It was the Canyon’s way of saying “get off my lawn!”. Ultimately they had to call to Salt Lake for help. Their calls for local help were met with unsatisfactory responses. When they came back to their car it had 4 punctured tires.
There was one incident when undercover Utah State agents went into Bingham Canyon to investigate local police corruption. Local law enforcement could be sympathetic. Those communities held an attitude that anything but local government should stay out of their own local business. Gambling and slot machines could be found in fraternal clubs and out-of-the-way areas like Bingham Canyon and Carbon County that had little use for state or federal law-enforcement. Slot Machines were used discreetly in Utah well into the ‘70s and even a few snuck by into the 1980’s.
My father had operated slot machines since the 1930’s, so in fact I grew up around these great American relics. In 1975, soon after he married Bobbie Gentry he held an auction, not for the cars, but for the early California and Nevada gaming equipment and surplus antique slot machines. Like most collectors after a while he purged his own excesses. Living in Reno he also collected Virginia City, Nevada and surrounding California gold country gambling memorabilia. Bill Harrah, the Nevada casino owner, was known for his extensive automobile collection.
