip order and continued operating there under different names for over 20 years (during the late 1950’s the address was known as the Salina Coffee Shop). In 1960 Simone testified before a NY crime commission:
Simone was charged with various gambling violations at the address many times including June 1938, about a year before the SYR chip order:
and Sept 1940, about a year after the order:
Almost a decade after the SYR order, Bagozzi was working as a dealer when Simone’s was raided in May 1948. Simone’s had a lunch room in front, a wire room behind it and then the gambling room behind it. At the time, Bagozzi’s Fantasy Cafe had gone into bankruptcy and the IRS was after him (an ad for the Fantasy was featured in the BUGGS/SLIM Illegal of the Day).
13 years later in 1961 Bagozzi was busted for gambling in the back room of the address when the place was known as Como’s Restaurant.
Here’s an article about Simone from 1960:
BBB chips were ordered 6 months prior to SYR and were delivered to Greenway Brewery, same location as the BUGGS chip order of 1936.
I need this chip. Cough it up if you have a trader.
They are only "Little Pieces Of Clay" and you can't get em all, but the fun is in the hunt and the stories the clay is hiding,
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