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Bennie French Tavern U.S. Highway 90 Henderson Point, Mississippi Type: Illegal Status: Open Open: 1935, Close: 1953 Bennie L. French (1896-1973) operated Bennie French's Tavern on Henderson Point, near Pass Christian, Mississippi, from 1935 to 1963. French had a long history of rum-running, bootlegging, and gambling beginning in the 1920s. His club on Henderson Point was on the busy highway between New Orleans and the Gulf Coast and included a private beach on the Bay. Chips ordered in 1939 and 1946 and others are attributed to the club. In 1952 the tavern was among several Gulf Coast clubs placed off-limits to Keesler airmen; in the early1960s French had Federal gaming stamps; and his club was raided more than once. The first tavern opened in 1935 on Bayview Avenue near the east end of the Bay St. Louis Bridge, followed in June 1940 by a much larger club built on the same site. By September 1944, C. E. “Spunky” Anderson had taken over management but two months later a fire destroyed the club. It was rebuilt on the same site and reopened in November 1945. French's ownership and management changed often. Anderson's management ended in early 1949 and in 1951 J. C. Ellis took over the club for one year, renaming it The Beverly. French resumed management until the club closed in 1953. French built a new club in 1953 a short distance away on the new Highway 90 which he operated until 1963 when he sold the property to Gus Stevens. (Research by Tom Henderson) About Illegal Casinos - by their nature, information about illegal, or unlicensed, casinos is hard to find and difficult to verify. Information presented on the ChipGuide about these casinos is provided as the result of our best efforts but may not be 100% accurate. Even if the information is accurate, gamblers move around and may take their equipment with them; items used in one casino may have also been used in others. Please send verified information about illegal casinos to the ChipGuide so that we may improve our accuracy. Collapse All Return to Mississippi Expand All Casino Money Table Chips (5) [QuickView] Casino Collectibles Match Books (4) [QuickView] CG283780 Added: 2022-04-29 Last Update: 2022-04-29 Contributed by: Tom Henderson Show CG283781 Added: 2022-04-29 Last Update: 2022-04-29 Contributed by: Tom Henderson Show CG283782 Added: 2022-04-29 Last Update: 2022-04-29 Contributed by: Tom Henderson Show CG283783 Added: 2022-04-29 Last Update: 2022-04-29 Contributed by: Tom Henderson Show Post Cards (2) [QuickView] CG283777 Added: 2022-04-29 Last Update: 2022-04-29 Contributed by: Tom Henderson Show CG283779 Added: 2022-04-29 Contributed by: Tom Henderson Show Total Items (11)

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