If you are counting, this is “Illegal Of The Day” number 133. I am closing in on 2,500 illegals with ID’s so we have a few to go. Maybe, someday I can get the ID’s on the close to 1,000 UFC’s I have.

Ed Hertel found these on ebay. He bought 4 sets for him, my researcher, David, and me. The seller had 260 or so and after Ed bought the 4 sets the seller told him the remaining chips sold for $800. Seems pretty high to me, my guess is they will be coming into the hobby. The ID came back to a North Carolina Motel. No date on the record card but there is a Zip code. The postal service started Zip codes in July 1963, so we have a time line for chip delivery, 1963 to 1971 when Thurston died. The research also gives us the name of the Club in the Motel. My guess is there was a regular poker game at the Club.

This is my 4th North Carolina illegal. NC has a way to go to catch up with Illinois. Two new Illinois finds are coming ASAP.

Enough of that:

North Carolina:

Al Thurston Jr.
Dolly Madison Motel
Executive Club
P O Box 426
3980 US Highway 220.
Madison, NC 27025
500 yellow, 250 each green & black
No date on card.

EC

Arthur Linwood Thurston, Jr., a native of Virginia was the owner of the Dolly Madison Motel in Madison, NC. Linwood died of a heart attack in the summer of 1971 at the age of 55. He was a resident of the Motel at the time of his death. The Motel was located at 3980 US Highway 220.
postcard of Motel:

The EC on the chip probably stands for “Executive Club” which was the name of a place located on the Motel’s premises—probably in the same building as the restaurant above. Never saw any mention of gambling at EC (a couple of references to wedding receptions being held there).

Today the Dolly Madison Motel is a Budget Inn. Here’s Budget Inn’s current description of the place:

current pic of some of the rooms:

This past May the premises were used for filming some of the scenes of the movie “Hick”, a film adaptation of a novel of the same name about a 13 year old Nebraska girl who leaves her troubled home life for Las Vegas (supposed to hit theaters in 2012; its premier at the Toronto Film Festival last month drew mixed reviews).

My note: It would be neat if some of the EC chips were used in the movie. If anyone sees the movie, keep an eye out for them.

pic of Hick film crew outside the old Dolly Madison Motel--the building is where the restaurant shown on the postcard above was located and probably the Executive Club (pool would be to the left).