I got the RAM chips from Ruben Apaez a few weeks ago. He should be along shortly as I think he has some for sale or trade.

As I described in “Illegal Of The Day Michigan 2” on 11/4/11 concerning the LV hub mold chips, sometimes there is a fine line between home game chips and Illegal game chips. I am still hoping to get more info on the RAM chips but at this time I cannot say for sure they crossed that line.

The Ram chips were described to me as a small order. IMO there is no correlation between the amount of chips ordered and Illegal or Home games chips. I have seen orders from BIG illegal operations with some colors ordered in amounts as low as 25 chips. Illegal operators often used a mixture of chips ordered from different distributors and even generic chips to operate their games. We have seen many newspaper articles of raids where generic chips are front and center in the pictures.

I have a chip from a Nevada Casino with only 20 made per the Mason record card, that order states my case as to the size of the orders and what they were used for.

IMO it is the research and history that tells us either Illegal or Home game, not the size of the order.

Enough of that:

Wisconsin:

Delivered to:
Mrs Raymond A Munch
1126 S. 111th St.
Milwaukee 14, WI
8/29/60

Above info from the HE Mason & Co, Chicago, IL, records
There are over 25,000 HE Mason records of chip purchases.
This is only the 2nd record I have seen that a woman was the purchaser. I am sure there will be others as we travel through the history of our chips.

Record says White-Chocolate-Black chips. Chips found were White-DARK RED maybe MAROON-Black. No chocolate. I have seen this on other records. Looks like Mason substituted maroon for chocolate or chocolate for maroon on a number of orders over the years.

Interesting that the RAM chips were sent to a “Mrs.” The delivery address is residential. Raymond Anthony Munch, born 1927 in Iron Mountain, MI, died 2000 in a Milwaukee suburb called New Berlin. He was a contractor when the chips were ordered. He incorporated a concrete business in WI in 1964 called Elastizell, which his son appears to operate now. Didn’t see anything that would make me think he was operating an illegal joint—but like you say, you never know. Did his wife buy the chips for him or for her?

His wife, Mrs. Raymond Anthony Munch, or Shirley Mae Bienvenu has an interesting background that suggests she may have been acquainted with gambling. She was a native New Orleans, 4 years older than Munch. Married a guy there in the mid 1940’s named Robert Carra, had 3 kids with him. Carra at the time appears to have been involved with a restaurant called Carra’s on St Charles Ave. At some point, Robert and Shirley move to Milwaukee where they get divorced in 1956.

Shirley marries Munch in New Orleans in 1957 and they live in Milwaukee. Shirley died last February at New Berlin, WI.

Shirley’s 52 year old daughter lives in Milwaukee:

I contacted Shirley’s daughter Lisa in Milwaukee and emailed the above to her. She told me the family hired a broker to sell her mother’s estate in New Berlin. The chips would have been sold at that time. She told me there were many family stories about her mother, Raymond, and poker games. It sounded similar to the poker games I was involved in back in the 1960’s and 70’s. She also said she would talk to her brother and get back to me. That hasn’t happened as yet. I will update the post, if she does get back to me.