The Antique Gambler

[sam2002]

I have a machine with a stamp from The Antique Gambler . Just curious to know who it is or was that operated that business . Have searched the web with little help . Heard they ran a restoration business up into the late 70's , not sure how accurate that information is .

[watlingboy]

The Antique Gambler was a slot machine retail store in Las Vegas which also sold related coin op and collectible items not in the 70's but mainly the 80's. Slot collecting was hot and heavy during this period and there were lots of retail stores selling just coin op and collectibles. There are very few retail stores now as these have been replaced with internet selling. Not sure when they closed their doors but possibly in the early 90's. They had a large inventory of machines that they restored and sold. Also made up and sold Golden Nugget machines. Most of their restorations tended to be very over restored with most everything being plated. But slot collecting was in its infancy and everyone was plating things that shouldn't be. You can find many of their ads in the Loose Change magazines, I think on the inside front or inside back cover. I could be wrong but I think I recall that Antique Gambler was owned or bank rolled by IGT.

Watlingboy

[nvmos2]

The Antique Gambler was an "offshoot of A-1 Supply Company, a leading developer and manufacturer of video amusement games and gambling machines."
It was incorporated September 1, 1977 and operated by Dennis Salanti, an avid collector, and Roy Bunch.
In 1978, they had 2 locations: on East Twain in Las Vegas and on Tampa Way in Reno.
Dennis bought machines from all over the country and The Antique Gambler "restored" them.
It was a fairly large shop; over a dozen workers in a fully equipped workshop pumped out a lot of machines.
Their ads in Loose Change billed themselves as "Specialists in Restorations and Sales"; slots were their forte, but also did other coin-op and gambling related items.
I visited the shop in Las Vegas in 1978 and seem to remember their work just as watlingboy describes it.

[sam2002]

Great information provided by you both . Thank you . And yes I have one of their Golden Nugget's . I feel much better about the machine now , not that I ever had any doubts . It is a super clean , super nice machine . Thanks again
Sam

[SLOT DYNASTY]

All information above, is correct in every detail. I knew Dennis and Roy quite well, in those days, and visited
their shops from time-to-time. They were both very personable, and well known in the industry. They were
cranking out machines, like an auto assembly line, at one time. Even though they are still in my files, I have
not spoke with either of them in several years. Their numbers have probably changed anyway. I still see their
label on machines, from time to time. Even on eBay. I used to place labels on the inside of all my restorations,
with a job number, but very seldom see one on ebay, or anywhere else. I guess they are still in collections, or
maybe a new owner peeled them off, cuz they don't like me!

[nvmos2]

I lived in Las Vegas when Antique Gambler opened their store there. They sold a lot of slots to tourists who learned the only way to win at slots was to buy one. About that time, I picked up a QT Firebird basket case at a local antique shop. The owner was out when I bought it from his daughter. Shortly after I got it home, the owner was calling me to buy it back at a good premium. I do believe he found out he could have sold it to The Antique Gambler at much more than he was asking. I restored it with the help of Tom Noel (R.I.P.), whom I’m sure a lot of you guys remember, and still have it.

Bill:
Do you remember the Hol e Smokes I bought off ebay at your urging just to keep it out of the hands of the Vegas Butcher, who was bidding on it? I just checked: it does not have your sticker. There is a faint outline on the inside wall where it might have been. I wish it was there; it would be good to be able to trace the machine’s lineage back to its being used for the cover of Vintage Trade Stimulators and Counter Games.

[SLOT DYNASTY]

I restored the "QT" with the help of Tom Noel (R.I.P.), whom I’m sure a lot of you guys remember.

Yes, I remember the late Tom Noel very well. I purchased many-a-part from him, over the years, of which he had
a ton of. You could walk through the isles of his cramped quarters for hours, ogling at all the parts. I still have a few
of those items, that I bought for my own stock. He had many recast parts for Trade Stimulators as well, and had also
done some curved glass for different models.

Bill:
Do you remember the Hol e Smokes I bought off ebay at your urging just to keep it out of the hands of the Vegas Butcher, who was bidding on it? I just checked: it does not have your sticker. There is a faint outline on the inside wall where it might have been. I wish it was there; it would be good to be able to trace the machine’s lineage back to its being used for the cover of Vintage Trade Stimulators and Counter Games.

How can I forget an episode like that? You would not find a sticker inside that machine, because I usually did not
put them inside the small cast aluminum machines. They will normally be found inside the cases of the Victorian Uprights,
3 reel Slots, and some other special wood-case machines, like early Shockers, Lung Testers, and even a Freund "Tric-It", of
which there are only three, that I know of. Guess I should have put them in everything, but I didn't. It all started with the
first Victorian Upright that I restored in Feb.1963. A Caille "Eclipse". That machine is still in a friends collection. It doesn't
look the same now-a-days, as he probably drops a nickel in it, 6 times a year, and never learned how to operate a dust cloth.

[sam2002]

Here it is , it's as nice on the inside as it is on the out .

[nvmos2]

Very nice; The Antique Gambler did a professional job in producing clean/reliable machines for home use that would last for years, as this one attests to.

It should be noted, however, their Golden Nugget machines most probably were never used by the famous casino. As pointed out above, as part of their business, they rebuilt machines (typically a Black Cherry) to make Golden Nuggets for sale to tourists passing through Vegas and Reno. They would arrange shipping and the visiting gambler had a great souvenier. Their machines ended up in game rooms all over the country, maybe throughout the world.