New Orleans History -- Lake Pontchartrain
Wednesday, April 17, 2024
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O'Dwyer's

 

George and Rudy O'Dwyer ran the illegal O'Dwyer's casino and nightclub just a few steps outside of the city limits of New Orleans in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. (Counties in Louisiana are called parishes.).

 

This $1.00 denomination chip from the O'Dwyer's Club of New Orleans is in mint condition. It is a greenish-gray color, hot- stamped chip with 3 green inserts. It is the Jones mold, made by the Jones Bros. of New Orleans, Louisiana. Chips that carry denominations such as 25 cents, $1.00, and $5.00 are technically called gaming checks. These illegal club checks tell a story of Dixieland jazz and the southern hospitality of New Orleans, mother of Mississippi riverboat gambling in the U.S. This is one of the most famous of the illegal gambling establishments in the United States

In later years, O'Dwyer's became a bowling alley )on Jefferson Highway near the New Orleans Parish line). It was across the street from what was then a Barker's store.