This could take awhile to read. If you collect illegal chips you will appreciate this one.

The JML and JL Crown mold chips could have more history than any other illegal chips in your collection.

Read this then answer this question.

Who of you has illegal club chips with more history than the Hawaiian Club chips?

The back story:

I more or less stopped getting TR King chips a number of years ago. IMO 95% of them were California chips. I have 600 different California chips. I just quit adding to them.

I had never heard of Jason Lee, The Hawaiian Club in Chicago, or its ties to TR King. A few weeks ago, I received an email from an author writing a book about Jason Lee and asking for info on chips. It had scans of 4 chips -2 Scrowns, 1 Lcrown, and 1 hub with JML and JL on them. In fact I doubted that Large & Small Crown chips could have been used in Chicago.

Easy enough, I sent for the hub record. JML hub came back, nothing to do with Jason Lee. But that hub record will generate another big story as soon as I can find one of the hub JML for my collection.

Now I really doubted the crown chips.

Thanks to a “Special Friend Of The Hobby,” I was able to obtain copies of the TR King record cards for the L & S Crown JML/JL chips. WOW!!! Was I wrong.
May be the 1st time I was ever wrong!

The TR King record cards told a 20 year story that spanned 3 continents North America, Asia, and Europe and a dozen states in the USA. Jason Lee was a true con man, dice cheat, and Illegal Club operator. TR King made his “Funny Dice” for roughly 20 years.

Thanks to Dave Brown and other un-named friends for info in this post. I am editing the original info from the author that started this research. You can buy his book when it is published.

Enough Of that:

Mr. Trimble,

I am pasting an email that I have just sent to Mr. Jim Steffner. I found both of your names on the CCGTCC list available online:

I hope this email finds you well. I am a New York City-based writer currently researching a casino owner named Jason Lee. He had various establishments in the 1940s and 50s. I was surprised to find his casino chips for sale from his Hawaiian Club which was located at 1358 North Clark Street in Chicago. I was curious as to how familiar the collectors are with Jason Lee. Lee's name was mentioned by a collector on a website (Ed Hertel’s site) that was simply showing off some of his pieces. Lee was very well known in gambling circles at that time, but not much of a name anymore, so I am very curious. If you can provide any information or point me in a direction with someone that may have more information please contact me at this email or at the number listed below.

Sincerely,

Jason A.

Jason Lee
Hawaiian Club
1358 N. Clark Street
Chicago, IL
Orders 1938 through1959

My note: I still need the blue JL chip. Looks like the JML comes in 8 colors. I still need 7 of them.

Following from Dave Brown.

Have you ever heard of a place called "Johny's Three Decker Sandwich Shop" in your research? I think I mentioned that I've been in the process of acquiring some original photo negatives of some of the old illegal gambling joints here in Chicago, and that I'd keep an eye out for Jason Lee's place.

So I've got an original 4x5 negative showing Johnny's Three Decker Sandwich Shop. Next door is a place called "King's Men Grill". It's marked "Bldg at 1358 N. Clark - alleged gambling den - Crime Probe-1-29-53". Johnny's Three Decker is a 1/2 basement type shop. The main floor place is unmarked and I assume is Jason Lee's place. I'm sending a scan and another from the same source that I don't own...yet...but it shows the address more clearly. When I purchased the picture I thought it was 1354 N. Clark, and was pleased to find it marked 1358 N. Clark.

I've got a lead on an elderly woman here in Chicago who, along with her deceased husband, used to own Johnny's Three Decker. The family now owns a Japanese restaurant in Chicago.

Dave Brown

Scans from Dave Brown.

More from Jason A:

I'm attaching the small article regarding the robbery at the Hawaiian Club -- you may have already seen this.

I am also pasting a blurb here from my own research material that came from the files at the Dept. of Justice:

Hawaiian Club listed from 1945 with pool hall on first floor and gambling establishment for Chinese and Japanese in basement. Supposedly netted approx. $100,000 in 12 months he operated the Hawaiian club. Informant advised Lee operated a South Side branch of this gambling house located near 55th and Dorchester in Chicago.

This is the only time I've heard of another gambling joint in Chicago. Does this 55th and Dorchester address ring a bell?

Re: 1358 N. Clark: Notice the mention of going down to the basement. I've heard accounts of people going up to higher floors at 1358 N. Clark and passing through several security posts, even dogs on premises before coming to the main gaming room. He likely changed the layout of the place over time.

Jason A.

My reply to The Author:

Jason,

I cannot send you copies of the TR King record cards at this time, as they are covered by IRS rules referencing donations to a museum, but will try to give you most of the information.

This guy was all over the place for over 20 years.

My notes:

Jason Lee had orders shipped to 3 different cities in CA, two different addresses in IL, WY, OR, AZ, AK, and Japan. He had lots of “funny” dice plus other gaming paraphernalia shipped plus orders picked up at TR King by himself and a least 2 different ladies. I am betting there are other addresses on other order cards.

Record Card 1.
Address:
J M Lee
1087 Powell St
San Francisco, Ca

2nd address:
General Delivery
Marysville, CA

3rd address:
General Delivery
Cheyenne, Wyoming

4th Address
General Delivery
Portland. OR

5th Address
General Delivery
Parlier, CA
These were for small orders of dice in 1939 and 1940

6th Address
Hawaiian Club
1358 N Clark St
Chicago
Very large orders of chips in 1938-40-41-45
Hot stamp JML

Record Card 2.
Hawaiian Club
Chicago
Several orders in 1941
Chinese Dominos, Dice, Yards of felt, lottery equipment, and money box.
2 more orders of JML chips in 1941 and 1947

Record Card 3.
More orders for equipment, dice, and chips including the JL Small Crowns inlayed instead of hot stamp.
Orders from 1941 through 1952
1953 order 7th address.
APO 500 San Francisco. This APO tracks to Tokyo, Japan for 1953. Ok Mun Song came into the TR King office and paid cash for this order.

Record Card 4
14 more orders from 1945 through 1959 for equipment, dice, and chips.
8th address for Asia Post in Chicago. There are also 4 Hunt cards for this place but Lee’s name in not on them.
9th address for General delivery Page, AZ.
10th address for General Delivery Sitka, Alaska
A lady called Miss AHN came into TR King and paid for a couple orders and put in a claim for a lost order.

Several places on the cards states Jason Lee was in to pay for orders.

I only have 4 record cards. There are others.
Many of the dice orders will be for “funny” dice.

From a friend:

Gene,
Probably more information than what you want, but for that date, APO 500 was for the primary sorting facility located in Tokyo Japan. From there, the mail was then forwarded to a number of locations in the surrounding area. Don't know if you want the entire list of sub-post offices or not.

So, suffice to day that Japan is the Primary location, Tokyo area as the secondary information.

Dates for APO 500 for Tokyo Japan from from 02--XX-1946 through 12-31-1957. (XX = day not know, just month and year)

My notes: The APO in Japan was a military address. IMO the only thing in Sitka, Alaska pertaining to gaming was NCO or Officer Clubs. I did not check for military bases close to the other delivery addresses. Could Jason Lee have been ripping off military gaming clubs with his “funny” dice?

More from the author:

Great library to own (TR King records cards). I'm glad I made the connection with you. I mentioned before that TR King made the Monte Carlo Heist dice -- I'll try to find the article and attach it for you guys. I wonder how many counts of dice making TR King had under their belt before closing?

My note. TR King voluntarily stopped selling casino supplies in NV January 25. 1974 to avoid a NV Gaming Control Board, ban. TR King was not the only old distributor to sell “funny” dice and other cheating gambling devices, but they got caught. Christy Jones NV office also got caught by Postal inspectors shipping “funny” dice to Mississippi illegal clubs. It caused the breakup of Bill Christy and Bud Jones.

I'll also attach an Application for a Nevada State Gaming License that was deferred by the gaming control board. The interesting thing here is that Jason Lee he had given the name "The International Club" which was the same name of a place in Japan. The owners of the Japanese "joint" had approached Lee about partnering and he had supposedly refused. This information came to me by the way of FBI files I got a hold of. Let me know what you think. (I have to find my scan of that Saturday Evening Post article and I'll send it.

Jason A

Jason Lee’s 1958 application for a Nevada State Gaming License and minutes from GCB commission’s decision, are in a PDF. The application was deferred and never pursued. Click here if you want to read it.
http://www.marlowcasinochips.com/links/genetrimble/illegaloftheday/JasonLee2.pdf

Excerpt from Jason A’s above email:

“I mentioned before that TR King made the Monte Carlo Heist dice –“
I have to find my scan of that Saturday Evening Post article and I'll send it.

My note: I have the Saturday Evening Post article on the Monte Carlo Heist and Jason Lee.
Three excerpts from the 5 full page article in The Saturday Evening Post, follows.
Thank you David Spragg for the work on the Saturday Evening Post PDF.
Entire article is in a PDF. Click here if you want a good read.

http://www.marlowcasinochips.com/links/genetrimble/illegaloftheday/JasonLee1.pdf

OK, who has illegal club chips with more history than the Hawaiian Club chips?