Businessman Had Vision to Make Trump Fortune-Telling Machines

Mythic prophecies around the country can be traced back to one coin-operated business.

June 13, 2017 5:00 am

Fortunes told by the animatronic likes of President Donald Trump, porn star Ron Jeremy, and Zoltar all share the same mystical origins: A small business worth big bucks situated in the scorching desert town of Boulder City, Nevada.

Zoltar fortune teller
A Zoltar fortune teller machine is pictured in an amusement arcade on February 8, 2017 in Great Yarmouth, United Kingdom. (Jack Taylor/Getty Images)
Getty Images

The $1.25 million company, called Characters Unlimited, sits less than 30 miles away from Las Vegas — but the company has hit the jackpot across the country.

The company has manufactured and displayed the prophecy-delivering machines everywhere from Caesar’s Palace to Planet Hollywood and in front of multiple Houdini’s Magic Shops. Last October, the news media erupted after then-candidate Trump was portrayed in one of the glass boxes in Manhattan, delivering “Misfortune” cards outside of various politically charged locations, including Planned Parenthood and Trump Tower.

But Olaf Stanton, the co-founder and president of the company, says he voted for the president — and doubts the Commander in Chief would hold it against him if he knew who made the machines in question.

“He would understand I’m just a businessman trying to make a living,” Stanton told inc.com. “I’m not going to turn down $8,000 for a machine if somebody wants to buy it.”

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