Ok, it is a bi metal token not a chip! So, sue me!
I received a bunch of Texas illegals from Weston Charles. In the lot was a $3.50 token with "Evans Bang Tails" and "Winter Book" on it. They are numbered and they are larger than a US 25¢ piece.

If it came out of Texas, I wanted to know the where and why of it. I sent the scan to Ed Hertel.

Here is what Ed says about it.
You could pick the tokens up with no problem at an antique store in Galveston called the Peanut Butter Warehouse. The place was wrecked by the same hurricane that finished the Balinese Room and never reopened. They advertised them as "Galveston Gambling Tokens" but went no further with the description. Ed

Ok the next step is our "Friend of the hobby."

The token appears to have been used for payout in an electronic coin operated gaming device made by H.C. Evans. Based on the newspaper article below, Galveston must have had a lot of these tokens around.

My note: H.C. Evans, Chicago, IL was one of the oldest gaming supply companies in the US. They sold a lot of chips including the "C" mold. Robert Eisenstadt has H.C. Evans circa 1900-1930's, on his site.

couple of ads from the 1940’s--

pics--

Texas Rangers confiscated 106 of these machines in a raid of a warehouse in Galveston in September 1951.

My note: If I am reading right the Texas Rangers took 106 machines in a raid without the inner pay off mechanisms in them. Just the outer cases. They are arguing in court to destroy the outer cases. The owner is arguing they can't be slot machines without the inner mechanisms.

This is my first illegal Texas token.
We know Galveston had at least 106 of these machines and it would have taken a lot of tokens to operate that many machines. I'm betting they had way more than 106 machines.

It is quite possible that the Evans Bang Tail machines were in other states and therefore the tokens.
Slot machines in what I call the "Era Of The Illegals" 1931-61 were in most states. The last ones I saw was well after the "Era Of The Illegals" in 1964 or 65. They were at a pay fishing lake outside of Fort Thomas, KY. My Granny had me take her fishing there when she was in her 90's. She spent more time on a 5¢ slot than she did fishing.