Ace Poker Trade Stimulator

A 1940’s Ace Trade Stimulator. It is difficult to find information on these as they seem to be somewhat rare. These were manufactured by Daval and came in two varieties, Cub and Ace. The Cub had three reels similar to a slot machine where matching three cigarette brands on the reels would win a pack of cigarettes. This is the rarer more expensive Ace model which featured 5 reel poker play. “Points” as featured on the award card would actually translate to credits that the owner of the machine would pay in cash or merchandise. In order to get around gambling laws the machine would dispense a gumball with each play so the player would receive something in return. The machine divides nickels into front and back so the owner of the machine as well as the shop owner could receive their share of the profits. Really cool machine especially to find in this condition. From what I have read Daval manufactured this game until 1949 or 1950 after which Comet Industries bought the company and began manufacturing the game. Trade stimulators were popular in the era of small mom-and-pop cigar stores and grocery outlets until the rise of the large national chains in the late 1950s and 60s which rendered them unfeasible to operate. These are great examples of American history and are very fun to collect as a wide variety of different games existed.