Rick Lonski’s affection for coin operated machines began in the late 50s when he traded the family dog for a pinball machine. Bitten by the entrepreneurial spirit, he placed a penny gumball machine in the neighborhood barber shop.
By the time he was 15…too young to drive…he was repairing juke boxes and coin operated pool tables in Detroit area bars, relying on his girlfriend for a ride. Payment often came with a gratuitous cocktail or two in a discrete back-of-the-bar booth.
For the past 12 years, he’s been a see-it, do-it guy for Revived Slots, an under the radar company that is a supplier to nearly all Las Vegas casinos and others nationwide. The company manufactures custom roulette tables, refurbishes slot machines, provides supplies and maintains a showroom of over 100 slot machines for public sale in a small industrial complex off Sunset and Eastern near the airport.
His first pinball machine gave Lonski the knowledge that earned him an after school job with a distributor of parts for coin operated machines. There he acquired experience that provided the first step to owning his own business as a supplier of those machines.
His focus became gaming and entertainment machines – juke boxes, coin operated pool tables and dart boards, pinball and more. Then came Pong.
Lonski remains mum on Pong’s impact on his business but his smile tells the story. Research revealed that early Pong malfunctions were caused by the game’s popularity; coin mechanisms were jamming with overflowing quarters.
Another of Lonski’s favorite customers were military induction centers. Coin operated games were installed to help inductees pass long hours waiting for transportation. “They’d empty their pockets before they shipped out.”
Although the showroom offers both newer slot machines and older models, the newer machines are the most in demand. “If they play it in a casino, they want it at home.”
Once bitten by the home-play bug, many customers return to add to their collection. A recent customer purchased a historic mechanical model and its reproduction twin (photo) that was rigged to pay off small wins but not the jackpot.
Revived Slots, 1530 Pama Lane, Suite B. Las Vegas. Monday-Friday 9 AM – 3 PM.
