and his brother, Logan. It was built about four miles in the country on the road to Moores Ridge. About two years before gambling was shut down in French Lick and West Baden Olive Ballard sold this club to Rudd Bledsoe who later sold it to a Miss Haynes who turned it into a nursing home as it is today.
Some dealers: Rudd Bledsoe, Raymond (Gus) Gollaway, Pete Thomas,
The Hoosier Club: This club was built and owned by Ed Ballard. It was a large frame building that stood on the area where the present J.C. Food Store is located. This club burned down and a sale barn was erected on the site and also a sand stone building for the West Baden American Legion which was later torn down. There is now a small plaza at this site.
Some dealers: Pete Dixon, Chester Lane, Bud Lane
The Indiana Club: This club was owned and operated by Perry Lane, brother to Charlie Lane, a grocer in French Lick. The basement contained baths, massages, etc. The casino was upstairs. It is said that Al Capone paid several visits to this casino and it was also told that the infamous John Dillinger once stopped here while passing through. Some dealers: Pete Dixon, Chester Lane, Bud Lane
The Club Chateau – This club was directly across the street from the
Indiana club. It was built as a residence in 1927 by Doctor Davidson, a local dentist. The Lane brothers, Chester and Bud, nephews of Perry Lane, bought this building from the doctor and turned it into a casino. Sometime after the demise of gambling in the Valley this building was sold to the Baptist Church for use as a parsonage. They later sold the house and it is still being used as a residence.
Some dealers: Chester Lane, Bud Lane, Pete Thomas
I remember a story that “Pop” Henson once told me. He said that when he was eighteen years old he worked as a farm hand, and at the end of the month he was paid forty dollars. He took his bank roll and headed for town where he got into a blackjack game and lost every dime of it. He said he then made a vow that he would never again work with his hands and he never did. When he got old he developed palsy and his hands shook all the time but when he would take hold of a deck of cards they would be just as steady as could be. Every day after lunch he would put on his fine clothes and go to town. He would hang out in the room behind Guy Robinson’s barber shop hoping that a game of blackjack would get started. He would then work as the “lookout man” for the game and by doing this he could make a few dollars per week.
This concludes the series on gambling in the