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News We Love: California 86-year-old is one of the only antique slot machine repairmen

How do you find someone to fix a 1930s slot machine?

News We Love: California 86-year-old is one of the only antique slot machine repairmen

How do you find someone to fix a 1930s slot machine?

BUSINESS THAT RECENTLY MOVED TO STOCKTON DUM DUM DUM DUM DUM DUM WITH GLEAMING CHROME AND BRIGHT CANARY YELLOW AND RED PAINT, THIS MACHINE IS POISED AND READY FOR A QUARTER, BUT ITā€™S NOT IN A CASINO. WHEN WE PLAY POKER, THEN, YOU KNOW, I ALWAYS MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE SOME QUARTERS ON THE TABLE. THIS 1936 MILLS NOVELTY COMPANY, WAR EAGLE SLOT MACHINE IS IN WARREN TREACHERā€™S HOME. THE ODDS OF GETTING THREE BELLS ARE 1 IN 64,000. BUT WHEN HE FIRST BOUGHT THE MACHINE, HIS ODDS OF GETTING ANYTHING WERE SLIM. WELL, THE HANDLE HAD SNAPPED OFF. IT WAS POORLY PACKED. I MEAN, YOU CAN SEE HOW HEAVY THEY ARE. AND HE SHIPPED IT IN A CARDBOARD BOX. WHICH BEGS THE QUESTION, HOW DO YOU FIND SOMEONE TO FIX A 1930S SLOT MACHINE? I WOULD BET DOLLARS TO DONUTS. THEREā€™S ONLY MAYBE 2 OR 3 OTHER GUYS IN THE WHOLE COUNTRY. HOW DID YOU GUYS FIND OUT ABOUT HIM? VERY CRANKY. THESE ARE NOT EASY TO PUT THESE. THIS MAN PUT THESE DOWN WOULD BE ONE OF THOSE 2 OR 3 GUYS. EVERYBODY LIKES. FIGHT VICE. YOU COULD SAY HERE WE GO. IS STEVE SQUIRES BUSINESS RUN THE GAMUT. GAMBLING SLOT MACHINES GIRL THEY PUT SOMETHING LIKE THAT ON A GRAPHICS. NOW THEY RUN THEM OUT OF TOWN. AND ALL THE THINGS THAT YOUR MOTHER TOLD YOU NOT TO DO WHEN YOU WERE GROWING UP. SQUIRES DOESNā€™T GAMBLE HIMSELF. HE FIXES THE MACHINES FOR OTHERS TO TEST THEIR LUCK. I LOVE IT, I LOVE THEM. THE MORE COMPLICATED THEY ARE, THE BETTER. I LIKE TO WORK ON THEM. THIS MACHINE WOULD BE IN IN THE LATTER 40S. STEVEā€™S COMPANY, SQUIRES AND CORRIE, IS ONE OF THE FEW PLACES THAT CAN WORK ON ANTIQUE SLOT MACHINES. LATE 1930S. HEā€™S BEEN REPAIRING CONTRAPTIONS LIKE THESE SINCE HE WAS A TEENAGER IN INDIANA, TERRE HAUTE. IT WAS INTERESTING WITH WITH AL CAPONE, I THINK IT WAS THE LATE 20S TO REPAIR THIS STUFF FROM THE GUY WHO WORKED FOR AL CAPONE. TODAY, HIS BRUSHES WITH WITH THOSE INFAMOUS FIGURES ARE 2000 MILES AND MORE THAN 70 YEARS BEHIND HIM. SO I CAME OUT TO CALIFORNIA IN 1977, AND AT THE AGE OF 84, AFTER 45 YEARS IN ONE SPOT, STEVE SQUIRES WAS ON THE MOVE. WE GOT MEN FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY AND HIS NEW BUILDING ON FREMONT STREET IN STOCKTON IS ALREADY PACKED TO THE GILLS WITH PARTS. THIS IS THE MECHANICAL MACHINE PARTS. PARTS, THOUSANDS OF STRIPS AND MORE PARTS. Iā€™VE GOT DOZENS AND DOZENS OF MORE MECHANISMS IN THE WAREHOUSE, BUT WITH THE MOVE TO STOCKTON, SQUIRES FOUND HE NEEDED A LITTLE MORE ORGANIZATION. HE SAID HE WANTED THESE CABINETS BUILT. SO I BUILT ALL THESE CABINETS RIGHT HERE, AND WE PUT ALL THIS GLASS IN HERE, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, THEREā€™S TONS OF IT. RAY WILSON WAS HIRED TO REMODEL THE INSIDE OF THIS BUILDING, BUT QUICKLY BECAME THE GO TO MAN TO HELP SQUIRES KEEP THE SHOP IN ORDER. AND I THINK Iā€™M PICKING IT UP PRETTY QUICK. SQUIRES IS TEACHING KATHY GUNTER SOME OF HIS SKILLS SO SHE CAN TAKE ON SOME OF THE WORKLOAD. YOU CAN TAKE A MACHINE AND TAKE IT TOTALLY APART AND PUT IT BACK TOGETHER ONE PIECE AT A TIME AND MAKE IT FUNCTION AND FUNCTION WELL. YOU HOPE TO GET TO THAT POINT YOURSELF ONE DAY. I DO, I DO. I THINK THAT WOULD BE JUST AWESOME. ITā€™S A BIT OF A CHANGE FOR THE OCTOGENARIAN. HEā€™S BEEN THE ONE CONSTANT AT HIS COMPANY. Iā€™VE HAD GUYS WHO WERE WITH ME 40, 45 YEARS. I MEAN, THEYā€™RE DYING OFF AT 36 YEARS WITH ME. ANOTHER ONE DIED OFF AT 38 YEARS WITH ME. YOU KNOW, ITā€™S NOT LIKE Iā€™M 60 YEARS OLD. I. I GET TIRED. SQUIRE SAYS HEā€™S PUT THE BUSINESS UP FOR SALE, BUT THERE ARE CAVEATS. HE WANTS SOMEONE TO APPRENTICE WITH HIM. AND I WOULD LIKE TO WORK HERE. AND ON A PART TIME BASIS UNTIL I PASS AWAY. BUT WHILE SQUIRES LOOKS FOR A SUCCESSOR. COME ON, COME ON. OKAY. HE STILL MANAGES TO SPEND HIS DAYS WITH A CONSTANT COMPANION. THATā€™S MY MAGGIE. ITā€™S MAGGIE, THE COCKATOO WHOā€™S BEEN WITH HIM FOR 43 YEARS. OH, THATā€™S MY FELLA. THATā€™S MAGGIE. THAT. THAT IS ME. I HAVENā€™T WORKED FOR ANYBODY BETTER IN MY LIFE. HEā€™S A GOOD GUY. HE IS. I WANT HIM TO BE HAPPY. BUT I DONā€™T KNOW THAT HE WILL BE ABLE TO RETIRE BECAUSE THIS IS HIS LIFE. THATā€™S ME. THE TWO KEEPING VIGIL OVER THESE MECHANICAL MARVELS ENTRUSTED TO HIM BY PEOPLE LIKE WARREN TREACHER. BAM! SEE, ITā€™S GOT THAT THAT CLICK AT THE END. YEAH. YOU HEAR THAT? AND YOU KNOW IMMEDIATELY WHAT THAT IS. I LOST. THEY GET SOMETHING FOR NOTHING. AT LEAST STEVE SQUYRES DOES INSIDE HIS SHOP. EVEN HE CANā€™T WALK THROUGH A ROOM WITHOUT PULLING A LEVER. THATā€™S A WINNER IN STOCKTON WITH PHOTOGRAPHER VICTOR NIETO. DAVE MANOOCHEHRI, KCRA 3 NEWS. HA HA. THAT STORY WAS A WINNER. IT IS WORTH POINTING OUT. OWNING A SLOT MACHINE CAN COST ANYWHERE FROM A COUPLE THOUSAND TO TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. AND YOU WERE POINTING OUT, AS WE WERE WATCHING THE STORY, ITā€™S LIKE A 3-D PUZZLE. YEAH. HOW THEY PUT THESE THINGS TOGETHER. BEAUTIFUL MACHINE. I MEAN, ITā€™S LIKE, SO ANALOG BACK FROM THE OLD DAYS, WHICH IS SO COOL TO SEE. AND, YEAH, NOW YOU KNOW WHERE TO TAKE IT TO IF YOU NEED FIXING. YEAH. WHEN ITā€™S MECHANICAL LIKE THAT, YOU CAN. YOUR BRAIN CAN UNDERSTAND, I THINK, A LITTLE BETTER
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News We Love: California 86-year-old is one of the only antique slot machine repairmen

How do you find someone to fix a 1930s slot machine?

Take one step into Warren Treacher's Davis, California, home, and you can see he likes to collect things."I've always been into the Western art and Native American art," said Treacher, pulling a basket out of the cabinet behind him. "I bought my first one for three bucks at a garage sale in the '60s. And it's a Paiute in the Sierras."See the story in the video aboveIt's the canary yellow and red contraption in the center of his office that catches everyone's eye. "When we play poker, then, you know, I always make sure that we have some quarters on the table," said Treacher, reaching for a quarter.That little disc of silver is going into a 1936 Mills Novelty Company War Eagle slot machine. As Treacher puts the quarter into the machine, he tells us, "the odds of getting three bells are one in 64,000."The odds of his getting anything when he first bought the machine, though, were slim. "The handle had snapped off; it was poorly packed," Treacher recounted. "I mean, you can see how heavy they are. And he shipped it in a cardboard box."Which begs the question, how do you find someone to fix a 1930s slot machine?"I purchased a machine back in about 2015. And, it was in Sacramento," Brad Jasinsky said, recounting his first machine. He knew that owning slots wasn't for the faint of heart. By California law, you can have a slot machine in your house, but it has to be at least 25 years old. Jasinsky knows something that old can cost you. "Yeah, it's an expensive hobby," he said. "The machines, they range in price for sure. You know, they go from $2,500. I think, at times, up to like $10,000, $12,000."Jasinsky and Treacher both had that same dilemma. "I needed repair," said Jasinsky. "And at the time I asked the fella, I said, 'You know anybody who can do repairs?'" Treacher puts it more bluntly. "I would bet dollars to donuts there's only maybe two or three other guys in the whole country," he said.Inside a white brick building on Fremont Street, not far from the overpass of Interstate 5, sits one of those two or three guys."Everybody likes vice," said Steve Squires. He's the Squires of "Squires and Corrie." You could say vice is his business."Run the gamut. Gambling slot machines, girls, boys for that matter, you just go down the line, all the things that your mother told you not to do when you were growing up," he counts off on his fingers, describing people's love of gambling. Make no mistake, he doesn't gamble himself; he fixes the machines to let others try to test their luck. "I love it, I love it. The more complicated they are, the better. I like to work on the ones in the worst shape, the better. I like to work on them," Squires said.Squires and Corrie is one of the few places in the world that can work on antique slot machines. He's been repairing the contraptions since he was a teenager in Indiana."Terre Haute was ā€” it was interesting with Al Capone," Squires said. While he didn't work for Scarface himself, he did repair machines for people who worked with Capone. Today, those brushes with the infamous figures are 2,000 miles and more than 70 years behind him. "So I came out to California in 1977," he said.For decades, every wheel, gear, and piece of glass resided in the Squires and Corrie offices in San Mateo. "A developer bought all of the buildings," said Squires. "All of them. In downtown San Mateo between third and fourth." So, at age 84, after 45 years in one spot, Steve Squires was on the move. Though to be fair, Steve Squires seems to always be on the move."This is the mechanical machine parts," Squires pointed out in a tour of the second floor of his building. Floor to ceiling the place is filled with parts. "I've got dozens and dozens of other mechanisms in the warehouse," he said.Still, Squires needed some organization. Enter Ray Wilson. "When I first got here, he had all this glass," Wilson said. "That was on pallets, you know, and it was bundled up, and he said he wanted these cabinets built." Wilson was hired to remodel the building but he's quickly become the go-to man to help keep the shop in order. This is all a bit of a change for the octogenarian. Squires has always been the one constant at his company. His partner, the Corrie in Squires and Corrie, passed away. "I've had guys work with me, 40, 45 years," Squires said. He's had trouble finding someone to mentor, passing on his crucial knowledge. It isn't like he hasn't been looking. Squires has put the business up for sale, but there are caveats. He wants someone to apprentice with him. "I would like to work here," Squires said. "On a part-time basis until I pass away." He adds, "Plus, I get tired. It's not like I'm 60 years old. I get tired."As such, he's also added Cathy Gunter. "He's been trying to show me and I think I'm picking it up pretty quick," she said from behind a metal buffer she was operating. Squires was showing her some of his skills so that she could pick up some of that load. "He can take a machine, take it totally apart and put it back together one piece at a time and make it function and function well," she said. It's something she hopes, someday, to do herself. However, she doubts the veracity of his retirement musings. "I mean, if that's what he wants to do, I want him to be happy. But I don't know that he will be able to retire because this is his life," Gunter said.Still, Squires manages to spend his days with a constant companion. It's not a one-armed bandit; it's a cockatoo named Maggie. She's been with him for 43 years. The two keep vigil over these mechanical marvels entrusted to him by people like Warren Treacher and Brad Jasinsky. Still, what is it about slot machines that scratch an itch that someone needs one in their home?"I think it's the instant gratification," said Treacher, putting in a quarter and pulling the chrome arm on his War Eagle. Squires put it another way. "They get something for nothing." At least Steve Squires does inside his shop. Even he can't walk through a room without pulling a lever.

Take one step into Warren Treacher's Davis, California, home, and you can see he likes to collect things.

"I've always been into the Western art and Native American art," said Treacher, pulling a basket out of the cabinet behind him. "I bought my first one for three bucks at a garage sale in the '60s. And it's a Paiute in the Sierras."

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See the story in the video above

It's the canary yellow and red contraption in the center of his office that catches everyone's eye.

"When we play poker, then, you know, I always make sure that we have some quarters on the table," said Treacher, reaching for a quarter.

That little disc of silver is going into a 1936 Mills Novelty Company War Eagle slot machine. As Treacher puts the quarter into the machine, he tells us, "the odds of getting three bells are one in 64,000."

The odds of his getting anything when he first bought the machine, though, were slim.

"The handle had snapped off; it was poorly packed," Treacher recounted. "I mean, you can see how heavy they are. And he shipped it in a cardboard box."

Which begs the question, how do you find someone to fix a 1930s slot machine?

"I purchased a machine back in about 2015. And, it was in Sacramento," Brad Jasinsky said, recounting his first machine. He knew that owning slots wasn't for the faint of heart.

By California law, you can have a slot machine in your house, but it has to be at least 25 years old. Jasinsky knows something that old can cost you.

"Yeah, it's an expensive hobby," he said. "The machines, they range in price for sure. You know, they go from $2,500. I think, at times, up to like $10,000, $12,000."

Jasinsky and Treacher both had that same dilemma.

"I needed repair," said Jasinsky. "And at the time I asked the fella, I said, 'You know anybody who can do repairs?'"

Treacher puts it more bluntly. "I would bet dollars to donuts there's only maybe two or three other guys in the whole country," he said.

Inside a white brick building on Fremont Street, not far from the overpass of Interstate 5, sits one of those two or three guys.

"Everybody likes vice," said Steve Squires. He's the Squires of "Squires and Corrie."

You could say vice is his business.

"Run the gamut. Gambling slot machines, girls, boys for that matter, you just go down the line, all the things that your mother told you not to do when you were growing up," he counts off on his fingers, describing people's love of gambling.

Make no mistake, he doesn't gamble himself; he fixes the machines to let others try to test their luck.

"I love it, I love it. The more complicated they are, the better. I like to work on the ones in the worst shape, the better. I like to work on them," Squires said.

Squires and Corrie is one of the few places in the world that can work on antique slot machines. He's been repairing the contraptions since he was a teenager in Indiana.

"Terre Haute was ā€” it was interesting with Al Capone," Squires said.

While he didn't work for Scarface himself, he did repair machines for people who worked with Capone.

Today, those brushes with the infamous figures are 2,000 miles and more than 70 years behind him. "So I came out to California in 1977," he said.

For decades, every wheel, gear, and piece of glass resided in the Squires and Corrie offices in San Mateo.

"A developer bought all of the buildings," said Squires. "All of them. In downtown San Mateo between third and fourth."

So, at age 84, after 45 years in one spot, Steve Squires was on the move. Though to be fair, Steve Squires seems to always be on the move.

"This is the mechanical machine parts," Squires pointed out in a tour of the second floor of his building. Floor to ceiling the place is filled with parts.

"I've got dozens and dozens of other mechanisms in the warehouse," he said.

Parts on the walls at Squires and Corrie
Dave Manoucheri, KCRA
Parts at Squires and Corrie

Still, Squires needed some organization. Enter Ray Wilson.

"When I first got here, he had all this glass," Wilson said. "That was on pallets, you know, and it was bundled up, and he said he wanted these cabinets built."

Wilson was hired to remodel the building but he's quickly become the go-to man to help keep the shop in order.

This is all a bit of a change for the octogenarian. Squires has always been the one constant at his company. His partner, the Corrie in Squires and Corrie, passed away.

"I've had guys work with me, 40, 45 years," Squires said. He's had trouble finding someone to mentor, passing on his crucial knowledge.

It isn't like he hasn't been looking. Squires has put the business up for sale, but there are caveats. He wants someone to apprentice with him.

"I would like to work here," Squires said. "On a part-time basis until I pass away." He adds, "Plus, I get tired. It's not like I'm 60 years old. I get tired."

As such, he's also added Cathy Gunter.

"He's been trying to show me and I think I'm picking it up pretty quick," she said from behind a metal buffer she was operating. Squires was showing her some of his skills so that she could pick up some of that load.

"He can take a machine, take it totally apart and put it back together one piece at a time and make it function and function well," she said.

It's something she hopes, someday, to do herself. However, she doubts the veracity of his retirement musings.

"I mean, if that's what he wants to do, I want him to be happy. But I don't know that he will be able to retire because this is his life," Gunter said.

steve squires working on an antique slot machine
Dave Manoucheri, KCRA
Maggie the Cockatoo at Squires and Corrie

Still, Squires manages to spend his days with a constant companion. It's not a one-armed bandit; it's a cockatoo named Maggie. She's been with him for 43 years. The two keep vigil over these mechanical marvels entrusted to him by people like Warren Treacher and Brad Jasinsky.

Still, what is it about slot machines that scratch an itch that someone needs one in their home?

"I think it's the instant gratification," said Treacher, putting in a quarter and pulling the chrome arm on his War Eagle.

Squires put it another way. "They get something for nothing."

At least Steve Squires does inside his shop. Even he can't walk through a room without pulling a lever.