Mark,
You really need to subscribe to Chip Chat. Yes, it is Willie Martello, and he's also pictured on chips from the El Rey Club.
From Doug Saito's Chip Chat Issue #30, August, 2003:
"In 1955, one of Southern Nevada's most legendary and charismatic casino owners opened up a gaming establishment upon a piece of property that adjoined the plot of land now occupied by the Railroad Pass Casino in Henderson, NV. The name of the owner was Willie Martello, a name known to chipsters today because of the picture of Willie's face that appears on El Rey Resort chips. However, Martello's name would also be attached to other noteworthy historic gaming establishments in Clark County, such as Grace Haye's Lodge and the Red Rooster in Las Vegas in the 1940's, and later the famous El Rey Resort in Searchlight."
O.K., so this is more than you asked for! There's lots more where it came from, but I don't want to plagerize too much!
|