HOT SPRINGS — While a massive casino operates legally as a major Hot Springs allure, a nearby attraction takes visitors back to the freewheeling era when illegal gambling flourished in the Spa City.
That shadowy past spanning a century can be savored at the History of Hot Springs Gambling Museum. It is in a Central Avenue strip mall less than a mile south of Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort’s 1,400 slot machines and dozens of gambling tables.
The gambling museum, open free of charge, is a labor of love by lifelong Hot Springs residents Chris Hendrix and Lanny Beavers. They even supply coins for visitors to pull the levers on the vintage “one-armed bandits” and hear winnings come ching-chinging out when a jackpot is hit.
