LISTEN: Family amusement arcade business celebrating 40 years in Lancaster

An amusement arcade business with family roots is celebrating 40 years on the Lancaster high street.

The Gaming Lounge slot machines centre first opened on Common Garden Street in Lancaster city centre in 1986.

Owner Jason Slater has the amusement arcade industry in his blood, dating back to the early 1970s, and has worked for the family business for 46 years.

After moving to Morecambe in 1970, his parents Alfie and Nora Slater first opened a bingo centre on Queen Street in Morecambe, and the family lived above it.

Jason said some of his earliest memories are of his mum calling the numbers over the microphone, and of working his first shift there at the age of seven.

The Slaters then opened Slaters Amusements, now Clock Tower Casino, on Marine Road Central in the early 1980s, before opening the Gaming Lounge in Lancaster.

LISTEN to Jason talking about his family business and memories of 40 years of The Gaming Lounge

The company added Treasure Island, the former Oasis amusement centre on Marine Road Central in Morecambe, in 2015. 

"It's very much traditional entertainment that people still enjoy, and we try to give people what they want," said Jason.

"I've grown up in this industry, all my life, 46 years, and I'm incredibly proud of what we have on offer."

Jason Slater and Evelyn Casson at The Gaming Lounge in Lancaster

Jason also said he was very proud to be part of the Lancaster city centre business community.

"We are friends and familiar with all the shops and we are conscious that we're all in it together," he said.

"Times have been challenging in the past, they're challenging at the moment, but we'll come through it.

"Lancaster is a great city, a wonderful city. We are incredibly lucky and there is a genuine sense of pride and gratitude.

"I've been dealt a wonderful hand by my parents moving to this area. I've lived in the area all my life and it's a lovely, warm city. I'd urge anyone to come and experience it."

The Gaming Lounge is committed to safer gambling, to ensure that playing the slot machines is a fun and safe experience for all. 

They want all customers to Spin Safe, and offer help and support when they are being harmed or at risk of being harmed by gambling.

"Gambling is very much a human instinct, but it does need some restriction and needs to be offered with a thoughtful mind," said Jason.

"We are socially responsible and being part of the fabric of the community is very important.

"It's well managed, there's a clear chain with our machinery, fair, open, honest.

"And to be the person that is catering to this need, within my community, I genuinely feel proud to be in that position."

*GambleAware offers free, confidential help and support to anyone who's worried about their, or somebody else's gambling. 

www.begambleaware.org

This feature has been produced as part of the Lancaster BID Business Birthdays series.