Coin Slot

Coin Slot Magazine - #052 - 1979 - June [International Arcade Museum]
Reno became known for gambling.
"This was your gambling center,
here in the midwest," Gravlin says.
But in 1949, gambling was out
lawed in Minnesota. Operators
were warned to get rid of the ma
chines. "Those that didn't, they
(law enforcers) smashed them on
the spot," he says, wincing at the
thought of the beautiful machines
being destroyed.
He holds a slot machine collec
tor's book picturing wooden up
right slots from the 1800s. "You
can see the beauty of them. Can
you imagine—they took them all
out and smashed them?
"That's terrible/* he says.
"Would you take some antique fur
niture and guns and boats and de
stroy them? That's terrible. That's
our heritage."
SLOT MACHINES that weren't
destroyed went underground after
federal marshals and local sheriffs
began harried gambling purges in
the '50s. People stashed them in at
tics, basements, underground—
anywhere the machines would be
safe from the sledge hammer and
long arm of the law.
What probably destroyed the
slot machine was its own popular
ity. "It was getting to be one of the
biggest money-making things for
the syndicate," Gravlin conjec
tures.
For, the past four year!, Gravlin,
a painter by trade, in his spare time
has collected and repaired coin-op
erated machines that survived the
purge. Now, they are legal to own,
as long as they aren't operated for
gain.
His rarest find was a 1906 "Fair
est Wheel," a miniature metal bi
cycle in a glass case. The weight of
a nickel spins the wheels, which, if
lined up precisely, awarded cigars
to the player. It originally sold for
$5.75.
"I found the bicycle (cigar ma
chine) at an auction in Waterville
and paid $700 for it. It was all in
pieces in a box and looked more
like a pile of junk than an antique.
People came up to me afterward
and asked me if it was really
worth that much. I got a bargain
for a machine that is worth several
thousand dollars..
4Tve got books on just about ev
ery machine made," Gravlin says,
pointing to one in mint condition
that one book says is worth $1,600.
BUT TO GET the machines in
working condition often involves
hours of work. "This is kind of like
restoring the Model-T or Model-
A," he says, twitching a Pancho
Villa mustache and tinkering with
a machine so badly worn he esti
mates it had "a ton of money run
through it."
He tips the guts of the machine
up to show you worn grooves and
he gets more excited as he talks
about his one-armed friend.
But Gravlin is not sure he'd like
to see slot machines come back.
"I'm afraid I'd be like a lot of
people. If it was in my back yard,
I'd get addicted to it. I couldn't live
in Las Vegas,*1 he laughs. "I'd be
rich or I'd be poor."
Specialists In
Restorations and Sales
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The
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Reno, Nevada 89502
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Vegas,
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