This is "Illegal Of The Day" # 228. 75, fully one third of them have been from 4 mid-western states Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio. I think this number is a pretty good snapshot telling us that the mid-west was the hub of illegal gambling. We have not come close to telling all the stories but I bet the numbers will be close to what we have already seen if it was possible to tell all the stories from across the USA. Just a wild and crazy guess, maybe 9,772 to go.

Once more we return to Illinois. David Spragg found The BD and Smoke House chips on ebay. He has a couple sets left and will be along with a sales post.

BD (T-mold) & Smoke House (Treybal) Joe Treyball, St Louis Mo, 3 dots and dash mold.

Enough of that:

Enter our "Friend Of the Hobby."

Found a few things on the Smoke House, but not a whole lot. Robert Dixon, who ordered the BD chips, died in 1979. He had two children, a son and a daughter. His son Donald died in March of this year. His daughter Joan Stehr is in her early 80’s and residing in Albuquerque, NM

The BD T-mold chips were delivered to Robert Dixon c/o Smoke House in Havana, Illinois in 1948 (the BD probably stands for Bob Dixon; could also be for Bob & Don, since Dixon’s son Don was associated with him at the Smoke House). The Smoke House was one of many gambling places operating in Havana at the time--for more see this Illinois Illegal of the Day:

http://www.marlowcasinochips.com/links/genetrimble/illegaloftheday/VariousIL3.pdf

My note: The above link will take you to "Illegal Of The Day" Illinois 29. It is a good story about many illegal operations in Havana, IL and answers the age old question of "When Pigs Fly."

In 1948, the year the BD chips were ordered, Havana and surrounding Mason County were visited by a reporter from the Chicago Tribune:

(the Wheeler mentioned below was a State Attorney from the Havana area):

My note: I don't know what an army MP was making in 1948. When I joined the army in 1959, I was paid $72 per month. $85 would have been a huge amount to him.

Dixon and the Smoke House address show-up on the Kefauver Taylor customer list from 1951:

Robert Dixon and his son Don purchase Federal wagering stamps in January 1952:

example of a Federal tax stamp from 1952:

My note: Illegal gambling joints could purchase the federal gambling stamp each year and feel safe from the feds sticking their nose in the business. Combine that with the monthly fine from the city of Havana's monthly tax on each table and slot machine and they were in reality now "Legal Gambling."

The federal stamp also covered a person running a roving crap game as long as he kept the stamp on his person and could display it on request. This federal stamp did not make gambling legal with the local or state cops. They still needed to be paid off.

Here’s a recent photo of the former location of the Smoke House, 316 W. Main:

interior, looking front to back:

interior, back to front:

My note: I doubt this will be the last "Illegal Of The Day" on Havana, IL. I believe the city came close to Newport, KY with the number of joints in operation. Per the Saturday Evening Post Newport had 150 in 1960.