Shuffle-Up and Deal!!
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Gambling has always had a romantic quality throughout American history. Its been portrayed in countless movies depicting the wild west, Prohibition times and various other genres. Some people make their living at it, others just enjoy sitting around a table with good friends.
Recently, we had the pleasure of restoring a 1930’s Poker and Blackjack table from an underground casino in Cicero, Illinois. If the table could talk, what would it say? Did famous mobsters play on it, did fortunes change hands on the flip of cards?
Both tables were in a total state of disrepair. The cash boxes that collected so many thousands of dollars were broken. Ash tray holders, that probably contained many nervously smoked cigarettes, were either missing or broken. The felt was completely ruined and would need to be replaced. Those were just the small problems, the entire table was going to need to stripped, sanded and refinished as well.
Our customer desired to keep the piece consistent with the times. He wanted to keep the cigarette burns in the wood and match the original felt that would have covered the tables back in the 30’s. We literally had to sand around the cigarette burns in order to preserve the “character” of the table. The company that made the table had long been out of business. However, we were able to locate some of the original felt. Our upholsterer did a fantastic job of adding the right amount of padding, to allow cards to slide properly.
Once completed, each table looked like it rolled off the factory line. Our customer was thrilled to have unique piece of gambling and Chicago history restored.
This job was not only a restoration but a history lesson as well. If you have a job either large or small, give us a call. We’d love the opportunity to earn your business.
