There are some things that you see in Las Vegas that feels very… Vegas. One is the proliferation of gambling devices in all sorts of locations – convenience stores, grocery stores, taverns… and gas stations.
Gas stations usually only have a couple of machines, and on purpose – regulations cap how many machines can be in that sort of establishment.
But while Las Vegas is where people have most familiarly seen it, it’s not the only location where gas stations feature some sort of gaming machines. Here in the Palm Springs, California area, where Brian Christopher Slots and Flip The Switch are based, we have a number of tribal casinos that have been building out gas station infrastructure, and gaming machines have been incorporated inside.
This includes Morongo, which opened the all-new Morongo Travel Center in 2022, and Agua Caliente, which opened its first Agua Caliente Fuel around the same time in Rancho Mirage, and earlier this year a second location in Palm Springs.
I recently checked out the Agua Caliente Fuel in Palm Springs, being close to where I reside, to see what they had done. One thing that was noted at opening was this location had more gaming space than the one in Rancho Mirage, with nearly 100 gaming machines available.
Walking in it was clear that was the case – the gaming space was a significant portion of the convenience store’s footprint. Honestly it felt like the convenience store part was underbuilt, almost like they anticipated potentially shifting more square footage to gaming in the future if it proved helpful.
The gaming space consists pretty much entirely of Class II Bingo Machines, which are found on gaming floors in tribal casinos frequently here in California. Today’s Bingo Machines work very similarly to slots on the outside, just that instead of using a Random Number Generator (RNG) the outcome is determined by a game of Bingo, the patterns made and in how many numbers drawn.
With that consistency in feel means there were many recognizable brands available to play, from Aristocrat’s Buffalo to Light & Wonder’s Ultimate Fire Link Triple Nova.
A couple of the games there are games I haven’t been able to play very often elsewhere, which made for a fun experience. IGT’s Jumanji Next Level and Bluberi’s Devil’s Lock Slice & Dice were among the games I hadn’t played in a bit and enjoyed getting another crack at them.
They also featured some fun modern three reel slots to place as well, including choices from AGS and Light & Wonder.
I had similar ups and downs as I do with other gaming environments, but one of the cool perks was the convenience store honored my tier discount and allowed me to use my resort credit – two perks that can come in handy for regular players. The comp points you accrue gambling at the various Agua Caliente casinos can also be used to get gas – another cool perk.
I will admit being able to grab a drink or a string cheese to snack was nice, and I didn’t have to worry about whether the store was open.
Unlike the Rancho Mirage location, which is found right off the highway, the new gas stations are clearly designed to serve local residents such as myself. Being a bit closer to me than the smoke-free Cathedral City location that I most frequently visit, I imagine I’ll take some trips to the Agua Calient Fuel instead when I want to pop in for a shorter visit, or happen to be closer.
Gambling at a gas station may seem like a novelty in Vegas, but here in California it’s a cool new(ish) option.
