(Editor’s note: This is the 28th installment in a monthly series highlighting some of the region’s unsung manufacturers that make products essential to the economy and, in many cases, our way of life. See previous installments here.)
Some businesses begin with a strict focus on manufacturing. Others entered the sector out of necessity.
For Warwick-based poker table manufacturer Gorilla Gaming, it was a necessity born out of a need for quality casino gaming tables that were not available on the market and were too
expensive to import after paying shipping, duties and tariffs.
“We started manufacturing poker tables because we couldn’t afford to buy them,” said co-founder Glenn McCrory, who along with his wife and business partner, Gretel, for more than a decade has operated Gorilla Gaming.
In 2005, the McCorys launched the Eastern Poker Tour under the corporate name Eastern Poker LLC and were purchasing their table from manufacturers in China until 2013, when they became frustrated with the poor quality. They decided to start building their own tables, and interest in their products slowly grew in the industry.
“We did a pretty good job of it. So it became sort of a side business for us,” Glenn McCrory said. “We’d sell maybe one a month, if that.”
As poker emerged as the latest gambling craze fueled by the popularity of online poker and televised high-stakes tournaments, Gorilla Gaming was well-positioned to capitalize, partly because of existing connections in the casino and gaming sector.
“Everyone wanted to play or consume poker. People would sell [tables] on eBay or wherever, but the quality was always garbage,” McCrory said. “The materials were never good enough. And the tables are big. So, you are stuck with whatever table you have. We quickly realized this was never going to make sense for us.”
“And we wanted to focus on quality and customization,” said Gretel McCrory.
It wasn’t long before Gorilla Gaming secured its first major customers, beginning in 2013 with Planet Hollywood and Poker Stars. Four years later the company signed a deal to be the official poker table of the World Series of Poker.
Interest in Gorilla Gaming products further skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic when consumers were looking for new forms of entertainment at home. “All of [a] sudden we started getting all these orders,” she said. “The casinos were closed, and people were stuck at home.”
The company produces high-quality felt for the tables and holds a patent for its USB Table, which provides USB ports for phone charging for every player without any exposed wiring.
That attention to detail has gotten the attention of big players in the gambling industry.
“That’s helped us get a name. Because casinos need to change out their felt every six months. So, we spent a lot of time to perfect that,” Glenn McCrory said. “We are always tweaking it.”
[caption id="attachment_483884" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]

ALL IN: An example of the poker tables manufactured by Gorilla Gaming at the company’s Warwick facility.
PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO[/caption]
To date, Gorilla Gaming has made custom felt or poker tables for gaming rooms in New Hampshire and luxury casinos from Encore Boston Harbor to Wynn Las Vegas. Most recently, the company began providing felts for Bally’s Twin River Lincoln Casino Resort.
In 2021, Gorilla Gaming secured a U.S. Small Business Administration loan to purchase a 20,000-square-foot building in Warwick. The move allowed Gorilla Gaming to double its manufacturing operation to around 10 employees.
Gorilla Gaming is now the preferred table and felt maker for to hundreds of casinos and all of the poker rooms on the Las Vegas Strip. While he declined to disclose annual revenue, Glenn McCrory said the company typically ships about 1,000 units per year, split evenly between casinos and private customers looking to use a poker table at home.
Gretel McCrory says Gorilla Gaming has been able to carve out a small niche within the global billion-dollar casino industry by displaying its ability to be flexible. It can customize orders and ship faster.
Still, Glenn McCrory says the state could invest more in helping small manufacturing businesses scale operations or in workforce training.
“Our competitors are $100 million conglomerates,” he said. “We are often the second company [called by casinos] after they are like, ‘This company is driving us nuts. I’ve been waiting months for these felts.’ So, they call us. And we can print them tomorrow.”
Getting to advertise your logo on products placed within large casinos and resorts leads to residual sales “spilling over to people going home and ordering one for their personal use,” Gretel McCrory said. “Having those relationships and prioritizing customer service. If you call our office, you will get either me or Glenn. We do everything in the house. And if you need new felt by Friday, we can make that happen.”
Gorilla Gaming has also differentiated itself for its felt backed by hook-and-loop fasteners, a design that was innovative in poker table construction. Felt has typically been stapled around the perimeter. At first the casinos were hesitant, said Gretal McCrory, but they soon came around.
“They can literally just pull off the felt and replace it in five minutes,” she said. “We would personally go to the casinos to show them how it works. They were used to stapling everything in. Literally every inch.”
Also, Gorilla Gaming uses computer numerical control machines to make precision pieces for its tables.
The company’s website features a customization portal with assorted options allowing customers to design to their specifications and receive an instant quote. Pricing can go from under $1,000 to several thousand dollars.
The McCrorys have at times struggled to fill manufacturing positions, even reaching out to vocational schools and through its membership in the Rhode Island Manufacturers Association to find help. That has left the McCrorys sometimes working late into the night filling large orders themselves.
“A lot of people want to work from home, and most don’t work with their hands,” Gretel McCrory said. “This is definitely not a remote job.”