Last Update September 6, 2014
When I was little I used to love going to Las Vegas with my parents. They had arcades, cool shows, and lots of cool things to do as a kid. The one thing that really caught my eye was the forbidden casino floor. Not because I was interested in the act of gambling, but just the sounds of clacking coins against a steel money bowl. The people walking around with plastic buckets full of quarters and dollar coins was just so appealing. We stopped going as a family in my teens and never returned until after I was out on my own.
Imagine my disappointment when I returned to find that a part of my youth, the clacking of coins and the huge arcades, were all but a memory. Electronic beeps and chimes have replaced the clacks and the people walking with huge buckets have been replaced by bland boring tickets with bar-codes. It kept me from appreciating that little world even from the sidelines. Now living here, as I roamed the casino floors and resort grounds as a nifty little way to burn some excess calories in the cool A/C and away from the blistering desert sun of Vegas I have found a piece of my childhood in the small dark corners of the adult Disneyland.
To this day I avoid gambling like the plague, but for some reason I can’t help myself tossing in a few quarters when I come across the rare animal of the coin-op slot machine. Not to win money and not to lose, but just to capture the mixed feelings of happiness and sadness of a golden time.
Now I’m building a list and I’m sharing it with you if that is something that you’d be interested in. This list will grow as I find more or if more people inform me on where to find them, so keep checking back if you want in on this as well.
Slots’A’Fun
Located on the southeast corner of the Circus Circus property, is a little dingy, ratty, hell hole where you can get a Subway 5 dollar footlong for $10. It smells like a chain smoker’s house who don’t believe in opening a window, ever. Pool tables, a bar, and some beer pong tables it’s hard to tell if this wanted to be a casino or a dive bar. Either way there’s a small collection of quarter machines next to the brilliantly placed quarter operated gumball bar. Not exactly my pick of the litter, but there’s some magic here.
Circus Circus
While we’re here, might as well go inside the better half and check out the area for dollar coin-op slot machines. They advertise it’s high pay out rates which is a bonus too.
The D
It’s not cold here and you know she wants it. The D located on the Freemont Experience Downtown Vegas is a neat little spot. You can come here, have a drink, get a room, or eat at the restaurant and pay in BitCoin. However because of the state’s gambling laws, you can only gamble with US currency. They have a BitCoin ATM so you can just cash in and out to gamble. Take the escalator one flight up and you are whisked away to “Vintage Vegas” where they have an embarrassment of riches in coin op machines and a Blarney stone to kiss for good luck. Not just slots, by the way. They also have coin-op video poker and even a Sigma Derby.
