Poker Chip, Earl "Hymie "Weiss

Poker Chip, Earl "Hymie "Weiss

Object number2009.019.01

Mediumpaper and ink

DimensionsDiameter 2"

Credit LineOld State House Museum Collection

DescriptionEarl "Hymie" Weiss poker chip. Purple and white with white lettering. Black and silver edge.
Earl "Hymie" Weiss (1898 - 1926) was an American mobster who became a leader of the Prohibition-era North Side Gang and a bitter rival of Al Capone

Weiss had two life goals: the destruction of Capone to avenge his partner Dion O'Banion's, murder and total domination of Chicago bootlegging and rackets.
Little did anyone except those closest to him know that he was extremely ill. He had been suffering from headaches for years, and at the time of O'Banion's death, experienced at least one convulsion. When able to make the time, he made little-publicized trips to Hot Springs, Arkansas, for treatment. Due to his illness Weiss often said "I don't expect to live long, but I expect to live long enough..."

On October 11, 1926, Weiss and his entourage arrived at their headquarters. As they were approaching the shop door, gunfire erupted from a machine gun nest in a nearby rooming house, killing Weiss and his chauffeur. Weiss was 28 years old.

Status

Not on view

Collections