More work for TGT authors! Once again Ed Hertel gives us "The Rest Of The Story" on 4 chips many of us have had in our collections for years. Can you imagine the day finally arrives when we have a "Club" name for the largest percentage of our "Illegal" chips? The light at the end of the tunnel is a little closer.

Enter: Ed Hertel.

I hope this week’s IOTD doesn’t disappoint, but the truth is, not every chip, regardless of time and effort, is going to produce an epic story. Not all illegal gambling was run by mob bosses or corrupt politicians. A vast majority of chips were used in small bars or the back of pool rooms with no notoriety at all.

Today’s IOTD is a clean-up of some of these short identifications I’ve turned up recently for Louisiana. Although I don’t have a great story to go along with these, it will put "Club" names to some of our chips with "Customer" name/address only on the manufactures records.

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I also have a red 5c chip.

Ordered by:
Sam Haik
Covington, LA
1937
After research: Haik's Bar

Covington is a small town just north of New Orleans in the New Orleans/Metairie Greater area.

In 1937 when the chips were ordered, Sam Haik was 30 years old and owner of a “retail saloon”. He had lived his entire life in Covington and learned the trade by working in his Syrian born father’s café. Sam, along with his wife Hazel ran the local “Haik’s Bar”. Although I found no evidence of gambling raids in the Haik’s Bar, this is where I believe the chips would have been used.

The below picture, provided to me by the Covington library shows the interior:

Today there is a Haik Park in Covington named after the well-respected family.

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Jones mold chip hotstamped “FJP” was ordered by:

James Parker
1300 St. Bernard St
New Orleans, LA
11/7/1956
After research: Fun Box

For the time period of the chip order, the address was to a bar named the “Fun Box”. James Parker (or in 1958 James Porker) is shown as the owner. I found no further information.

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Jones mold chip hot stamped “AJ” ordered by:

A. Jackson
1730 Iberville St
New Orleans, LA
2/5/1954
After research: Abe's Place.

Two years before the chips were ordered, Abe Jackson was working as a bartender at a tavern called Frank’s Place at the above address. By 1954, Abe had worked his way up and now owned the place. But what to name it… oh, I know, how about “Abe’s Place”.

The 1954 city directory lists Abe’s Place at 1730 Iberville and Abe and his wife Hilda living next door at 1728 Iberville.

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Hard to read, but the above chip says “EB” in the Jones mold and was ordered by:

Edward Blunt
2000 Dumaine St.
New Orleans, LA
1957

After research: Blunt's Bar.
My Note: I need the EB chip. Cough it up if you have a trader.

The chips were delivered to a tavern called “Blunt’s Bar” which will come to nobody’s surprise as being owned by Edward Blunt.

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Again, the above chips might not have an exciting story, but they were a part of gambling history. For the people who owned these bars, gambling might not have played a big part in their business. Maybe they just broke the chips out for friendly games. Or maybe they represent a hidden history that just hasn’t been found yet.

To me, big or small, chips have a story to tell and I enjoy listening to whatever they care to reveal.

My note: I've always said "Chips Talk" and tell their history if you take the time to listen. Sometimes they need a little help explaining what they have to say. The "Illegal Of The Day" team is very adept at listening to their chips. We invite you to join us in our quest for the "history" of "our" chips.