Decatur and Clinton, IL - 1920's/30's
History and identification is provided below the scans.
Seems that the area of Decatur (in particular) and Clinton, IL had plenty of gambling going on in the early 1930's including a cluster of operations around Merchant Street/Main Street in Decatur.
Gordon E. Smith and Charles Orville "Eph" Gammon seem to be the guys that ran the operations, with a variety of 'fall guys' to order their chips and do their dirty work (sounds just like Mr Binion in Texas)
Smith ran his main operation at the Federal Bakery, 124-1/2 Merchant Street, Decatur, and the top row of 4 chips in the scan were all used there. The GES chips were shipped to Smith, the OCC and TW to his accomplices Oscar Chapman & Thomas W Stockton. Ive shown the GES chips although I dont have any for sale.
Diagonally across the quadrant, "Eph" Gammon operated at the Coney Island Restaurant, 107-1/2 Main St. He used the 107 in diamond chips and the KHK shipped c/o Raymond Robert Hudgens to the same address.
After Gammon's place at 107-1/2 East Main was raided, he moved his operation outside the city limits to Lake Decatur for a while. Gaming took place at "Gammon's Lake Cottage", which seems more like a mansion given its description in a subsequent arrest report - in particular "described as the nearest approach to a Monte Carlo since the heyday of Joe Yates' time". He ran this operation with Charles Rubin. The tri-ball mold O&C/R&G being Orville & Charles/Rubin & Gammon.
At the same time, David Howard Server (HS) was busy operating at
the Clinton Billiards Hall (also apparently a whorehouse), Macon St,
Clinton, IL.
The 3 HS mold chips were used there, along with the FN hub mold,
shipped to George W. Newberry (whose nickname may have been
'Frosty') at the same place.
Below is a street view of Decatur from 1910 which shows Merchant St. on the
right, North Main on the left and the Central Building in the middle.
Below that, a few of the arrest/raid reports.