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(More customer reviews)For those of us enchanted by, but too young to remember, Galveston's gaming era, for whom months-on-end in the Rosenberg Library is not an option, this book is a jackpot. The pictures alone illustrate the depth of Mr. Chalfant's extensive research, providing his readers a multi-dimensional glimpse into a bygone dynasty never again to be repeated. Even if gaming is eventually legalized in Texas, it will likely never have the same flair and life as that pioneered by the Maceos and chronicled by Mr. Chalfant. This observation alone makes the book a piece of history as priceless as the facts and artifacts therein.
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The only book that is a complete chronicle of gambling on Galveston Island, Texas, from 1923 thru 1957. The book has one subject, the colorful history of illegal gambling in Galveston. Galveston was a gambling hotbed of fine casinos when Las Vegas was nothing but a wide spot in the road with some wooden floored bars, which had a few slot machines and table games. The island was run by brothers, Sam and Rose Maceo, along with other family members and in-laws. Many stellar stars performed in the Galveston clubs. Frank Sinatra, Phil Harris, Frankie Lane, The Marx Brothers, Sophie Tucker, Al Jolson, Eddie Cantor, The Three Stooges, Hildegarde, and The Ritz Brothers to name a few. The book is 6 X 9 with a glued laminated hardcover. There are 179 pages, 464 photographs, of which 382 are in color. The photos are of gambling chips, old ads, the people, the buildings, dinnerware, and other memorabilia from 183 gambling establishments in Galveston County and 13 around Houston and the state. The machine pictured on the front cover of the book belonged to Sam Maceo and the slot machine on the back cover also came from the island. Both have notarized documentation shown in the book. The first part of the book tells how the gambling got started and continues to the large raid that was planed, but never took place, that shut down the illegal gambling for good. The remainder of the book covers the establishments that are listed in alphabetical order.
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