Auto enthusiast and entrepreneur Tate Morgan started the Gambler 500 - opens in new window or tab. event in 2014. Morgan’s idea was innocent, simple, and pure genius. Get a beater car in the $500 range and see if you can get it working well enough to do a 500-mile off-road rally—while gathering garbage from remote roadside areas along the way.
The event took place this year in Redmond, Ore., from June 10 to 12. And we joined the caravan of hoopties, rebuilt cars, revived Bugs, and reworked vans. Gamblers spread throughout Deschutes and Jefferson counties. Drivers on the course yanked abandoned vehicles and tons of garbage from illegal dumping sites in the Crooked River National Grassland and Millican Valley.
After the 12 dumpsters quickly filled, participants started unloading their booty at Gamblertown.
News of the event spread near and far. As a result, the Gambler 500 has gone nationwide—evolving into the “world’s largest public land cleanup.” Some say it’s become a way of life.
Only a Gambler would know chopping a school bus could be so cool.
Unloading Refuse All Day Long
Gamblertown 2022 sprung to life on June 10 at the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center and flourished for three wind-swept days. Campers spread out as far as the eye could see, the pirate-like Gambler 500 flag high everywhere you looked. A circus of vehicles cruised in and out, quickly filling up 12 industrial-sized dumpsters. All-day long, the car enthusiasts continued to drop loads of refuse at the front of the campground.
The Gambler version of a dually
The roar of revving engines was a constant as Gamblers traversed the HooptieX - opens in new window or tab. course, a 1.7-mile dirt track adjacent to the campground. HooptieX (“Hoop-tee-cross”) is on off-road racing series open to junkyard beaters, UTVs, trophy trucks—or your mom’s minivan.
A Toyota Echo shows how it’s done at HooptieX.
Spectators watched the shenanigans on the track as post-apocalyptic cars slid through muddy corners courtesy of rain the night before. The perfect Gambler vehicle is one part Mad Max and two parts Death Race 2000. One minute, a muscle car with a dually chassis comes rumbling—and then a lifted hearse with monster truck wheels and a party platform built on its roof goes rolling by.
Gamblers paid homage to their favorite NASCAR racers with replica paint jobs.
Creative Reuse
You never know what to expect at Gambler 500. Wes Collins from Icebox Performance and Radiator Supply House - opens in new window or tab.—a custom radiator and cooler shop in Sweet Home, Ore.—described the mayhem.
Collins said:
We brought out Kev Dogg from Bitchin’ Rides last year and ran the Hooptie course. And the first Nitro Circus guys brought out the world record nitro bus that flipped over last year to the HooptieX.
Morgan's All-American rat rod
Will Garret, Collin's partner in crime, added:
It launched about 40 feet with six passengers on board.
For HooptieX, Garret drove a hoonigan rat rod previously owned by Morgan, Gambler 500's founder. Garret bought the rat rod on eBay.
Zane (left) and Wes (right) turned their 1999 Toyota into the “Corollavirus.”
The competition at HooptieX was fierce. The 1999 Toyota “Corollavirus” car fully embodied the Gambler spirit. The vehicle’s intake came from a vacuum cleaner that still had its bristled brush. The owners collected garbage all morning and then hit the HooptieX course.
Good Clean Fun
This Gambler must have been a fan of Doctor Doolittle’s Pushmi-Pullyu.
As evening drew near, pull-start scooters swarmed the campground, the buzz of their engines mixing with music and laughter. Wooden ramps emerged and an impromptu jumping contest spontaneously erupted.
As the sun went down, the participating Gamblers gravitated to the spinning skull above the main stage. Oregon musician and storyteller Shane Brown - opens in new window or tab. set the chill vibe with his relatable lyrics and mesmerizing guitar riffs.
By morning, the pop-up community known as Gamblertown was disbanded. The crowd dispersed to parts unknown in their cheap crazy rides. By the time we were gone, Gamblers had removed 1,000 cubic yards of trash from Oregon forests.
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