by drsmlojo1 » Sun Mar 19, 2017 9:14 pm
I knew Dan Post for many, many years. We belonged to the same Arcadia, Ca. Kiwanis Club and were good friends. He was very intelligent and had a very quick wit and sometimes odd sense of humor. He had great stories reg. the early years of gambling collectibles. He never was a big time collector himself except for antique typewriters which he dearly loved and displayed in his Arcadia, Ca. office. He oftentimes published under other names (Peter Bach, for instance). He published a number of books on old classic cars, too. VW's, chevys etc. I did buy a Watling Tom Thumb Penny Scale from him that I still have. He somehow personally knew William Harrah, and told me a great story once of how Mr. Harrah let him choose a Bally Electromechanical Slot that he could take home and have as a gift (I believe it was a Xmas gift), even though those slots were illegal at the time in California. Dan picked out a simple Bally Nickel Mechanical Slot that he kept hidden away at home since it was illegal. He also shared with me a great story about a Domino Slot Wall Machine involving Burton Burton (Casablanca Fan Co. in Pasadena, Ca.). Dan always sold his books himself- mostly through ads in Loose Change Magazine. Dan Mead of Mead Publishing Co. eventually took over the selling of Dan's books regarding antique slot machines. Dan passed away at least 15-20 years ago or so- very suddenly of a massive heart attack while he was out repairing typewriters for Santa Anita Race Track. (Typewriter Repair!!-That will let you know how many years ago it was). When Dan passed away his wife Gertrude gave me several remaining cases of his brown antique slot advertising book that he still had which I distributed to collectors at the Pasadena Fun Fair Show. She sold her property in Arcadia and moved in with her son and his family. I believe his name was also Dan, and the last I knew he lived in Los Gatos, California. This post brought back a lot of old memories. I hope some of you old timers will enjoy my reminiscing. Stephen M. Lojeski, Arcadia, California