After reading Gary Sleeper's book "I'll Do My Own Damn Killin'" about the war between Benny Binion and Herbert Noble when they were in control of gambling in Dallas, I wrote to Mr. Sleeper to see if he had come across any information about chips in the Dallas/Fort Worth area during his research.

I sent along a page from Ed Hertel's book showing chips used at the Southland Hotel, which figures prominently in Binion's Dallas days.

I think Mr. Sleeper would make an interesting speaker at a future convention and he did acknowledge that he might be interested if scheduling and finances permitted.

An exerpt from Mr. Sleeper's reply is shown below. The link he gives is to a page from the website of Arlington Baptist College and is well worth visiting.

Mark,
Thank you for your kind letter about I'll Do My Own Damn Killin'. I can't really help much with casino chips. In fact, I wasn't aware that they were used at the Southland. I always assumed that all the action there would be transacted in cash, since possession of cash is legal and possession of "gambling equipment" is not.

If there were any other games in the area where chips might be used, I would think they would most likely be the Four Deuces at 2222 Jacksboro Highway in Fort Worth.

I would also think chips were used at the Top O' the Hill club in Arlington. Benny Binion and Fred Browning owned that one. The gambling joint is gone, but the building is still there and they have a sort of mini-museum. They may have some chips. Paste this in your browser: http://abconline.edu/9e6f1d7c-8864-4643-8b83-b11f2b076264-1033.html

It's worth a look even if they don't have any chips.

Thanks again,
Gary Sleeper