Hi Jerry,

If you could e-mail me and give me some info about where you got it, etc. Would really appreciated, @ tecnamar@aol.com. Maybe we can find some answers.

Is the first time I have seen it.

The problem is that the "Hotel Nacional", the nicest of all hotels in the Caribbean, a very well known hotel, DID NOT HAVE GAMBLING>
Also, it belonged to the Government at the time and was specifically off-limits to gambling, as that was where all the international VIP, government officials, etc. were received, with their families.

Illegal in the Hotel? Not, illegal chips in Cuba did not have the name of the institution where they were located, usually had initials or designs .....for obvious reasons.

In very late 50's when Lansky and Batista were re-structuring Cuba, the Government allowed the establishment of a casino on the premises. It was the Wilbur Clark Casino. But, you will not find the name of the Hotel anywhere as they kept ownership & management completely separated to keep the Hotel name "clean" The casino was barely open before Castro arrived. The Hotel until today remains open and still the best around the Caribbean.

So, sorry to tell you but unlikely that the chip was from the pre-Castro era. Again, would like some more info to see if there is any way we can match that somehow somewhere.