Be Sure to Visit my new 1900 Galveston Storm Website at: http://freepages.genealogy.rootseb.com/~barnette 

GALVESTON GAMING CAPITOL OF TEXAS

 Games of chance, legal or illegal, have always been a part of the Texas landscape. Today Texans may legally purchase lottery tickets at grocery stores and gas stations and in metro Houston there is both a horse and dog track where legalized bets may be placed. Betting and games of chance in Texas, however, were not always the norm, or even legal.

 According to Frank E. Chalfant, president of the Greater Houston Chapter of the Casino Chip and Gaming Token Collectors Club, Galveston reigned as the gaming capitol of Texas from 1923 to 1957 when gambling establishments were effectively shut down by state officials.

 Chalfant says the Galveston city council passed laws as early as 1839 attempting to shut down Sunday operations of billiard, nine-pin and ten-pin games. In 1840 the council passed a law prohibiting persons from playing cards, dice or other games of chance for money or other valuable things within the city limits.

 Prohibition began in 1919 with the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment. Smugglers from Galveston would meet rum runners from the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica and British Honduras in international waters three miles off the coast of Galveston and off-load their spirituous cargo . From Galveston the hooch would make its way to other cities in the Midwest and Southwestern United States.

 The Galveston gambling business, according to Chalfant, got started  in 1923 when Salvatore (Sam) Maceo and his older brother Rosario (Rose) Maceo reinvested some of their smuggling earnings in the restaurant business. They opened their first entertainment business, The Chop Suey, in 1923 at 21st Street and Seawall Boulevard.

 In 1926 The Chop Suey was renamed Maceo's Grotto which was closed in 1928 for liquor and gaming violations. It was later damaged by a storm in 1932. After being redecorated with an Oriental decor, the club was reopened in 1932. In 1942 it was redecorated with a South Seas setting and renamed the Balinese Room.

 Also in 1926 the Maceos and two others, Dutch Voight and Ollie J. Quinn, opened the island's first big time club, the Hollywood Dinner Club. The Hollywood Club was located at 6102 Avenue S (Stewart Road), at 61st Street, just outside the Galveston City limits. They later opened or had interests in a number of other establishments all over Galveston County.

 The Hollywood Club had an air-conditioner that maintained a year round temperature of sixty-nine degrees. Waiters served superb meals and alcoholic drinks while patrons danced, gambled and enjoyed top stars such as Frank Sinatra, Sophie Tucker, Joe E. Lewis, Peggy Lee and big bands like Guy Lombardo, Ted Mack and Jimmy Dorsey.

 In 1957 plans were made by Texas Attorney General to shut down illegal gaming establishments in Galveston and all over Texas. When it came time for the raids in Galveston, word had been leaked to the operators. The gambling establishments did not open and the raids did not occur. Wilson was able, however, to close down the industry with court injunctions and search warrants. In the searches gaming devices were confiscated and destroyed. The big time illegal gaming era in Texas and Galveston was thus brought to an end.

GENEALOGICAL CLASSES OFFERED

 Paula Perkins Parke will offer an Organizing Your Family Research With Family Tree Maker Software class from 1 P.M. to 4 P.M. Wednesday January 24. This one-time class will be held at the Houston Community College campus at 1681 Cartwright in Missouri City.

 Through demonstrations, students will learn step by step instructions to organize and document family information and sources. For more information and to register, contact HCC at 281-835-5539.

 Trevia Wooster Beverly will be conducting a six week overview of how to conduct genealogical research. Her Genealogy, It's A Family Affair class will be held each Monday evening from 7 P.M. to 9 P.M. commencing January 22. Preregistration is recommended. For more information and to register, call 713-864-6862.

 Emily Croom will be conducting a four week Basic Genealogy course through the Bellaire Parks and Recreation Department. Classes will be held on Thursdays from 7 P.M. to 9 P.M. in the Bellaire Gymnasium Building at the corner of Laurel and Ferris. For more information and to register, contact the Parks and Recreation Department 713-662-8280.

NEW FROM THE BOOKSHELF

 Houstonian Frank E. Chalfant, an avid collector of gaming chips, tokens and other collectibles, has published Galveston: Island of Chance. The book is available for $33.50, postpaid, from the publisher, Treasures of Nostalgia, 10035 Kemp Forrest Drive, Houston TX 77080-2601.

 The first chapter of the 179 page book contains an interesting and well researched history of the gambling industry in Galveston from about 1923 until the casinos were shut down in 1957. There are a number of photographs of many of the owners of the clubs and leading law enforcement officials involved in the closing the establishments in 1957.

 The last two-thirds of the book contains an alphabetical listing, with location, of one hundred eighty three gambling establishments that operated in Galveston County and  thirteen around Houston and the state of Texas. For each establishment there are historical notes and black and white and color photographs of the buildings and the people who ran the clubs. There are also photographs of gambling chips, match books, old advertisements, silverware and other gaming memorabilia.

 Readers interested in gaming history, particularly, Galveston gaming history or gaming memorabilia should place this book high on their want list.