The museum is separated into five different rooms, each of which has a different theme and exhibits on display. Let’s go on a virtual tour throughout the museum, in the order in which our guide takes the guests, and find out what you can expect to see when you enter Siam!
The Lobby
Right from the very entrance you’ll be immediately thrown into the casino lifestyle! The lobby is styled like the most prestigious and elite Vegas casinos – a chandelier, pristine tables, as well as modern video slots that you can actually play for free (and if you win the jackpot you get a special prize). If there is another group of tourists in the museum at the moment you might need to wait in the lobby for a short time, which is why we have ensured that it’s as comfortable as possible. If the guide is unavailable at the moment, Mr. Crane, the museum’s manager, will keep you company, tell you a little bit about the museum’s history and how it came to be, as well as answer whatever questions you might have.
History of Casino
The next room is an exhibition that holds most of our best and rarest items. The items are arranged in order from oldest to newest, and the guide will start you off at the very beginning of the timeline, with an original Bell-Fruit slot machine from the early 20th century. This machine is so old that it actually used to dispense gum instead of coins due to the strict anti-gambling regulations at the time. To the disappointment of many children who ask if they can get some gum if they win, this slot machine (as well as all the others on the floor) can not be played, as they’re either non-functioning or extremely fragile. Don’t worry, you’ll be able to play old slot machines to your heart’s content in a bit! Moving on in our tour through time, you’ll also be able to see other items that were used almost a hundred years ago, such as a roulette table from 1925 (alongside a rare photograph featuring that very same table in its prime), about a dozen decks of cards that showcase just how the design changed over the years, as well as several outfits worn by actual dealers in the 40s, 50s and 60s! Overall, this particular room currently houses about 80-90 different items, so there’s certainly a whole lot to see!
The Time Machine
The next door you’ll go through is a deep blue color, and that’s no coincidence! It’s modeled after the TARDIS – the time machine from the long-running sci-fi show “Doctor Who”. That is because when you step through it, you’ll leave 21st century Dayton and go directly into 50s Casablanca! Everything you see here – the tables, the slots, the chips, the cards – is authentic, having been purchased in the 50s and preserved in Alexander Siam’s private collection up until this day. This really is exactly how casinos of the era looked, right down to the smallest detail! Even our dealer, the handsome Mr. Lloyd, is dressed in attire that is very faithful to the 50s, and has the black and white photos on the wall to prove it! The bottles at the bar are also replicates of how some of our favorite beverages, such as Coca Cola, looked in the 50s! Sadly, no alcohol is offered, but at least we can promise that the soda we’re offering is not 65 years old.
But this isn’t even the best part! No, the best part is that each visitor who wishes to participate is given $200 in chips (2×50, 2×25, 5×10), which they can bet against Mr. Lloyd on multi-hand blackjack or roulette, against the machine in our various slots (which are, again, authentic for the 50s) or against each other in poker. If anybody manages to increase their winnings to $1000 within 30 minutes, which is how much the games last for, will win a free souvenir of their choice from the gift shop!
The Gift Shop
Let’s get one thing perfectly straight – our gift shop isn’t like other museums’, where you just get some overly expensive keychain and then leave. No, even our gift shop keeps with the Siam theme of travelling through history. As such, half of our shop is modeled after a casino from the 80s, as seen in movies like “Rain Man”, while the other half resembles a more modern casino. Similarly, the items sold in the two halves of the show reflect the “past” and “present” eras (with a few even reflecting the future, if you manage to spot them!) – if you want a tiny, yet completely functional slot machine, or a deck of cards like exactly the kind used in casinos, or perhaps some poker chips identical to the ones used 50 years ago, this is certainly going to be your place! And if shopping isn’t your thing, but your family and friends insist on it, you can always pass the time by playing video poker, slots or 3 of a kind on one of our machines!