After reading so many of the reviews on here.... I can see that some of these folks just have a vendetta against certain employees at this place. People who have never left a review before creating accounts just to badmouth someone. My family has been playing here for years so I speak from experience. Here are the facts: 1. They are trying to accommodate everyone... Therefore they have installed a card reader system to automate some of the process and make it easy for you to keep your points and you're spending money in one place. They do keep a certain amount of machines on quarters as well for those who prefer otherwise. I find this to be a very good compromise. 2. They have some very good prizes in this arcade. Obviously, the better prizes are going to be won by saving up your coupons over time... but then again, there are exceptions. This week I watched as a lady came in and wanted to win an NBA jersey. She sat down next to me at a poker machine and was unfamiliar... I showed her how to play five at a time to maximize the jackpot and, within 5 minutes she hit a jackpot high enough to win the jersey. Their coupons never expire so you can save them up and trade them in at anytime. Also, if they don't have it, they will get it for you. You just have to ask at the counter. They are extremely accommodating. 3. They work very hard in here... Everyone has a job... The floor people do not work behind the food counter... The redemption people do not work out on the floors... They all have specific functions that they are trained very well for. It can get hectic... but they honestly do to try to take care of everybody. There are certain times when they get very busy because it is the end of a tournament or there is a special free drawing going on at that moment... The place is huge so if you don't see someone in the front of the store... They also have people stationed in the middle and in the rear of the store as well as out by the cranes. 4. Somebody on here posted that the bathrooms are always filthy. I know this to be absolutely false. They clean these regularly throughout the day. This is 100% FACT! They have three bathrooms that are kept clean... Very clean. I see the workers who go in and clean them. Most of the employees who work here have that easy-going attitude and do whatever it takes to make things work. There is no way you could work there without being easy-going because the number of nit wits you have to deal with on a daily basis. They really do want you to have a good experience. 5. Cranes: You can't complain because you spent $5 trying to win a $500 item and didn't get it. Some cranes are easier than others. All machines ...at all arcades...use random number generators and will determine when a machine will be eligible to "pay out". A certain amount of money has to have been put into a machine (machines are set looser or tighter) before the claws tighten up more, before the stacker will stack to the top etc. etc. etc. That's just how these things work. It's a bit of skill and a bit of timing. Just chill out and have a good time. If you win points inside the casino area they will allow you to use these points purchase any of the stuffed animals or any of the other items in the cranes. All you have to do is ask. My favorite thing to do is just sit and watch some of the families with younger children having a blast in here. They are laughing and playing together... That makes my day. This is a family place. If you wander in drunk on a Saturday night and cause any problem, they are going to quickly show you the door. It's a safe, fun place to chill and have a good time. Enjoy it for what it is. I'm not a paid spokes person for this place...I've just enjoyed it for many years. I hope you will too. read more

this is by far the best arcade on the boardwalk. Prizes literally wrap around the whole facility and are in display cases all throughout the room. Many slot machines and arcade games and the staff is nice read more

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We had the most amazing time at gateway 26 last night. We go to a lot of arcades and the employees there were wonderful! Everyone greeted you and they were all very helpful. Getting ready to go back again today! read more

Gateway 26 - Some of our prizes from last night! - Arcades Near Me - North Wildwood, New Jersey

This arcade shut down the crane machine when we won too many Squishmallows. Seriously. My 12 y/o won a bunch of them, and the employee came, shut down the machine, taped the coin slots and claimed the machine was "broken." The employee also said "this is a business" and something to the effect of too many pieces were won this morning. Shameful. I have walked away with nothing from the machines so many times, but if there is too much winning by their standards, they step in and stop it. read more

We were looking for something to do on a cold and rainy evening over the weekend and we decided to check out Gateway 26. It was my first time there and to an arcade of this type. There were sooo many prizes you could collect tickets to get. They have a swipe card system that is usable on most games and it also is how your tickets are tracked unless it's one of the machines that takes quarters. Those machines give you actual tickets that you can add to your card at the front desk where you can pick out your prize. Like any other arcade where you win tickets there are prizes worth a small amount of tickets and others that require a lot of tickets. Being that your points are on the card and don't expire you can save up for something bigger. There are casino styled games, the standard arcade games, and claw games. The staff was friendly. It is a little dated but that doesn't take away from the fun. It actually adds a little nostalgia. read more

Gateway 26 has always been our go to arcade when we're down the shore! They keep their prices reasonable and the staff is amazing! I have to give a shout out to Sly and Javeon who both went wayyy above and beyond in every way to make sure we had a wonderful and fun experience!! I cannot say enough good things about them!! 10000000/10 will ALWAYS recommend! read more

This is a review for our visits last year when we working our way up the coast. I am surprised I did not leave a review for them already but I know it was a busy time. This was the best arcade we went to Delaware and, it would be hard for me to say since I have a couple other favorites, but experience-wise, this was probably the best arcade I have ever been to. Their video poker jackpot nights were a lot of fun for the family. A lot of the games you have a good chance to win tickets or stuffed animals, whereas some other local arcades you don't. They were plenty of prizes to choose from as well. I had never stayed in this area before but if we ever come back, I will certainly pay a visit here. read more

This place is huge. I mean really huge. The snack bar is a nice touch (and super cheap- $1 soft pretzels and $1.49 dogs- you can't go wrong). Bonus- it was open on a cold winter weekend in the middle of February, which made the kid super happy (not to mention the $100 in free game play he won). read more

Games are a ton of fun and there is a ton of variety in this arcade. Staff is pretty rude and slow to help. I understand there is a shortage to workers but on more than one occasion when we were waiting to get rid of our tickets, a group of employees stood around and ignored everyone behind the counter. There's better arcades on the boardwalk than this one. read more

Gateway 26 is the best arcade on the boardwalk! Plenty of games for everyone, and the staff are always friendly and helpful. From coin pushers and claws to skee ball they have it all. They give you drawing tickets when you get change and have an end of season car giveaway! Don't forget to join the free VIP club to save your tickets. The food stand is good and cheap, $1 hotdogs, drinks and more. There is a reason it's the most popular spot on the boardwalk! read more

This place is great and I don't know about the other review but this is where I win big! I recently went there and won about 8 plush toys with $20 That's great compared to other arcades. If there's an arcade to spend it all in, it's this place. Not the ones that charge 50 cents to play. And seems that they even add newer games to play as well. So they always keep making it better read more

Of all of the arcades on the Wildwood Boardwalk, this is the ONLY ONE that still has claw machines for 25 cents. And machines that CAN BE WON despite being challenging. We've been coming to this arcade for 5 years, and hope to be back for at least 5 more, as our house is slowly clogged with claw machine wins. ;-) There is also a great dollar menu for snacks (burgers, hot dogs, fries, etc.) Video poker specials run all day, every day, along with Skeeball and other points-earning games. The prizes are a bit overpriced compared to other arcades in the area, but there is some quality stuff to be won. If you pick your times to play carefully, you can really rack up the points. And, last but not least, I am happy to report that their arcade still actually has decent video games in it! (Most of the arcades have switched mostly over to pure money-makers like rigged claw machines, skeeball, and slot machines.) Lots of fun stuff including a few pinball machines. If you're in the Wildwoods, you owe it to yourself to stop by and have some fun! read more

Gateway 26 - Arcades Near Me - North Wildwood, New Jersey

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We stopped here on our first day of vacation. So happy to see that prices are still the same and things are back to almost normal. They had employees walking around sanitizing the machines. Shout out to Joe Hanlon whose customer service was on point. My son loves to play crane machines and was winning several prizes. Joe was very patient and kind and helping him switch out his prizes. I have been coming here my entire life and this was by far the best customer service experience we ever had here. If you're in Wildwood New Jersey definitely check it out. It's the best arcade on the boardwalk!! read more

Garbage! Machines are in awful condition, most of them eat your coins and then the attendants argue with you like you're trying to pull a con on them or something. I'm not pulling a heist, Danny Ocean, I just want my fucking quarter back... Bathrooms are always filthy and smelly. Carpets need to be ripped up and replaced. read more

It is probably the best arcade on the Wildwood boardwalk. Great games and awesome prizes. The staff is extremely friendly and helpful. They take time and listen to you and help solve problems. Make sure you visit when your in Wildwood read more

Kids LOVE this arcade. Our house is filled with their Gateway 26 prizes. Love to fill my garage with the car they give away each year. 25 cent cranes and fantastic hours makes this one our favorite. Don't forget the free steak and shrimp on customer appreciation Saturday. read more

Gateway 26 - With Hockey Great Bernie Parent at best arcade in all of New Jersey Gateway 26. - Arcades Near Me - North Wildwood, New Jersey

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Gateway 26 is by far the best arcade/casino in wildwood. I recommend it. Great employees and prizes that are second to none.

Two days in a row we tried to take our kids here, and both times we left because employees weren't wearing masks or enforcing their mask policy. We went a few blocks away to Ed's Funcade instead, which felt much safer. read more

Absolutely best prizes of all the arcades. Wish there was more variety of games but still had a lot of fun and once again the prize wall is stuffed! read more

Typical arcade except for offering stuff other arcades in Wildwood lack: 25 cent cranes and skee ball (2 run-down lanes, but they're there!), air hockey, cheap snack bar, and on and on. It's fairly easy to rack up the tickets so you don't have to spend a lot to get a lot. The best part is that, as another reviewer mentioned, the prizes selection is solid. Last year my boyfriend and I left with a food processor/blender and a bunch of games, and this year we are so far undecided on what we will take home at the end of the season but it will likely be another kitchen appliance. Yes, we are a domesticated couple in our mid-30s who like arcades. read more

There is no better fake casino in Wildwood... Every arcade has slots, poker, skee ball, various games to collect points or tickets, etc. But no place has the swag that Gateway 26 does. There are lots of items you may actually NEED and/or USE here! The point prices are fair, and you can join their VIP club to rack up points long term. As a rough estimate, I'd say you make half your money back in merchandise when you play. Our example: the girl and I spent about $80 over the past two days. I got myself a sharp Timberland wallet that typically sells for $30 (retail tag says $50), and my girlfriend got four lovely ceramic mugs. See what I mean? Things we actually need and will use! Bigger ticket items include small appliances and cookware, bedding, electronics, sporting goods, and sports memorabilia. Last thought: the staff are remarkably nice. Like, too nice almost. I expect the employees of a sad arcade in a dying beach town to be grumpy scoundrels. But whether you want change or want to buy merchandise, they're truly always friendly and helpful. read more

Jason M. Hit it on the head. This place is a great fake casino and it's the best in Wildwood. We spend, probably, too much time here every year we come down. They have hourly poker tournaments where you can accumulate points to get prizes. If you play a little each night of your stay, you can actually get a half-way decent prize at the end of your vacation. They also have hourly drawings and other fun stuff like a real-life " deal or no deal" contest. Theiy have games that will occupy both kids and adults. Lots of fun! read more

Gateway 26 has been around as long as I have been coming to Wildwood. (Which is a long time.) It could actually be the best arcade/casino on the boards, with it's the vast selection of video games, Skee-ball, and classic 25-cent machines. But unfortunately the place smells like piss. And that makes it even more disgusting than even the thought of how dirty these machines probably are. Time to rip up that nasty carpet and throw down some Pergo or something. read more

I love it here. There even open during the winter for us locals to play and have things to do with our families

My yearly visit to 26th st. arcade was great. Best staff, especially " The Real Kevin" and Derek. Very nice guys. I'll be back next year.

LOVED this arcade's games and some of the workers like big Marty are legends but the issue is the other workers at the counter. I had four bad experiences in a row. First one includes a worker huffing and puffing when I asked for my gateway card back that she was about to take because it had 0 credits but she didn't like that and huffed and slammed the card and hand on the desk (not hard) but still frustrating. (It's barely any work to re-activate the card so I can use it and it's their job to do it). Another experience was when I asked for a bag from a lady and she gave me a small one and i said it was good because I thought it was big enough for what I needed for but it wasn't and a asked a larger one and she just gave a attitude and walked and she gave me the bag and I said thanks and she didn't give any respect to me. The third experience was with the person who does debit card transactions and she basically said "IT doesn't work" after the card didn't read in a not so nice way and she didn't like that I said try again and she rolled her eyes and head and gave a huff when I said that and I just left after the second time and blew her off since I was so mad with being there and three straight bad experiences. The fourth one is really just not really the employee's fault but when I was telling him about a broken machine, and I said I want to just use $1 on it and not buy a card since I couldn't afford because my budget was $1 and not $2 and he seemed clueless as to what I said and walked off and he looked like a young kid so I don't blame him if he is a inexperienced worker but it he was there a long time then it was just basically in mind "but the card if the dollar machine don't take bills" he didn't say it but it seemed like by body language that was what he said. I loved gateway 26 for 16 years but after what happened I hate going there and if I did I prepare with cash and just play poker next to the legend workers and not Cash anything in because I hate dealing with miserable people since it causes me to get mad and I don't need to get angry where I'm at in life right now. I have like 7 buckets of coins for gateway and I'm likely not cashing them in unless something else can be done to where I don't have to deal with miserable employees. I was going to leave a 5 star review a few years ago but I forgot and now I'm putting a one star review for a place I used to love but I hate now because of some miserable workers that don't like their job but a lot of workers are nice. Just avoid the counter employees or risk getting frustrated. A lot of the employees on the floor are nice. I hate when a entire place is hated upon due to a few bad apples but I have now because it happened four times in a row. The read more

So much fun. The staff are very helpful. You play the games and get points toward prizes. Everytime we come to Wildwood we make time to go to gateway 26. Its great ! read more

The manager Chris was extremely rude and disrespectful. If I can give his customer service zero stars I would. I've never been spoken to the way this boy treated me, he's not a man. I'm so disappointed because this used to be on of our favorite places and now it is ruined because the customer service was so inappropriate. Again, Chris is the man that was disrespectful and spoke to me and my child poorly just because we were having trouble with a claw machine. Please don't go here and waste ur time, customer service is horrible read more

This is a great arcade on the boardwalk. I loved playing the 25 cent cranes and the other arcade games inside. A great experience here.

Don't let the exterior fool you, inside it's not so high-tech. However, I've got to say, this is the most reasonably-priced and biggest arcade on the boardwalk. All arcades are scams, that's to be expected.They still have mostly 25cent crane machines, plus every other arcade game you could possibly want to play. They also have so many prizes for your tickets, it's overwhelming. And a little tip: you can win prizes out of the crane machines using prize tickets. read more

They always had the best prizes on the boardwalk and super friendly staff. these guys are pretty much open all year round which is really great. if you're visiting Wildwood on the off season call ahead and make sure they're open chances are they will be. they had great slot tournaments and always update their video games. the staff are constantly walking around to help people out. and unlike most you never really see any broken games. read more

Pretty good bang for your buck. Poker tournament is fun and you can win lots of points. Prizes for points are pretty good. Def one of the better arcades in Wildwood. read more

Okay so this place is flat out terrible! It's an arcade? We took our daughter here today after a walk on the beach. First off the place is flat out disgusting and outdated. It's like taking a trip back to the 70's. The "slot" machines have ripped cushions, the carpet is filthy, the basketball game had no balls. It's literally that bad! To top it off they barely had any games, especially for a toddler. They do have an abundant of crane machines. Stay away!! read more

The place says $Dollar Hut$ on the front. I only got mozzarella sticks but they were the cheapest I could find around and they were still great quality. read more

This spot gets 5 stars for being open on a snowy day in March. Also, for having a bathroom inside. The 25 cent machines are a scam, as they never close properly. The other machines you might have some luck on. Maybe. Remember, that the claw and crane machines are only programmed to only win so many times. The nickle slots we're paying out big tokens, baby! read more

The staff are so rude and unaccomodating to the customers in there. I asked one guy for a soda at the snack counter and he yelled at me and refused to do it because it wasn't his job. Really?! All he was doing was walking around doing nothing! He said "can't you read the sign?! Go to the other counter and ask someone there if you want a drink!" I was furious that he spoke to me that way. The place was empty he could've taken 2 minutes out of his day to accommodate me but he yelled at me and humiliated me instead..in front of my fiance' and child! These people are lazy and ridiculously rude. I've been going there since I was a child and in all those years I've never had an issue til now. It's a shame that such a long standing establishment is going down the tubes! Management needs to wake up and do something about this! read more

STAY AWAY!! My family and I go here every year and it's really gone downhill. A few months ago (prior to COVID) my family and I had a terrible experience. A scary one at that. My 9 year old son had all of his money stolen out of his bag after leaving it on the ground next to him to play a game. After asking the manager if they had cameras, he pointed to two cameras in the area that were both pointing up directly at the ceiling (non-functional). The manager simply shrugged off a 9 year-old being robbed in their establishment by saying "there is nothing we can do" (they could have at least offered a stuffed animal that probably costs them a quarter, or something, to make my kid feel less shaken up). Not very good customer service when dealing with someone who was just robbed inside your business!! The hundreds we previously spent here each and every year will now be spent elsewhere! Like I said this was a few months ago and TO THIS DAY my kid feels totally violated they really did nothing to prevent things like that from happening. Not a safe environment!! read more

Derek porter was very helpful and we had great service from him! He was very attentive and helped with the machines! Will definitely come back soon read more

I went there and it sucked you could not use quarters for anything I wanted to get a card and you couldn't get anything on the card with quarters and it had no signs saying no coins. Also the Crain part it said 25 cent and had something for quarters but totally took my money never going back big Marty. read more

This arcade would not honor our point coupon from last year, that their employee didn't apply correctly. They steal your points that you spent money on. My poor granddaughter was very upset because she could not redeem the points for a toy. This arcade or any arcade on Wildwood is not reputable. They also laughed in our face and said it wasn't their problem read more