If I ran an illegal card room or a friendly club game, I would use whatever was available as long as it wasn't so easily available that someone could smuggle in wholesale quantities and change them for retail cash.

With apologies for diverting the discussion, I'm curious how others feel about the "illegal club" terminology. I'm not looking to change the common terminology, but perhaps to better understand its nuances. In basic terms, do we know that all "illegal clubs" were actually (not possibly or even probably) doing something illegal?

I think there is a tendency to call something an "illegal card room" if we don't know what else to call it. The supposition often seems to be: It's not a licensed casino, and it's not a home game, so it must be an illegal club. But to me there's a big difference between an illegal speak-easy and a bunch of guys at the Amvets playing for buffalo-head nickels. And if I ran an "illegal" club, I'm not sure I would use that address when I ordered my chips. It's like running a drug house and asking the supplier to ship everything UPS to the house. In other words, the manufacturer records - to me - help me believe it is a legitimate business that has nothing to hide. Chips are counters for cards wins, but we don't assume anyone buying cards is running an illegal game.

Your thoughts?