Last October Weston sent me a cord mold chip that said only "Casino" on it in script. David, Weston, and I all agreed it was a beautiful chip but a UFC. The chip was not in TGT. I am not showing it in this post as I don't want someone misreading what I am saying.

Last month Weston found this matchbook on ebay.

Weston was excited about it. ME TOO! The chip says "Casino" and the matchbook says "Casino" on it twice. David was not as convinced as we were. What would you have thought? IMO there was only one way to prove it? Cal on our "Friend Of The Hobby."

He not only proved we cannot take things as they appear and busted our little bubble, he found 2 new Chicago illegal clubs not in TGT. Our cord mold now has an ID and its own matchbook that will appear in a future "Illegal Of The Day" and this matchbook and CHR chain mold chips have an ID that appears in this "Illegal Of The Day."

Two new Chicago illegal operations not in TGT does not happen often.

Take it away "Friend."

I’ve been doing a little looking into the Casino matchbook. I’m not sure that that’s the place where the Casino cord mold chip was most likely used. I think it was probably used at a different place.

The address on the matchbook, 2724 N. Clark, was in a 3 story building located on the northwest corner of North Clark and what is today W. Schubert Ave. (building no longer exists; site today is location of the Golden Nugget Pancake House). The building also housed the address 2720. Both addresses were known gambling locations in the 1930’s and 1940’s.
This Hunt chip was delivered to 2720 in 1936:

The CHR chip is in TGT but does not have a Club name, until now.
I need this chip. Cough it up if you have a trader. Has anybody ever seen chip?

Both addresses were raided in 1938—one on Nov. 8th and the other on Nov. 11th.

My note: 633 joints raided in a 4 month span in 1938. That has to be some kind of record.

The only club name that I could find for either address was “Whitehorse” or White Horse.”
The name was associated with both addresses.

1940-

1943--

It’s interesting that there is a white horse on the match cover:

My note. It never entered my mind that a picture of a white horse on the matchbook meant "White Horse Casino. I thought it told customers a race wire was in operation. I confess my first thought was to prove the matchbook matched the Cord mold chip. Normally I am the skeptical one.

Old redneck adage:
When searching for the "Great" White Horse" do not ignore the frigging picture of the "Great" White Horse." Hi Ho Silver!

--side note--
In the late 1920’s, early 1930’s 2724 N. Clark was the location of a men’s store called Paul Boldt & Sons.
When John Dillinger was shot to death in 1934 outside Chicago’s Biograph Theater he was wearing a tie
from Paul Boldt & Sons, suggesting perhaps he spent time in the neighborhood (the Biograph Theater was a few blocks from the store).

FBI document:

pic of the recently departed Dillinger lying on a stretcher on the floor of a police paddy wagon—his Boldt tie visible around his neck:

My note:
Nice tie John!

My note: I've read several accounts which stated the race wire operators had warned Dillinger to get out of town as him being in Chicago was bringing heat on them. The accounts hinted that the operators had helped the FBI get to Dillinger. Maybe, maybe not. I do know the operators would have been thinking "I" first and foremost. There is no way to estimate how much revenue was generated from the race wire in 633 Chicago joints.